Yoga instructor killed in Halifax was from Montreal

HALIFAX -- Kristin Johnston was not yet 30 when she left her Montreal hometown for a new life in Nova Scotia.

In Halifax, she started her own downtown Bikram yoga studio, and became known as a kind and determined businesswoman whose magnetic personality inspired students and friends alike.

She "radiated from the inside out," renowned Canadian opera singer Measha Brueggergosman, a good friend of Johnston's, said Tuesday.

Johnston, 32, was found dead Saturday morning in her home overlooking Purcells Cove in Halifax Harbour. Police say a badly injured man found in the house is a "person of interest."

"We've yet to speak with him and we do need to speak with him to help progress our investigation," said police spokeswoman Theresa Rath, who said it wasn't known when the man would be healthy enough to talk.

Of his relationship with Johnston, Rath would say only that they were known to one another.

Brueggergosman said she wanted to remember her friend for who she was.

"I think that we will continue to celebrate Kristin in very tangible ways . . . and we will focus on the celebration that was her life and won't give any airtime to how she was taken from us."

Brueggergosman became friends with Johnston soon after the Montrealer opened the first Bikram yoga studio in Halifax about five years ago.

Brueggergosman, who also teaches Bikram or hot yoga, said Johnston loved Nova Scotia and quickly became a part of the local community.

"She was very much a champion and a pioneer of this practice of yoga (in Halifax)," said Brueggergosman. "She had very clear goals for herself and was a real inspiration to me as somebody who ran her own business through dedication and trial and error."

Brueggergosman said she was impressed with Johnston's attitude when it came to the struggles of establishing a small business in a smaller market like Halifax.

She said that attitude was evident when Johnston was finally forced to close her business earlier this year.

"I know how much she struggled with that, especially the responsibility she had to her students, but she did everything she could to make the transition as smooth as possible."

Connie McInnes, the owner of RIO Pilates and Yoga Studio in Halifax, said she first met Johnston as a student in one of her classes and established a friendship after she started her own business.

She said Johnston wasn't proprietary when it came to growing yoga in Halifax. McInnes said she worked tirelessly to build connections.

"What resonated with me . . . was that she was really focused on collaborating with the community and building a bigger community."

McInnes said she talked to Johnston as recently as last week about the possibility of her teaching classes at the RIO studio.

"She was teaching classes that are not replicable in the city," she said. "Had she still been here, she would be teaching and still a part of the community for sure."

Johnston's family is involved with Bikram yoga in Montreal, where there are three studios.

The Facebook page for the business advised students that it would be closed on Friday to honour Johnston's memory and in support of her family.