TEACHERS

Ananda

As Ananda has travelled through this lifetime, she's thought more than most, about Karma. The reason is curious and relevant. Soon after meeting, her parents, for fun, visited with an astrologer who knew they were infertile. Still the astrologer insisted they would have three children, all girls.

Many years later, having forgotten the prophecy, the parents learned that her mother was pregnant. Quite randomly, Ananda's mother joined a friend at a yoga retreat. It was there that Swami Schadananda blessed her and named her first-born daughter, Shanthti. Later, surprised by yet another pregnancy, a stranger and follower of Muktananda introduced herself to explain that this child was already named Prema. Much later in her life, when age normally prevents this kind of thing, she again was pregnant. This time it was a friend and sheik who insisted this baby's name had to be Ananda. For surely, with Peace and Love, Divine bliss must follow.

Naturally, her parents were incredulous - In the face of all Western knowledge, the prophecy had come true.

It was not until many years later that Ananda began her own journey into Yoga. She was modeling, when the chaos of the business, lead to a yearning for peace. "Coincidently", traveling for modeling jobs, presented opportunities to study with many advanced teachers: Jivamukti in London, Eric Shiffman and Shiva Rae in Los Angeles, Cyndi Lee. These amazing teachers literally opened a portal to a far more meaningful ife. She learned that time spent on the mat was essential to staying strong, calm and peaceful. Maintaining a consistent practice of Pranayama and meditation slowly developed. Defensiveness, inherent in modeling, morphed into feelings of confidence and Love.

A profound shift came while she was living in New York. Elena Brower introduced her to Anusara yoga. The emphasis on alignment, the philosophy of intrinsic goodness, the encouragement to find softness in strength, greatly impacted her life. With this maturation of feeling, Ananda felt the need and developed the strength to leave modeling, to deepen her knowledge of Yoga. This new awareness created opportunities to study under some amazing teachers; Noah Mazé, Tara Judelle, and most importantly with John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga. The dedication to practice, desire to share what fills her heart, and align her body and mind, has earned her the title of "Anusara InspiredTeacher".

At Preshana, teaching the ability to overcome the challenges of asana her joy. For those who want more, Ananda invites them to join her, on the path to self-discovery filled with: Shanthi/peace, Prema/love and the ability to rest in one's natural state: Ananda/Divine Bliss.

Vicky

Vicki's yoga journey began nearly nine years ago when she found herself in her first class in London.

In the years since that life changing first practice the journey has taken many twists and turns, the biggest of which saw her move half way around the world to Sydney and allowed her perception to shift and expand to include many styles of yoga including Jivamukti, Prana Flow and Anusara, which has shaped her practice to where it is today.

Having been blessed with the opportunity to study with world class teachers such as Tara Judelle, Noah Maze and John Friend, Vicki's teaching has expanded and grown to become firmly established in the heart affirming style of Anusara yoga. With a genuine passion for igniting student's spirits she believes that everyone's innate goodness can be accessed through this practice and encourages her students to explore this further through playfulness and alignment.

Vicki's classes offer you the chance to turn inside, to connect to your own light and to challenge yourself to play your edge, as well as exploring philosophy, meditation and anatomy. She honors her teachers both past and present, and offers thanks to the divine for the grace shown in her journey to date and beyond.

Kelli

If we could step back and rewind, we wouldn't find my love affair with yoga to be premeditated, or consistent, or one-sided. Yoga and I, well, we've had an on-again-off-again, fiery, dramatic, loving, all-consuming, grounding, and at times even, infuriatingly honest relationship. It hasn't always unfolded as I wanted, but it's always turned out to be exactly what I needed.

After years and years spent searching and stumbling, partying and traveling, escaping and unravelling, I found my way to the mat. And at the end of that first practice in Whistler, BC, lying breathless and rinsed out, empty of the cluttered thoughts, the clenching armor, the overflowing business that had become my "normal", I knew I'd found my way to the path that would lead me home.

And, as my torch and teacher, my practice quickly became my guiding light, my transformational tool of choice. I began learning how to use my physical experiences as gateways to my heart. The poses, the breath, the burning fire of transformation that came as I moved with the poses, buffered and polished, sloughed away my hardend edges, the sharp bits that misaligned with who it was I was becoming. I felt amazing. Alive. Present. And I couldn't wait to teach.

So, when a 200 hr Teacher Training came up a few months later, I jumped at the chance to learn. I started teaching my first regular classes as soon as I was certified and have been expanding ever since. I've studied Power with Baron and Jivamukti with Tina James, Anusara with Kristin Campbell, Tara Judelle, Noah Maze and John Friend. And so my journey has unfolded and expanded...and expanded... and has continued to expand since then, on and off the mat, both as teacher and student.

My classes are dynamic, strong, and heart-infused, inviting my students to find softness and spaciousness, stillness and surrender, strength and stability. I feel incredibly humbled and blessed to be sharing in and serving on this road of divine rememberance.

Casey

Casey was first introduced to yoga in 1998 and was instantly in love with how slowly and gently following her breath from one asana to another calmed her mind and focused her thoughts. This new found focus on body and mind filled her with feelings of love, acceptance and appreciation.
After over a decade of practicing she was finally in a place where she could immerse herself in a teacher training course so that she could share the joy that she has found in yoga with others. The course opened her eyes to the benefits of yoga physically, emotionally and spiritually and educated her on how to teach others. Her style is mindful flow that slowly builds heat and creates space for the body, mind and heart to grow.
More recently Casey has been introduced to Anusara yoga. She has found that the Universal Principals of Alignment (UPAs) combined with the Tantric philosophy of intrinsic goodness have allowed her practice to grow both on and off the mat. This new knowledge allows her teaching to emphasize the alignment of the physical body so that prana can flow more freely therefore allowing her students to feel their own intrinsic goodness, and what's better than feeling in love with yourself.

Alison

Alison began practising yoga consistently in January 2004, following the birth of her two children, Jack and Charlotte. She immediately found that yoga was the perfect outlet to allow her to experience space within the chaos of everyday life.

In 2007, Alison completed Bikram Yoga Teacher Training. This was just the start!! Returning to Sydney, Alison was committed to continuing her yoga journey. She completed Baron Baptiste Level 1 and 2, and Power Living teacher training in 2008. This ignited a desire within her to establish a deeper connection with herself!

The continuous exploration of herself, led Alison to Anusara Yoga in 2009. Completing immersions 1, 2 and 3, with Certified Anusara Teacher, Marc St Pierre.

“Anusara Yoga provides me with a system to align my physical body and connect to the core of my being”

Alison has since completed Anusara Teacher Training with Tara Judelle, and workshops and intensives with John Friend, founder of Anusara Yoga, and Certified Teachers Noah Maze and Betsy Downing.

As a teacher, Alison’s intention is to assist you to establish a stronger foundation and deeper connection with yourself on the mat and in your life.