by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Sat Jit Kaur Khalsa

Age: 48

Occupation: Yoga instructor/homeopath/chiropractor

Bio: This enchanting Île Bizard broad was first introduced to yoga and meditation through dance classes she took way back in the early 1980s. Born into a Jewish family, Sat Jit legally adopted her new handle, which, loosely translated, means True Victory, not too long after discovering the wisdom inherent to Western Sikhism. Along with her French-Canadian hubby Shabad, she owns and operates the Yoga and Meditation Institute on Mont-Royal W. [www.yogamontreal.net] Both a licensed chiropractor and a homeopath, Sat Jit, who is the very picture of health, suspects most people think she's probably a decade younger than she actually is. She drives a late '90s Mazda 626.

Is it possible to learn yoga at her centre without having the dogma of Western Sikhism constantly shoved down your throat? Absolutely. The courses are taught from a secular perspective.

Is the ultimate objective for males studying yoga to be able to fellate themselves? Not quite. Apparently there are other reasons, apart from the obvious, for learning yoga.

From the perspective of one who is deeply immersed in the wild and wacky world of Western Sikhism, is this Power Yoga business that many of the gyms are offering the meditative equivalent of junk food? "No, I think it's wonderful - a great introduction. It's going to lead these people, eventually, when they are ready and when they choose, into a deeper experience that will be determined by them."

Was she forced to become a chiropractor because so many of her yoga clients were overdoing it and leaving her centre incapacitated? No. "And actually, people who practice yoga are much less likely to need the services of a chiropractor. And when they do, they generally don't need that many treatments."

Does she expect the medical community will someday warm to the idea of homeopathy? "Well, acupuncture has come a long way, but homeopathy will take a lot longer. Still, it's everywhere in Europe. It's huge there. Something like 40 per cent of doctors in France are also trained as homeopaths."

Is this because Europeans have historically been quicker to embrace exciting new concepts like, for example, wireless text messaging or National Socialism? "I really don't know why they're so much more receptive to it there."

Does she ever get high? Not for many years now.

Does she feel that drugs might be a path towards spiritual self-discovery? "Perhaps. If they are used in a sacred way, with respect."

Is lying on the couch watching The Simpsons wacked out on LSD considered sacred to her? No.

Childhood ambition: To become a teacher.

Musical preferences: Wha, Krishna Das, Deva Premal, Snatam Kaur.

Last book read: The Story of the Amulet, by E. Nesbit.

Television preferences: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Animal Planet.

Words of wisdom: "It's time for people to start listening to themselves. To claim the power, to become empowered, to find a way, no matter what's going on outside, to feel powerful and strong inside. And power comes from within."

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca