Urban Soul Raw Yoga

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.

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.

For over a decade Marnie has been performing as a professional contemporary dancer with a dedicated yoga practice as her main accompaniment. She believes yoga is similar to dance in its syncing of breath, movement and creative flow. Yoga has been her medicine, helping her maintain a healthy lifestyle and sustain a long career.

Marnie is passionate about teaching and practicing a mindful sequential flow with a strong focus on alignment and full body awareness.

What Marnie loves about yoga is how your experience is different everyday. She loves that it encourages acceptance and humility by challenging you to observe and move your body in the present moment without judgement.

Marnie enjoys teaching because she is inspired by an individual’s journey and progression in their practice, and its potential to influence their life off the mat. She enjoys a space that brings people together to share breath, movement and positivity.

Initially introduced to yoga by my his wife in 2012, Tam has since been practicing on a regular basis and enjoys the self-awareness that it cultivates both on and off the mat. Yoga is a transformational journey that occurs on a daily basis. 

Tam decided to become a teacher to deepen his own passion for yoga and to share the benefits that it has to offer through inspiring and guiding others. His objective for every class is to teach safely whilst keeping students aware and engaged with their body, breath, and mind. 

"I'm aware that everybody is different and cater as much as I can to teach to the individual as well as the whole class". 

Students can expect strong, smooth, & well balanced classes which incorporate dynamic, playful, & purposeful sequences.

Ana has been a yoga teacher for the past 7 years and yoga practitioner for the last 10 years. She started her yoga journey in an Iyengar School where she learned about alignment and how yoga can be adapted for everyone regardless of age, gender or physical condition. After that she did her teacher training in Hatha-Vinyasa and she learned more about the energetic part of yoga, about connecting movement and breath and how yoga can also be meditation.

In 2018 she spent a few months living in an ashram in India under the guidelines of a Guru. There she discovered traditional Hatha Yoga, learnt about Yoga philosophy, history, breathing techniques and ayurveda among many other things.

“What I teach today is a mixture of everything that I have learnt in the past 10 years from my teachers, from my own practice and from my students”

Come to experience how yoga can be much more than fitness. Benefit from an ancient tradition that has been passing from masters to students for thousands of years to get to you today.

Emily's journey with yoga began as a way to recover from a number of sports injuries. Always an active person, she fell in love with yoga not only for the physical benefits but also for its ability to heal and transform. Emily loves how yoga has enabled her to gained a deeper connection and respect for her body through the physical practice, and helped her move past the resistances that life throws up. She truly believes that our bodies have amazing ways of healing themselves - we just have to listen. Emily's classes bring an alignment focus to the flow, encouraging students to strengthen their practice and open their bodies without injury and teaches students how yoga can benefit both on the mat and in their daily lives. For newer or more experienced students alike she works to make her classes both accessible and challenging and she ensures you'll leave feeling nurtured, restored and rejuvenated.

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.

Shona's first experience of Feldenkrais left a powerful impression on her. Moving in ways she had never imagined before was thoroughly engaging and afterwards she felt tall, free and dynamic. Working as a massage therapist since 2010, Shona started her Feldenkrais practitioner training in 2014 and has been teaching Awareness Through Movement since 2016.

Life lessons from Feldenkrais:

- the importance of rest and listening to your body

- looking for the simplest way - not making things harder than they need to be!

- you don't have to be good at something the first time you try it!

Shona loves enabling people to experience themselves in a whole new way - feeling lighter and freer than they imagined was possible.

Kiera fell in love with yoga from the very first class she attended in 2010. A former dancer, she has always loved movement as a form of expression, and loves the deeper understanding and mindfulness that yoga brings. As a child and teen who suffered from anxiety and panic attacks, Kiera is passionate about the many benefits of yoga and meditation to calm the mind and about helping people cope with stress and anxiety through the practice.

She took the leap into teacher training in 2017, embarking on a 5 month journey to train for her 200 hour certificate at Dancing Warrior Yoga, and is continuing to train towards for her 150 hours advanced teacher certificate throughout 2018. Kiera is a dynamic and empowering yoga teacher, leading flowing hatha vinyasa classes with a focus on mindfulness and connection to the self.

Lena is a yoga teacher (Level II / RYT 500 hours), qualified in Australia and Canada. She has been teaching yoga since 2010, specializing in the dynamic and slow flow in the hatha tradition. Her classes emphasize the correct anatomy of poses, building somatic intelligence and awareness through deliberate movement and breath-work, and the depth of experience of the poses at the muscular, skeletal and organ levels.

