About

Andrea began practising yoga and meditation at a mountain monastery while living and working in Japan in 1998. This was the spark that ignited the flame. She continued her practice while living self-sufficiently on a remote Fijian island for five years.

These experiences taught her to really value her yoga practice and provided the catalyst for her training. She came to Australia and trained intensively with various teachers and in different styles including John Olgive at Byron Yoga, 2010-2012 where she became a certified teacher. From 2012-2018 she worked with Sue-ellen Kohler at Black Lotus Yoga Studios, Sydney. For the past fifteen years Andrea has been training with Peter Thomson, Senior Iyengar YogaTeacher. She is deeply grateful to Peter for teaching her how to practice.

Andrea is a dedicated practitioner, she is committed to sharing her understanding of the practice with her students, helping them to experience its transformative benefits.

Yoga is for everyBODY regardless of age, gender, fitness level, flexibility, or any injury or health condition. What’s important is how you practice and understanding energetic balance and how to adapt your practice to suit your individual needs.

The Yoga practice is understood through the felt sensation in the body where the body’s weight or load is positioned to activate the muscular tissue in contact with the external (such as the mat or equipment). This forms a supportive platform or a resistance from which extension can be generated from. Unlike a stretch which is external, extension is internal engaging the inner body and training the nervous system. It requires the mind to be engaged, rather than the thinking brain.

Extension accelerates through the body, flushing energy throughout the system and it creates a feeling of lightness, buoyancy, vitality and spaciousness. Extension leads to the greatest resistance in the body, reaching the most congested or tight areas. This process reduces tension, creating length in the muscular tissue, space in the joints and promoting an even flow of energy throughout the system.

Props/equipment such as blankets, belts, bolsters, blocks, chair, rope wall are used to support the body’s weight to facilitate extension/energetic balance.

  • Yoga is a body maintenance program– it enables tight muscles to lengthen and become more flexible and therefore stronger and less prone to injury. Space is created in the joints improving range of motion and mobility. Flexibility and strength in the body promotes flexibility and strength in the mind and that has a flow on effect in our lives.

  • The postures (asanas) align our bones and joints which helps to improve posture and balance with less work of the muscles, like a well-oiled machine.

    Good alignment improves circulation and bone density due to its weight bearing capacity and promotes an even flow of energy through the body.

  • The muscular system contains and directs energy through the skeletal and nervous system. This has a calming and soothing effect on the nerves, it trains the nervous system. People comment they sleep better after practising yoga and as practice continues the ability to relax can improve considerably.

  • Longer timing in the asanas can build endurance and the ability to concentrate for longer periods. Shorter timing develops fluidity and responsiveness, both have their role to play in the overall balance of the system.

  • Yoga postures (asanas) are classified into groups which have different effects on the body and mind. Sequences are tailored to suit individual circumstances and take into account menstruation, injuries, pregnancy, health conditions as well as external considerations - time of the day, climate and season.

Yoga is a comprehensive body maintenance program- and that’s just the beginning! It provides a valuable skill set for life offering a holistic approach to physical, mental and emotional well-being, all in one practice.