Meet our Byron Bay teachers
The Purna method John teaches focuses on correct alignment. His teaching covers the basics with additional emphasis on refining alignment, corrections and adjustments. John’s teaching style is entertaining and completely accessible. His instructions are clear and simple, always with a focus on keeping his students safe and encouraging them to listen to their own body’s needs and only work at a level appropriate to the individual, at any given time.
John encourages students at all levels to build flexibility, strength and stamina of body, mind and spirit. Many students discover, as a consequence, that yoga becomes a way of life.
Kara teaches yoga asana, pranayama (breathing techniques) and dhyana (meditation) safely and joyfully, giving students the opportunity to deepen their awareness and practice with integrity and fun. She is constantly updating her skills and expanding her yoga teaching experience. Kara is part of the teacher training staff at Byron Yoga Centre.
Davina started practising yoga in 1998 and has been teaching since 2006. Davina is a Certified Senior Teacher holding Level 1 & 2 500 hour Certificates, Certificate IV in Yoga Teaching and Diplomas in Vocational Education and Training and Assessment.
Davina’s yoga classes always include pranayama and dhyana. Davina guides students through an awareness of body, mind and breath and her teaching assists participants to explore life motivations and goals and ultimately become more fully present. Davina is also deeply influenced by the teachings of Buddha and has studied meditation and pranayama in India and Australia. Meditation teacher and psychologist Radha Nicholson continues to guide Davina in her ongoing study of the teachings. Regular yoga and meditation practice has transformed Davina’s life, cultivating a new realm of inner peace, strength and serenity.
She began teaching Iyengar-influenced yoga in 2002 after apprenticing with her first teacher. A few years later, Marita discovered vinyasa yoga, and relished the freedom of flowing through movement and connecting with breath – her yoga practice became a moving meditation. Marita’s teaching can now be described as alignment-based vinyasa.
When teaching, Marita aims to instill the peace and happiness that she experiences through yoga within her students. By both challenging and nurturing, she teaches people to stretch and strengthen their muscles, but also to breathe, to stand tall, and to live with compassion.
Maria Kirsten is a senior yoga teacher, yoga therapist and occupational therapist. She teaches yoga for wellness, remedial yoga on teacher trainings and in specialty workshops. Maria specialises in making yoga accessible for students of all ages, and levels of experience and ability.
She uses her understanding of anatomy and functional movement to empower and educate students to modify and individualise their yoga. Maria’s special interests are in yoga for seniors and older grownups, yoga to support mental health and yoga therapeutics.
Maria’s teaching style is unconventional, practical and fun, with lots of “real life” application and a big picture approach to yoga practice. Maria thinks that being a yoga teacher is the best job in the world, and her passion is to share all her experience and learning to empower others to share the gift of yoga with others.
Michael is senior yoga teacher and facilitates many subjects at the Byron Yoga Centre. Michael’s style is inclusive and light hearted. He has a keen interest in the physical body so enjoys sharing the anatomy and physiology sessions. He believes that the awareness of the physical form is an important aspect of spiritual practice and that asana is a way to connect with deeper levels of nature in a radical but honest way.
Michael very much enjoys bringing inclusivity and fun to all his sessions along with encouraging students to not only to learn through theory but also by focusing their attention inwards.
Jade’s classes draw on her Vinyasa, Hatha and Purna training, focusing on correct alignment, breath connection and strength building whilst offering students the opportunity to focus inward with her empowering approach.
Her practice began in 2007. Over the years Jade has completed trainings and workshops in Europe, Indonesia, India and Australia gaining insight from practicing with many renowned teachers including Carlos Pomeda, Elena Brower, Lizzie Lasater, Clive Sheridan, Gwyn Williams and John Ogilvie. Jade has completed the 800 hour Certificate IV with Byron Yoga Centre and has trained in the specialised areas of restorative, yin, pre and post natal as well as remedial yoga.