Lena first encountered yoga during her overseas doctoral studies in philosophy, and while at first her motivation for the practice was solely to increase bodily fitness and mobility, she has since explored the connections between yoga’s holistic ethos of somatic centeredness and her theoretical work in philosophy, phenomenology and psychoanalysis. She strongly believes that yoga is for everyone, regardless of their level of physical fitness and ability, and she seeks to promote an attitude of self-awareness and empathy among her students, as well as the sheer enjoyment that comes from our ability to move—and to be still.

Andrew is a certified 200 hour yoga teacher in Vinyasa. He has also completed an additional 150 hours in yoga alignment and assists, meditation and yoga philosophy.

Andrew first discovered yoga in Singapore. Yoga was an incredible counter balance to his training in Muay Thai and to offset the stresses of corporate life. Andrew enrolled in yoga teacher training in Sydney to deepen his practice and to be able to share the benefits of yoga with others. His classes emphasise a connection with breathing above all. He is passionate about assisting and deepening the practice of his students with correct alignment and physical assists.

Andrew teaches part-time and assists once a week in large, advanced classes. His favourite pose is Reclined Pigeon and he can usually be found with his mat close to an open window. Students can expect chilled classes with challenging options, peppered with traditional theming and a sense of humour.

Victoria teaches a steady Hatha flow, bringing balance and harmony to the body by connecting movement back to breath. A typical class requires students to hold each yoga posture for longer, to engage with their bodies on a deeper energetic level.

Victoria first discovered the benefits of yoga whilst leading a very busy life in New York City 10+ years ago. Her yoga journey has since taken her to many parts of the world, including India, Spain, Canada and Hawaii, where she has taken part in retreats and workshops. She has immersed herself into various styles of yoga, including Bikram, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Kundalini and Naam.

It was here in Australia that Victoria formalised her yoga training and qualified for her 200-hour teacher training certificate in July 2017.

Victoria brings a beautiful warm energy to each of her classes, ensuring all her students feel welcome and are comfortable within their practice.

"I first began to practice yoga in 2015, as part of a fitness program. I had previously been ill and overweight for a number of years. While I was off to a slow start, I thoroughly enjoyed the way this practice felt in my body. A few months in I began to recognise the impact it had begun to have on my mind too. I was no longer anxious! I felt calmer and more content.

After this realisation I was hungry to find out more about the history and philosophy behind this beautiful and ancient system. I knew at the end of my studies I couldn't wait to teach and share what I had learnt!

I know that attending yoga classes can be intimidating for many but I strive to ensure students feel welcome and comfortable. I give variations for poses so that everyone is being challenged at their own level. My classes are very breath focused in order to cultivate a stronger connection between the mind and body."

Tara's intention for teaching is always clear and comes from a place of complete sincerity. She uses all of her available energy to guide her students on their path of self discovery. She brings together the importance of movement, meditation and breath and draw parallels between the yoga world and methods she has learnt through extensive therapy. She combines the skills she has learnt through her path of wellness with the ancient teaching of the east.

Her movement knowledge has been built up over ten years with her dedicated martial arts training.  With the combination of all of these worlds of thought, she hopes to offer her community a tool kit to guide them through their ongoing personal exploration.

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 qualified for her 200 hour certificate in June 2018 and is currently training for her advanced certification.

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.

Yoga has been an influential part of my life both on and off the mat since 2009. Teaching allows me to share my passion of mind body connection, helping set up space in others lives to reconnect, nourish and restore.

Influenced by a variety of modern Vinyasa forms, I lead classes with emphasis on alignment, strength and breath.

I encourage students to listen to their body and let that guide them through the practice, to take each movement mindfully and surrender to the stillness. This allows each individual to tune into their true teacher which is inside themselves.

Megan came to yoga nearly 20 years ago through a community class. She truly believes yoga is for everyone and designs classes that remind students that the ‘full expression’ of a pose is the version of the pose that is safe, and works for one’s own body. Megan is a professor and conducts research on war, with the goal of better understanding it in order to reduce and prevent it. She sees her yoga as an extension of this deep desire to contribute- in whatever small way possible- to peace. Megan’s classes focus on calming the mind, aligning breath and movement, and finding joy on the mat.

Frank became the owner of Urban Soul Raw 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.