Jazz Braden
Born and raised in Yellowknife, NWT Jazz grew up with a massive appreciation for the wild outdoors. Every day, her family would bundle up and brave any arctic temperature and go play outside. Trudging through the snow, canoeing on the lake, climbing on the rocks or skiing through the trees was the cure to any and all problems. Movement was always a big part of her life, but it wasn’t until she stumbled onto a yoga mat that she understood why her mother rushed her out of the door at -40 degrees in the dead of winter. At the most basic and primal level, we all crave one thing: Connection. We want to feel connected to something greater then ourselves. The truest and simplest ways (I have found) to feel connected is by being in nature or by practicing yoga. Yoga found Jazz in her last year of varsity basketball when her body was at its wits end. It was the first time she had ever felt graceful and connected to her body. It was the first time she was moving just to feel good rather then to improve her skills.