Training Basket: Demetra Penner

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This article was published 5/7/2013 (1503 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Demetra Penner, 28.

Vocalist, musician, songwriter, producer, yoga instructor

Achievements:

A soulful and accomplished singer, songwriter and musician, Penner grew up on a farm near Altona, earned a film degree in Italy and teaches yoga in Winnipeg. This summer, she will release her EP Sublimatio, which includes songs inspired by her yoga experiences. "The themes are about life and death; it delves into the spiritual dimension of life," Penner said. Her vocal style, says one reviewer, is "a soft Canadian indie take on Kate Bush or Bjrk." Penner's debut album, Lone Migration, was released in 2012, reaching No. 2 on Exclaim! and Earshot folk and roots charts.

She studied yoga on the Thai islands and teaches yoga at Snap Fitness and St. James Hot Yoga. As an artist, she has performed at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Winnipeg Folk Exchange, Brandon Folk Festival, the Winnipeg International Jazz Festival, the Back 40 Folk Festival and the Harvest Moon Festival.

1. Favourite workout:

A vinyasa flow yoga class. "I'm trained to teach it. It is basically moving with breath. It's a high-paced form of yoga. You're always moving from pose to pose, and it allows a lot of creativity in the sequences."

2. Favourite workout song?

Fade Into You by Mazzy Star

3. Fitness tip:

Cultivate mindfulness, find balance and discover your potential. Fitness does not begin and end with the body.

4. What's in your fridge?

Kale, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, Granny Smith apples, cherry tomatoes, feta, sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce

5. What's your guilty pleasure?

It used to be kettle-cooked chips, but now I enjoy air-popped popcorn with coconut oil and nutritional yeast... It's the best!

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca