How an intense period of anxiety and depression helped carve Amanda Chisholm’s path 

Born and raised in Bathurst, Amanda Chilsholm graduated from Bathurst High School 20 years ago. Like many, she left her hometown after high school to pursue higher education. Amanda attended St Mary’s University in Halifax, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2008.

She worked in Halifax for a couple of years before heading to Toronto. After some time in Toronto, she found herself back in Bathurst in 2014. 

In Toronto, Amanda battled an intense period of anxiety and depression. This led her to seek natural routes of dealing with it, which brought her to yoga. 

“It’s funny because at first I really didn’t like it,” Amanda says and laughs. “But then I had a moment early on into practicing yoga where I thought people need to try this. I was so unaware of the whole picture of yoga and how it can help with mental health.”

After reconnecting with a childhood sweetheart, Amanda found herself back in the region. Not long after returning, she went to Baja, Mexico, to complete her yoga teacher training.

Then she started teaching classes in the area and networking like crazy in order to build a name for herself.

 While there were yoga teachers in the region when she returned, Amanda felt like the area was lacking a full studio that was open seven days a week. In Toronto, she commented that there were yoga studios on every block.

“I wanted to unite the existing yoga community in Bathurst, and build on that by offering something available 7 days a week.”

It was a big leap of faith, but one Amanda felt she needed to take. “I thought it was something that Bathurst could use, and something the world could use,” says Amanda. 

In the fall, Amanda will celebrate nine years of Pure Balance Yoga, which is on 339 St Patrick Street. 

Amanda says she is thankful for the community for embracing the Yoga Studio, commenting that it did well instantly after opening. 

“We’ve had a full schedule pretty well since we opened. We’ve had around 20 teachers here regularly, and about 10 now,” says Amanda.

Like many businesses, Pure Balance Yoga had a difficult time during the pandemic, but with support from their clients and innovative thinking, they made it out alive and are now close to their pre-pandemic numbers. 

I asked Amanda if she plans on staying in Bathurst permanently, and she answered, “absolutely!”

“I love it here. There’s a lot of potential and a lot of cool businesses that have opened up in the last 5 to 10 years. We have an emphasis on supporting local, and the community is just great.”

Here’s another edition of the Northern Heat Report. The place you come to listen to the stories that have not yet been discovered.

We want to thank Amanda for taking the time to speak with us, and we wish her the best of luck.

If you’re interested in learning more about Pure Balance Yoga, you can visit their website here: https://www.purebalanceyogabathurst.com/