Urban Soul Raw Yoga

ADAPTIVE, SUSTAINABLE, DIFFERENT

Melanie is a teacher (and student) of yoga with an emphasis on exploring balance for the body and mind.

With 20 years of industry experience, including 9 years teaching, Melanie facilitates Flow, Slow Flow and Yin classes, as well as specialty workshops, retreats and teacher training. Frustrated with sports injuries, Melanie found balance and a sense of putting her body back together with yoga. Melanie is inspired by a variety of styles and teachers including Baron Baptiste, Duncan Peak, Jill Mille and Ido Portal and is working towards 500 hours of teacher training. She creates grounded, challenging and accessible classes, providing the opportunity to get out of your head, into your body and experience the power of movement and breath awareness.

POWER-PROVOCATION-PLAY

From a history as a teacher of sciences, to a journalist writing about the Mafia in the heated Neapolitan metropolis, to a multi-disciplinary artist fiddling with print and the web, Rua has changed lives a few times over. The only thing that​ has been​stick​ing​​ throughout​is her passion for learning​,​and sharing mindful experiences rather than just knowledge - and that’s how today she is a dedicated meditation facilitator, a stretch therapist and a multi-style yoga instructor.

​She is striving​ to teach - or perhaps even better, facilitate yoga, and movement - the way​ she would have always wanted to be taught. ​Her long-term goal is to gather around ​her a new generation of practitioners who think of yoga​​and all its​ ​offshoots critically, not superstitiously, who aspire to work healthily and live mindfully; to offer a resource for those who want to approach it from a different angle; to offer a space for those who have tried and failed to get into it many times before, to try once more.

EXPANSIVE, CURIOUS, KIND

Hi my name is Jenna, my approach with teaching asana is the same approach I take with my health & wellness clients; respecting bio-individuality while engaging in functional movement that supports us day to day.

My 14 year love affair with yoga began when I was able to develop a new relationship with my mind & body with less judgment of the outcome. As my curiosity grew so did my desire to learn all aspects of the ancient yoga system such as pranayama, meditation & Ayurveda. Seeing how it can be used in modern times has now become my passion and joy to share with others. With 1200 hours of teacher trainings under my belt I still am a student and students are my teachers.

Come and join me for a breath centered practice that explores your own body’s movement and encourages safety, awareness and wellbeing.

MINDFUL, CHALLENGING, CREATIVE

Andrew began his yoga teacher training in Sydney, Australia and has since completed over 500 hours of accredited training, including advanced sequencing, alignment and assists, meditation and yoga philosophy. Andrew sat his first Vipassana in 2020.

Andrew first discovered yoga at a gym in London and was bored to death. It was not until later in life that he came back to yoga as a way to 'destress' but found the practice offered so much more and the postures were only the start. Physically, it was an incredible counter balance to his martial arts practice but it was the mental challenge that drew him to deepen his practice. He aims to share these learnings and the benefits of the practice with his students. Andrew teaches part-time and assists his teachers in large, advanced classes.

Andrew's classes are challenging but emphasise patience, smooth and fluid movement with a connection to breath, above all. Students can expect a mindful practice with traditional yoga themes but most importantly, a sense of humour.

UPLIFTING, MINDFUL, CREATIVE

Melanie first discovered the healing powers of yoga in 2012 while living in Jakarta, Indonesia. Trying to find an escape from the chaos of a big city, she stumbled across her first yoga class in the tranquil home of her first yoga teacher, Dini Maharani. Melanie discovered a positive way to move her body and calm her mind. From then on she was hooked, and she brought her yoga practice back home to Sydney.

Melanie loves the multi-dimensional aspects of yoga and the way it can heal, restore and re-energise - both mentally and physically. She is excited to share her love and passion for yoga with others.

FLUID, INTUITIVE, CENTRED

Yoga has been apart of Leah’s life for over 10 years.  It’s been her saving grace while navigating the often challenging and rejection filled life of an actor!