Jade facilitates the teacher trainings and retreats. With a talent for music, she brings song and soul to the classroom. Jade believes that yoga should be adapted for the individual, not the individual adapted to the yoga.
Jade’s warm, humorous and genuinely passionate nature shine through in her teaching.
He is also a practicing physiotherapist and uses his extensive knowledge about the body to teach yoga anatomy. He has a passion for taking this complex subject and making it practical and easy to apply directly into your teaching.
He began teaching yoga while travelling through India and spent extensive time in Dharamsala and Goa teaching students from all around the world. Since moving to Byron Bay he has deepened his knowledge with further training at Byron Yoga Centre and is constantly looking for ways to improve as a teacher.
He teaches meditation and Hindu philosophy on retreats and teacher training at the Centre. His style is light-hearted, humorous, engaging and fun. Along with his wife Bettina, Stephan regularly travels to India to deepen his practice.
The unique combination of Vinyasa Flow and Yin styles that Caitlin primarily teaches creates a dynamic blend of balance, strength, flexibility and endurance. Caitlin’s modality of yoga can be used for fitness, relaxation and as part of the therapeutic process of rehabilitation and recovery.
As a senior teacher at Byron Yoga her passion for diversity and inclusivity in her teaching style bridges language barriers with international students and supports their individual inquiry through the 8 Limbs of Yoga.
Special interests that Caitlin freely shares with her yoga pupils include: pre and post natal yoga, diet, nutrition and meditation.
Judy originally completed her Iyengar training in South Africa, and now teaches a multi-faceted approach, blending the art of asana practice with the science and mechanics of movement.
She teaches with both humour and passion and encourages her students to move beyond their perceived limitations. Judy’s teachings focus on a therapeutic approach to the practice, making yoga safe for all.
Since her first pregnancy in 2002, Emma has specialised in yoga for women, and in 2009 founded a studio in Byron Bay called Red Tent Yoga. Emma has a Certificate IV in Ayurveda, has trained in I-Rest and studied feminine and tantric forms of yoga.
At Byron Yoga Centre, Emma teaches Yoga for Women’s Health, including pregnancy and postnatal yoga, Shakti Yoga and yoga for trauma, eating disorders (Love Your Body) plus Ayurveda. Emma’s teaching style is feminine, flowing and incorporates physical, energetic, mental and emotional layers into the yoga practice. Emma is currently completing a Post Graduate Diploma in Holistic Counselling.
Qualifying as a teacher after nearly 20 years of practice, Becky gained her Level 1 with Yoga Arts and then taught in Bali before returning to Byron in 2014 to undertake a three-year part time training (2,000 hours!) with her primary teacher, Dena Kinsberg.
Becky has studied with many other inspiring teachers in Byron Bay, India, London, Miami and Asia including John Ogilvie, Louisa Sear, Matthew Sweeney, Simon Borg Olivier, John Scott, Jason Crandell plus is grateful to have joined workshops with Pattabhi Jois and Sharath.
Becky did her Level 2 with Byron Yoga Centre and now splits her time between teaching and working on marketing for Byron Yoga Retreat Centre. She has an obvious passion for teaching and passing on the knowledge built up through over 20 years experience.
Her classes are suitable for all levels, Caitlin gives plenty of variations for beginners or those wanting a gentle practice and encourages students to tune into their own bodies and to do what feels right for them.
She has been practicing yoga for many years and teaching since 2014. Caitlin first completed a Hatha Vinyasa teacher training in Bali and has since also undertaken her Byron Yoga Centre Yoga Level 1 plus the Yin Yoga Teacher Training and also Restorative Yoga trainings with both Bliss Baby and Lizzie Lasater.
She is one of the retreat hosts at Byron Yoga Retreat Centre and loves sharing her passion of yoga, Ayurveda and well-being with guests.
In 2010 she began a self-discovery adventure leaving Brazil for Findhorn in Scotland. She then moved to Totnes in the UK for a Masters Degree and learnt more about yoga, meditation and astrology, also travelling to several spiritual and sustainable communities on different continents.
