Our Team
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Our amazing teachers are the heart of our studio and are experts in their own styles, offering richness and diversity to our timetable.
They share in common a heart-felt approach that provides a meditative and safe space of rest, integration and self-connection.
See our timetable for our teachers upcoming classes and events
Kate Morris
Ava Irani
Studio Manager
Started practicing:1992 when it was offered as an elective in year 12.
Started teaching: Started teaching Scuba Diving in 2000... but if you mean Yoga... maybe this will be the year?!
Joined Spanda: June 2021, I think.
Highlighted trainings: 2000 - PADI Scuba Diving Instructor; 2008 - YIC (Yoga Instructor Course) at SVYASA: Vivekananda Yoga Ashram, India; 2009 - Advance Diploma in Ayurveda from AIHM; 2010 - Vipassana meditation 10 day Silent Retreat; 2016 - YYT500hrs - 8 Limbs.
Favorite yoga posture: Any balancing posture or Trikonasana (Triangle pose) with closed eyes. These postures challenge me with the required strength, focus and awareness of the subtle.
Favorite poet: Cecile Mary Bellamy (my Grandma) who recently passed away at 96. She was an avid writer and lover of poetry.
My pets:Tilly (nearly 5yrs old) Karratha camp dog special (aka rescue mix, breed undetermined). Geoffrey recently passed away at 15.5 years old.
The biggest gift our yoga practice affords us is... Self knowledge and opportunity to experience who we truly are, beyond the physical.
The highlight of my yoga teaching career was when... Joining Spanda as Manager.
The highlight of my yoga practice is... Discovering Ava and her functional flow method - the freedom of free flow and encouragement of introspection and intuitive movement is such a gift.
My regular/daily yoga practice benefits me through... Presence. Connecting to the miracle and joy of life!
Director
Started practicing: 2008
Started teaching: 2011
Joined Spanda: 2016
Favorite yoga posture: Warrior ~ I love the strength, stillness, focus and options!
Favorite poet: Hafiz~ beautiful, mystical and knows how to make me cry
My pets: Honey the Mastiff who you may have met at the studio
Highlighted Trainings:
Agama 500hr YTT (2011)
Hridaya 500hr YTT (2013)
Blue Throat Yoga “Entering the Heart of Shiva” (2018)
The biggest gift our yoga practice affords us is... An opportunity to listen inward.
The highlight of my yoga teaching career is... Running Silent Retreats and having created something that is accessible, transformative and life-changing.
The highlight of my yoga practice is... Being in the effortlessness and joy of community. It’s the secret gem of yoga not often alluded to, we get to create a field together, and get better at creating safe, connected fields.
Bianca MacLachlan
Anaid Jiménez
Functional Spirituality Manager
Started practicing: 2006
Started teaching: 2015
Joined Spanda: as a student in December 2019
Favorite yoga posture: Pigeon & tree pose
Favorite poets: Rumi & Adyashanti
My pets: Ikal (black cat) who passed away not long ago, the house plants and Chai (beautiful cat who is living the high life at my parent's house in Mexico)
Highlighted Trainings:
BHSc Western Herbal Medicine (2013), Reiki (2004), NARM informed (2021), 300h Kundalini yoga (2006), 200h Functional Flow at Spanda (2020)
The biggest gift our yoga practice affords us is… To pause, breathe and connect to our body whilst exploring the deeper layers of our being.
The highlight of my yoga teaching career is… When I started teaching at Spanda and the Yin & Cacao ceremonies with Ava.
The highlight of my yoga practice is… The sweet moment of stillness during shavasanah/ meditation.
My regular/daily yoga practice benefits me by… Giving me the space to slow down, peel off the layers of tension and connect to my body and heart.
Started practicing: 2000
Started teaching: November 2014
Joined Spanda: January 2020
Favorite yoga posture: Trikonasana (triangle pose), as well as fun arm balances.
Highlighted trainings: 200hr YTT, Bali, 2014. Mindfulness Meditation and Coaching, Brisbane, 2015. 300hr YTT, India, 2016. 50hr Yin Yoga Training, Spanda, 2020. 25hr Reboot Teacher's Training, Perth, 2021.
Favorite quote:"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world." ~Buddha
My pets: A highly opinionated and sassy Puggle (Beagle x Pug) named Indi.
The biggest gift our yoga practice affords us is... self-awareness. Who we are, how we think, why we think that way, what we can shift, how we present ourselves to others, and our impact on the world.
The highlight of my yoga teaching career was when... Every day I teach is a highlight, especially the days when a student tells me a story of how their practice has improved, or something that's shifted for them, because of a class I taught - that's the best feeling in the world.
The highlight of my yoga practice is... the moments of stillness, in both mind and body, where time ceases to exist.
My regular/daily yoga practice benefits me through... the connection and awareness to my body and physical health it imparts, along with the self-awareness and calm it continually provides. It makes me a better human being in every aspect - physically, emotionally, mentally, intellectually, and spiritually, and it's given me self-confidence that I didn't have growing up.
Eve Gindein
Harmony Chynoweth
Started practicing: September 2010
Started teaching: May 2016
Joined Spanda: 2022 June
Favorite yoga posture: Wide legged forward fold
Favorite quote: It's not really a quote or poem but it's a passage from Ursula Le Guin called ' Being Taken for Granite'.
My pets: I have a kelpie x border collie adopted dog called Olive who has anxiety and OCD. She's 7 and she's so pretty that everyone stops me in the street to tell me how pretty she is and I wholeheartedly agree.
Highlighted Trainings: Yogaworx 500hr Advanced Vinyasa and Subtle Body training, Les Leventhal Advanced Vinyasa Training, Yoga and Modern Psychology training at the School for Yoga Psychology, Learn to Meditate course with Kylie Pearsallm Vital Beat Yoga's Vedic Philosophy and Sanskrit workshops
The biggest gift our yoga practice affords us is... Respite
The highlight of my yoga teaching career was when... Every single day I get to teach is the highlight of my career
The highlight of my yoga practice is... the moment of stillness and inner harmony I find in each posture
My regular/daily yoga practice benefits me by... allowing me to feel deeply.
Started practicing: 2019
Started teaching: Feb 2020
Joined Spanda: as a student in 2020 and began teaching at spanda in April 2021
Highlighted trainings:
I loved my yoga teacher training at Santosha Yoga Institute in Nusa Lembongan
and Yin Yoga training at The Yoga Vine the most :)
Favorite yoga asana/posture: I love teaching yin!!! I also love practicing yin and very much enjoy a longer meditation where i can completely melt into relaxation.
Favorite quote:
"The truth is you are already what you are seeking." Adiyashanti
My pets: No pets but have a caravan named Ruby hehe
The biggest gift our yoga practice affords us is... freedom from our minds
The highlight of my yoga teaching career was when... my first ever class was very special but connecting with people every class is such a privledge
The highlight of my yoga practice is... the connection and appreciation of my body
My regular/daily yoga practice benefits me by... calming my busy mind and connecting me back to my truest self.
Heather Walls
Laura Cargill
Started practicing: 1996
Started teaching: 2001
Joined Spanda: as a student 2018
Favorite yoga posture: Matsyasana - because it feels so good to reset the pituitary gland, third eye energy. Also because it was Queen Cleopatras favourite and is depicted on the tomb walls.
Favorite quote: You are what you eat! (My Nana)
My pets: Bobby, my special boi cat, Tabitha and Beau my brown cats, 6 x bobtail lizards, Ranger, Rachael, Marble, Lula and the twins Daisy and Duke. Pearl the wheero too.
Highlighted Trainings: Hatha Teacher Training 2000 Gita International, Myofascial Release with Jo Phee, Yin TT with Jo Phee
The biggest gift our yoga practice affords us is... the ability to recreate, heal and manage our physical selves anywhere anytime
The highlight of my yoga teaching career is... teaching children, then teens that I met in utero during prenatal yoga. Coming full circle.
Noteable moment. A group of Vietnam Veterans cried when I left to move interstate, they were so humbling, I loved them dearly
The highlight of my yoga practice is... having skills and tools to keep me fit well and capable at 55.
My regular/daily yoga practice benefits me by... checking in with myself daily, what does my body, mind need today? Setting intentions for myself, remaining accountable to me
Started practicing: October 2002
Started teaching: August 2015
Joined Spanda: as a student July 2020 and teaching at Spanda February 2021
Favorite yoga posture: Prasarita Padottanasana (Standing Wide Leg Forward Bend) Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon), Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow), Chair Shoulder stand
Favorite poet: It is a song but also poetry, Villanelle For Our Times by Leonard Cohen
My pets: The birds who come to visit and take a bath in our little courtyard!
Highlighted Trainings: Diploma of Fine Art Claremont School of Art, Diploma of Community Welfare Durack Inst. of Technology, 750 hr Hatha Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training at Yoga Space, Jon Kabat Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.
The biggest gift our yoga practice affords us is… its ability to bring balance into our lives and help us find comfort from within
The highlight of my yoga teaching career is... witnessing the positive impact Yoga has in peoples lives when they begin to commit to a regular practice. It makes me happy because I know how much it has enhanced my wellbeing.
The highlight of my yoga practice is... feeling the mental clarity and calm that arises throughout the day after an early morning Yoga practice
My regular practice is helping me in the present in... many ways (physically and mentally) but also importantly, giving me tools to take into my older years as the body can begin to present challenges. By continuing to take my body through a range of movement I am maintaining and assisting the continuation of spinal health, bone density and musculature strength. I also love the fact that Yoga is so much more than Yoga postures. If you are sick or incapacitated your breath is still available to you as an instrument to facilitate calm, contentment and peace of mind.
Nea Jackson
Marta Lutz
Started practicing: 2014
Started teaching: 2016
Joined Spanda: August 2020
Favorite yoga posture: Eka Pada Galavasana (flying Pigeon)
Favorite poet: "Heal yourself" by mexican poet and healer Maria Sabrina.
Highlighted Trainings:
300hrs- Yin/restorative, Bhakti, Vision quest- Yandara institute
200hrs- Yoga teacher training- Yandara institute
30hrs- Yin training- Spanda school
The biggest gift our yoga practice affords us is… Connection to our bodies and listening deeply.
The highlight of my yoga teaching career is… I was asked to assist in Yoga Teacher Trainings in various locations around the world- Mexico, Hawaii & Bali.
The highlight of my yoga practice is...Feeling a sense of peace and calm.
My regular/daily yoga practice benefits me by...Connecting inward, feeling my body & witnessing my thought processes.
Started practicing: 2009
Started teaching: 2019
Joined Spanda: August 2021
Favorite yoga posture: Downward Facing Dog and Upward Facing Dog
Favorite poet: Cloe Wade and Rupi Kaur
My pets: Greyhound Fin
Highlighted Trainings:
200hr YTT with Jolie Manza from Yoga Koh (Bali and Sydney), 50hr Super Sequencing YTT with Noelle Connolly from Body Mind Life (Sydney), 20hr Restorative Yoga Immersion YTT with Emmie Rae from Daily Rest (Blue Mountains), 30hr Yin and Meditation YTT with Ava
The biggest gift our yoga practice affords us is… union of body and mind, union of heart and soul, union of ease and effort, union of yin and yang!
The highlight of my yoga teaching career is... its everytime I teach... holding safe space for others to be exactly who they are, exchanging energy, sharing love and compassion.
The highlight of my yoga practice is... awareness, being able to step away from my mind and holding the scorpion pose for 3 seconds, haha!
My regular/daily yoga practice benefits me by/through... giving me the opportunity to find my true self, reminding me to listen to my heart and slow down, teaching me to be humble, practise and let go...
Shanan Hanutsaha
Started practicing: 1999
Started teaching: early 2020
Joined Spanda: around 2017 I think, not sure. First time I attended Spanda was when the studio was located above the Blinco cafe(Fibonacci centre).
Highlighted Trainings: Spanda Silent Retreats and SpandaTeacher's tranings
Favorite yoga posture: It really depends on the day, it is ever changing.
Favorite quote/poem: I really don't have a favourite, the answer is when the words and the meaning, connect, open, softens my heart.
My pets: My dog, Belle and 3 free roam curious chickens.
The biggest gift our yoga practice offers us is... space and time to rest inward, meditate
The highlight of my yoga teaching career was when... I feel I have helped, provided space for Yogis to explore their mind, body, and to feel a little more centered, restful after the practice.
The highlight of my yoga practice is... Ohh, I'm not sure, maybe the part that yoga and meditation practice had helped me go through ups and downs in life in a graceful way, with acceptance.
My regular/daily yoga practice benefits me by... helping me recharged, refreshed, centered. And of course, feel good from inside and out, physically and mentally.