As Leah’s passion for the practice grew, she was drawn to take a 200hr teacher training in India and during this time she discovered a love and a calling for teaching.

With a deep respect for the tradition of yoga, Leah aims to fuse her classes with a balance of traditional and modern practices to encourage strength and flexibility not just in the body but also in the mind.  

Leah seeks to help others thrive and connect to the true essence of who they are through the practice of yoga.

CONTEMPLATIVE, MODERN, FLOWING

What I love about yoga is its versatility. Yoga is at once a tool and a skill; an exercise and a chill pill; a hobby and a way of life.

Like so many, I came to yoga for physical exercise but stayed for the extra-physical teachings. After practising yoga from the age of fourteen, I finally found the courage to teach and enrolled in a Teacher Training program. For a long time I thought that in order to be ready to teach yoga I had to be able to do the splits or stand on my head or do something picture-worthy. That was to miss the point entirely. Teaching yoga has taken me back to the roots of yoga, to the understanding that it is not just about kicking out some beautiful shapes but about cultivating stillness through movement, bringing a softness to it that helps us to live more gently. That said, I do like a good Chaturanga!

For me, yoga isn't just about what we do on the mat, but about how we use Asana, our physical practice, as a metaphor to inform how we live our lives.

ADAPTABLE, ENCOURAGING, FUN

My yoga journey began over 6 years ago, while working in a stressful, corporate environment, as a way to counteract, the many hours of sitting at a desk.

After experiencing the wholistic nature of the yoga practice, and discovering the powerful mind, body and breath connection. I felt a need to share the impact of yoga and meditation with others.

I love creating a space for people who never thought yoga was for them. I want students to feel supported and inspired, enabling them to reach their full potential both on and off the mat.

I aim for my classes to be adaptable, encouraging and fun, with creative and intelligent sequences, linking conscious breath and movement.

GROUNDING, CALMING, MINDFUL

Minnie has been a lover of yoga ever since she can remember. Growing up with a yoga teacher mother, the yogic philosophy and lifestyle has been instilled in her from a young age. She has been practicing yoga since the age of 15 and in 2018 joined Urban Soul as a student. It was here that her passion and dedication to yoga really grew. She is trained in Purna yoga which is a blend of Hatha and Iyengar. This style was developed in Byron Bay where she received her 200h certification.

It is an honour for her to be able to share her love of yoga and all that it brings to the community of Urban Soul. Her style of teaching is relaxed and gentle with a strong focus on Ahimsa (self-care) in all classes.

FLOWING JOYFUL AWARE

Bridget discovered Hatha yoga when she was growing up in Adelaide and practised on and off before making yoga a regular part of her life 10 years ago. A lover of the ocean, Bridget believes yoga is a lot like surfing: it offers stillness, a chance to quieten the mind and strengthen and condition the body. As she has deepened her practice, Bridget has watched in awe as the process of ‘letting go’ on the mat has begun to transpire in her everyday life. She completed her 200-hour teaching training with Yoga Koh in 2019 under Jolie Manza and 50-hour super sequencing course with Body Mind Life in 2020 with Noelle Connolly. When she isn’t on the mat or surfing, Bridget works as an editor and arts journalist.

SAFE, COMPASSIONATE, FUN

Frank became the owner of Urban Soul  in January 2017 after an extensive career as an addictions counsellor. 

Frank is a job whisperer in many communities throughout Australia. Having developed health issues due to unhealthy eating and an inactive lifestyle, Frank found a dramatic new direction and immersed himself in the world of yoga, meditation and a plant based diet. Frank now lives pain free and looks forward to everyday. Frank’s vision for Urban Soul is to provide a holistic and relaxed wellness space that supports the community through the practice of yoga and associated healthy concepts. Frank is always up for a friendly chat at the beginning or end of class and loves community ideas and feedback on the studio.