Back in Brazil in 2013 Tabata lived at a Tantric Ashram studying Biopsychology and Tantra. From that moment on her yoga teaching started to develop and she found her personal style of teaching – the combination of her passions: Yoga and Astrology.
Aurora began practising yoga 20 years ago and spent most of her adult life in the UK as a Trainer, Coach and Event Organiser, and it was here that she became aware of the very real nature of burn out.
This led her to delve deeper into yoga and to studying the womb and moon cycles by which the feminine energies are governed. She shares her personal Shakti journey as co-host with Tabata on our Women’s Retreats.
Aurora hopes to inspire her students to align and shine with their true essence, and make space in life for what is important – on and off the mat.
Elise’s background in personal training and holistic wellness took her on her own wellness journey that led her to yoga five years ago. Since then she has travelled to India where she completed her 200 hour Level 1 training in Hatha and Ashtanga, and more recently her Level 1 with Byron Yoga Centre. She also regularly attends short courses and workshops.
Elise is one of the Retreat Hosts at Byron Yoga Retreat Centre and loves being able to connect and share her passion yoga with the guests. She believes that there is some form of yoga for every person, and it is her goal to try and help students find it.
Ross is a retreat host and teacher trainer at Byron Yoga Retreat Centre and loves sharing the joy of yoga and meditation with guests and students.
Ross’s popular restorative yoga classes leave guests feeling deeply relaxed and he also loves to flow, drawing on his background of Ashtanga yoga. His classes focus on connecting students to the breath and the body, in order to calm and focus the mind.
Ross qualified as a yoga teacher in 2013 with Radiantly Alive in Bali and taught in Byron Bay and Bali before joining the Byron Yoga Centre team in 2016. He completed his Byron Yoga Centre Level 1 training in 2018, and in the same year completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Yoga Therapy with world renowned teacher and yoga therapist Dr N. Chandrasekaran.
Ross has a passion for teaching yoga philosophy, and a variety of meditation techniques, including breath awareness, Kirtan meditation and Japa meditation.
Vivian started practicing yoga in Brazil, her home country, in 2013 during a time in her life in which she was searching for clarity. She soon started attending regular classes retreats. Moving into teaching was a natural progression, and Vivian completed the 800 hour Certificate IV in Yoga Teaching with Byron Yoga Centre. She is certified in Restorative Yoga with Lizzie Lasater, Pre Natal Yoga with Bliss Baby Yoga, and Kids Yoga with Rainbow Yoga. She also studied with Vaishnava Vedanta Yoga.
With her warm and giving nature, Vivian supports and encourages her students on their yoga paths. She believes this ancient practice is about building a deep connection to the self through a journey of kindness and compassion.
Gitam has been practising yoga for many years and has been involved with Byron Yoga Centre management since 2006. Since completing her yoga teacher training with Byron Yoga Centre she has been teaching classes regularly. For some years she has attended further trainings and workshops with Donna Farhi and Judith Hanson Lasater and practises slow, restorative explorations of the body and breath.
Gitam was instrumental in the creation of the Byron Yoga Centre kitchen and her skills in providing trainee yoga teachers and retreat participants with cleansing, nourishing and delicious food has led to the publication of her book ‘Gitam’s Garden – Healthy Sattvic Recipes from the Byron Yoga Kitchen’.
Gitam particularly enjoys her involvement with Purna yoga retreats where she teaches guests to cook with ayurvedic spices, using foods that they have picked themselves from the beautiful organic vegetable gardens.
He started his yoga journey at the age of 20, giving up a career as a studio musician to join a bhakti-yoga monastery. He spent 10 years as a Brahmachari monk, immersed in meditation, kirtan, selfless service and studies of the traditional yogic texts. Laxmi then spent 6 years as the head Vedic Priest of a sizable community in Sydney, becoming proficient is chanting Sanskrit, mantra and performing Vedic rituals.
He has completed the 3 year Diploma of Satyananda Yoga Teacher Training and achieved certification from Baron Baptiste’s Power Yoga Institute. He has specialised in the areas of yogic philosophy and yoga traditions with schools including Power Living, Satyananda Yoga Academy, Power Yoga Canberra and, most recently, Byron Yoga Centre.
Jacinta read her first yoga book aged 12 and soon began practicing. She was a Raja Yogini in India from aged 19 to 24 and has since trained in a variety of styles including Sivananda, Iyengar, Prof Bhim Dev and Byron Yoga Centre. Jacinta is a founding partner in the thriving organic herbal dispensary, Mullumbimby Herbals, where she offers Naturopathic and Ayurvedic consultations, massage and specialised Ayurvedic treatments.
Jacinta has a passion for spiritual growth as well as for physical and mental well being. As a mother and grandmother Jacinta keeps a fresh outlook on life and brings this inspiration into her practice.
She has been on the yogic path for most of her life. Yoga helped her recover from injury when she was a member of Canada’s national gymnastics team. It sustained her through a globetrotting marketing career. Arriving in Sydney in 2000 she became a student of Yoga Synergy and Dharma Shala. In 2008 she moved to Byron Bay to complete her 500 hour teacher training with Byron Yoga Centre.
Every class incorporates a strong focus on the breath and elements of mindfulness meditation. Her classes are suitable for beginner to advanced. She has a breadth of experience having a foundation in Ashtanga and Iyengar Yoga. Kirsty finds great joy and gratitude to be able to wake up near the ocean each day and to share the benefits of yoga.
Danielle is passionate about chanting, pranayama and meditation and teaches Anatomy and Physiology on the Yoga Teacher Trainer courses.
Bettina’s classes emphasise the core, pelvic floor and the bandhas. Bettina has been lucky to meet with and learn from several spiritual masters, including B.K.S. Iyengar, Pattabi Jois, T.K.V. Desikachar and Clive Sheridan.
After 14 years service, he left the Military and went straight into yoga teacher training, completing his Level 1 in Bali and then Level Two and the Certificate IV with Byron Yoga Centre. He has also studied with Trauma-Sensitive Australia, Trauma Centre Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and completed the Byron Yoga Centre Remedial Yoga course with Maria Kirsten.
He currently balances his time between family, working with Byron Yoga Centre and running Frontline Yoga which provides Trauma-aware Yoga to the Military, First Responder and Emergency Services community.
With a passion to enhance the delivery of Yoga to Frontline professionals, Chris runs Trauma-Aware Yoga Teacher Trainings. Using Yoga as a medium, he also contributes to the Character and Leadership development of Officer Cadets at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
As a qualified high school teacher Chloe has an intricate understanding of the education system and the practicalities of teaching yoga and mindfulness for teenagers. She has worked in schools in New South Wales and the UK with young people from year 7 to 12, exploring various techniques and practices that are simple and sustainable for both staff and students.
Chloe is currently working in schools in Newcastle NSW in a learning support and wellbeing role. She was previously working in London sharing yoga and wellbeing education in schools. Prior to this she was a trainer at Byron Yoga Centre for several years.
He is passionate about sharing the knowledge he has learnt over many years. Having completed his first Level 1 training in India in 2017 Dan has since undertaken his Level 2 with Byron Yoga Centre plus completed an Acro Yoga teacher training in 2018. He loves seeing people grasp new concepts and become confident with new skills. This in-turn has helped deepen his love these practices.
Dan has a profound interest in Eastern philosophies and has studied many different modalities including Reiki, studying Tai Chi at a Chinese Shaolin temple, learning about Buddhism and meditation while living in a Buddhist monastery, and travelling across India to study different forms of Yoga.
She has been teaching for three years and has completed both her Level 1 and Level 2 with Byron Yoga Centre. Karolina has also studied Prenatal Yoga with Bliss Baby, Ayurvedic Yoga with specialist Bred Hey at The Practice in Bali and she was selected to participate in a Mentorship Program with Joey Myers in Melbourne.
Karolina views yoga as an opportunity for students to deepen thier knowledge of the body and the mind. Each class offers an exploration of pranayama, meditation, asana and functional movement through innovative and thoughtful sequences. She believes in providing a space for her students to find stillness in their minds and freedom in their bodies.
She has been teaching for over 15 years since graduating as a yoga teacher in 2003 from the University of Yoga in Santa Catarina in Brazil. Then in 2014 Mariana completed her Certificate IV in Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultancy and has since undertaken prenatal and postnatal trainings with Bliss Baby Yoga, a Level 2 training with Radiantly Alive in Bali and a Level I training with Byron Yoga Centre.
Mariana is a mother of two boys. This ‘off the mat’ learning, being a mother, has transformed her teaching, helping her to feel more mature and grounded
As a qualified Physiotherapist, Masseuse and Fitness instructor, she brings a wealth of background knowledge to her yoga teaching. After practicing for a few years in her home country, Germany, she decided to join the Certificate IV in teaching Yoga with the Byron Yoga Centre and completed this in 2018.
Lena’s desire is to ensure that her students observe what is happening in their bodies and that they adjust poses to their own needs. She guides students to get the most out of every experience, in class as well as outside the Yoga room.
Mel has been practicing yoga for over 10 years and has completed both her Byron Yoga Centre Level 1 and a Tantric Hatha yoga training.
Mel’s classes are a combination of asana (postures), pranayama (breathing techniques) and meditation. She guides students to use the asana to connect with the breath, pranayama to connect with the mind and meditation to connect to that which lies beyond the mind.
Alli has undertaken her Certificate IV in Yoga Teaching with Byron Yoga Centre and is certified with Judith Hanson Lasater as a Relax & Renew ® Restorative Yoga teacher. Alli has developed a chair yoga program specifically for teaching elders and has run workshops in meditation and restorative yoga.
She has also has trained with AntiGravity®Yoga and Rainbow Kids Yoga. Alli has attended workshops with Leslie Kaminoff, Nicky Knoff, Eleanor Brower, Glenn Ceresoli, Tony Rothberg, Michael Nazar, Maria Kirsten, Jen Crecsenzo, and John Ogilvie.
Alli’s intention is to make yoga accessible to everyone. She likes to adapt her teaching in response to the students, so they can discover their own individual practice.
Teaching since 2013, Nat draws on more than 800 hours of yoga teacher training. She has studied with Byron Yoga Centre plus undertaken specialist training in Yin Yoga, Remedial Yoga and the Yoga of Sound. You can find Nat facilitating her heart out for Byron Yoga Centre’s Certificate IV course in Melbourne.
Having practiced yoga in her teens, when her mum became her first yoga teacher and inspiration, Nat drifted away from the practice in her 20’s. She found yoga again in her 30s and realised it to be a profound tool to heal from years of addiction, anxiety and self neglect. Now in her 40’s and raising a young man, Nat discovers new aspects of yoga practice in every facet of life on and off the mat.
She began practising yoga in 2010 and has been teaching since 2016 following her Level 1 and Level 2 500 Hour RYT with Byron Yoga Centre. Ali continues to study and has completed additional certificates with Power and Posture, Rainbow Yoga and Maria Kirsten.
Ali thoroughly enjoys supporting and guiding students through their trainings with Byron Yoga Centre and meeting many amazing people from all parts of the world. She is eternally grateful for everything Yoga has provided to her life through her body, mind and relationships.
A passionate student of yoga, Lizette has further studied and practiced as a Bowen Therapist and Kinesiologist to deepen her understanding of the bodies – physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and energetic. Lizette weaves her learnings into her yoga facilitation, and her sessions with the teacher trainees in Melbourne.
Lizette feels that her greatest teachers are in her relationships with her two children, partners, friends, with many yoga and spiritual teachers, herself, and of course with her students. She encourages a wholehearted approach to yoga practice, and shares her passion for yoga with joy, care and humility.