Chris
My journey in yoga started more than 7 years ago. I’d booked a massage with the wrong therapist who ended up being the right one. He told me my body would really benefit from the alignment yoga brings and recommended me to an Ashtanga Vinyasa class. I worked with a very experienced teacher for 6 months before injuring my hamstring and lower back very badly in an unrelated incident, forcing me to stop all exercise for some period.
After almost 6 months without training I had a friend recommend me to Bikram Yoga. At this time in my life Bikram was fantastic. I loved to be pushed and Bikram certainly delivers that. Every class was a serious challenge! I worked around my injury and slowly but surely increased my strength and flexibility.
I stepped up my practice to 5 times a week and soon decided to head to India and participate in a 10-day Yoga teacher training retreat. I joined around 50 other budding Yogis, who were all at this retreat for between 4-26 weeks completing their full time yoga certificates.
This amazing experience stuck with me until I eventually headed back to India to complete my teacher training certificate, 2 years later. After researching Rishikesh (India) as the mecca of Yoga, I headed to the foothills of the Himalayas to begin my own teacher training journey.
As I reflect on my time in India, it was one of the most rewarding and yet extremely challenging times. I’m so grateful to have studied under some of the best yogis the world has to offer. As a fully certified yoga instructor, my journey into this yoga world has been one of the most enlightening experiences of my life.
The forms of yoga I love are both Hatha and Vinyasa. Both are so different but have many benefits. Some like to hold poses for lengthy periods, others enjoy the flow. I encourage you to trial all different forms as my body loves all types (it never used too!)
If you are looking to start your yoga journey or take your practice to the next level, I look forward to sharing, connecting and guiding you on your yoga journey. My classes bring the technical, strength side but incorporate the traditional Indian yoga rituals making it a divine experience. I also love to share my knowledge and love for yoga during our weekend and extended retreats.
Namaste, Chris
Debbie
Debbie began practicing yoga in 2008 as a way to reduce back pain, increase flexibility and manage stress. In 2014, she attended a transformative yoga retreat in California, where she developed a spiritual connection to her practice and realized her desire to share yoga with others.
Debbie completed her 200 hour Teacher Training in Ontario, Canada in 2015. Forever a student, she has continued to expand her knowledge, completing training in the Roll Model Method by Yoga TuneUp in 2016, and Restorative Yoga in 2017.
Debbie blends her knowledge of asana, pranayama and yoga philosophy, to inspire her students to experience the true joy of yoga both on and off their mats. She teaches a variety of styles including Hatha, Vinyasa, Power, Yin and Restorative. Her favourite pose is Wild Thing.
Namaste, Debbie
Kelly
Introducing Kelly Stansmore to the team! Kelly journeyed to stunning Rishikesh, India with the Bodhi crew and studied her 200 hr Ashtanga Vinyasa YTT under Master Mohet & Master Bipin.
She’s since been refining her art and has been practicing her teaching at various studios. You’ll find some more info on Kelly below and you can catch her at our 6.15am Modifies Ashtanga Class. Welcome to the Bodhi family Kelly 🙏🏼
Kelly, a primary school teacher during the day, discovered the gift of yoga to help manage stress and anxiety. It wasn’t until committing to a daily practice that she began to truly appreciate that there was more to yoga than just a physical practice. After completing a 10-day fasting detox in Bali, she was inspired to travel to the home of Yoga in Rishikesh, India, following her dream to become a yoga teacher.
Kelly enjoys the strength, concentration, and calmness that comes with all styles of yoga. She particularly enjoys Ashtanga yoga for the stability of mind that comes with synchronising the breath and movement through the physical and mentally challenging postures. With a long time commitment and dedication to her own health and well being, she is passionate about sharing the benefits of yoga with all abilities and ages. When you leave the mat, her wish is for you to see the beauty that yoga delivers within and around you.
Join her on the mat for a balance of strengthening and calmness at our Thursday morning 6.15am class.
Bri
I spent many years of her life reacting to life. Waiting for someone to save her, someone to hand her a road map and say “here, I did all the work for you, just follow this and you will live joyfully”
I grew up with severe anxiety, not realising what it was and thought that the way she reacted to life through anger, through the need to control, and being terrified most of the time was normal.
However, I also have a strong, independent, courageous, brave and focused side. Fast forward to when she turned 18, she decided to move to Germany to peruse her dream of working with horses. After 5 years in the industry, travelling the world and carrying around a deep sense of inner failure, indecisiveness and fear, I finally cracked under the pressure I’d created.
I developed an Eating Disorder as a coping mechanism to feel safe, in control and ease my anxiety. So also began the inner work. I didn’t want to live my life terrified of it, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I wanted to recover so I was going to recover. My recovery taught me to unlearn everything I thought I knew about life, It taught me that even though I had completely fallen apart and was scattered in pieces, I had the power, the strength and the capability to put myself back together the way I wanted to be.
Through my recovery, I decided to start yoga, I had never been to a class before, I didn’t even know what it was about. I had no idea what I was in for… My first 3 classes I cried, a lot actually, my body was hurting, my heart was broken and my mind was a mess. I was healing, I was falling in love with life again.
