REBUILDING CHRISTCHURCH BODY AND SOUL

Since arriving in Christchurch in 2009, Russian immigrant Elena Turuera has put her unique combination of skills in structural engineering and Kundalini yoga teaching to good use in the city.

In the last decade the area has experienced two major earthquakes, resulting in heavy loss of life, serious injuries, destruction of homes and infrastructure, and communities left broken in the diaspora that followed. Then came years of aftershocks, the Port Hills fires and recently the tragic mosque massacre.

Many Cantabrians are grappling with mental health and wellbeing issues. Just as the city’s rebuild has benefitted from Elena’s engineering skills, the community is also benefitting from her yoga teaching by discovering how Kundalini yoga can restore physical and mental resilience.

EASING ANXIETY

Originally from the city of Apatity, above the Arctic Circle in the Murmansk region of Russia, Elena was