Through my practice, I was able to find myself on a deep soul level. I was able to untie the knots that bound me together and truly get to know myself on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. Yoga not only helped me through my recovery, Yoga helped me beyond my recovery.
Since that time, I have devoted a huge part of my life to my Yoga practice, continuing the study of the Yoga Philosophy, and discovering not only the physical but also mental benefits to the practice of all things “Yoga”. I make sure to create the space in my day to attend to what truly matters most, Meditation, Pranayama (breath work) and Asana (poses).
Through the work of bringing balance into all aspects of my life, I am her to help you find your identity, find your passion, fall in love with your body, befriend your anxiety, and live your life free from the grips of your past. Who you were yesterday does not need to be who you are today, you can start over, begin again and live the life you wish to. It’s not too late. It’s time for you.
Join Bri on the mat at Bodhi Yoga and experience her passion for this practice.
Mathilda
Hi everyone!
Here‘s a little bit about my journey!
Originally from South of France, I grew up in a little town surrounded by nature and water. Via life’s various twists and turns, I ended up spending my early twenties studying and developing a background in Marketing & Comms.
When I started to work in the field, I was lacking a sense of enjoyment and fulfilment and I didn’t feel true to myself. In 2013, I quit my full-time job in advertising and took some time off to explore the world. A year later, I landed in Brisbane where I started my yoga journey as a student…
I was hooked from the beginning! I loved the physical aspect of it and the opportunity to let go of the mind’s busy-ness in order to connect more deeply with the body.
Beginning 2019, I enrolled in a 200h Yoga Teacher Training in the beautiful peninsula of Baja California with no expectations outside of deepening my practice as a student. My Yoga Teacher Training turned out to be a life changing and heart opening experience leaving me with a deep desire to share the gift of yoga with the world.
My own practice and my way of teaching evolved regularly. With time, I welcome more spirituality and enjoy going beyond the asanas – the poses. I focus a lot on the breath and the energetic body. I will describe my way of teaching as a good mixture of Yang – stamina and strength – and Yin –
mindfulness and stretch.
Wherever you are in your yoga journey, I’m here to hold space for you and to empower you and your practice.
I look forward to meeting you on the mat tomorrow night and in the future 🙂
Catch Mathilde on Tuesday’s at the 6.45pm Roll and Release class
Satya
With a keen interested in helping others and a strong yearning for finding the reasons behind the amazing workings of the human body, upon leaving school Satya studied Chiropractic, Musculoskeletal Therapy and Kinesiology. In an effort to find a way of allowing clients to have longer lasting peace and happiness within their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies, Satya found yoga.
Through living the yogic lifestyle Satya brings her love and joy of yoga through her teaching. It is an honor to share the ancient teachings of this sacred science in each class with a focus on releasing tension and restlessness in the body so it can remain in complete stillness in meditation, reconnecting to our essential nature. Each yoga pose is an opportunity to experience self-acceptance of this present moment, now, allowing for peace in the body and mind through the vehicle of the breath.
Satya is a devoted yogi, meditator, health advocate, student, lecturer, musculoskeletal therapist, kinesiologist, musician, daughter, sister and friend. With a strong emphasis on structure, physiology and energy medicine, Satya’s classes offer a firm foundation in the breath, intention setting, safe structural alignment for all levels. She’ll help you find your edge between strength and flexibility with inner listening.
Her classes feature living in the present smooth transitions, moving into stillness and self-love. Concluding the class with a short meditation. As a holistic therapist, seeing no part of the being separate from another, more energetic insights are shared depending on what is organically presented in the group of yogis on the day, to leave you feeling uplifted, radiant and at peace.
Danny
Danny, a 500 hour RYT, has always been connected with movement. With his background in dance, yoga became another form of creative expression infused with spirituality.
Originally arriving at the studio for a physical work out, he soon became aware of the transformative power within the practice which changes his life every single day. “My mat is my playground. It’s an exploration of who I am and how to live life”.
Having completed his training in Vancouver, Canada, Danny is passionate about sharing his love of Yoga and teaches from an authentic, kind and grounded place. You can expect to move and flow fluidly through his classes.
It’s his intention to create a space where students are able to connect intimately with themselves through movement and breath leading towards self-awareness and transformation. “Come journey through self inquiry and let’s dance with the breath.
Catch Danny on the mat Thursday nights for a 60 min flow followed by a 60 minute Yin (deep stretch) class.
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Megan
Megan’s classes aim to challenge and inspire. She loves to encourage others to dive deep and acknowledge the possibilities that can only be created within themselves.
Megan moved to Australia from the UK in 2013 and have been fortunate to have lived in Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and has now relocated to Brisbane. She moved to each city without knowing anyone and it was a desire for this connection that first brought her to Yoga.
She immersed myself into the studio community; participating in many workshops, community events and retreats, eventually completing her 200hr teacher training through Power Living in May 2019, I have since been teaching both Relax and Vinyasa classes.
I aim for my students to leave class feeling seen and able to disconnect from the external buzz to reconnect with their mind and body. The modern yoga practice for me is about maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle in order to grow and experience life to its fullest.
Catch Megan on Sunday’s at the 4pm Relax class.
Visit https://www.yogaalliance.org to find out more about being a yoga teacher.
To become a yoga teacher we recommend https://www.bookyogaretreats.com
