Meet our team

Meet our instructors
 

Aeven Kelly

Kia Ora. My name is Aeven and I live and teach yoga in paradise in Golden Bay and Nelson. I am a yogaprenuer, manifestor and facilitator and visionary for Golden Flow Yoga retreats, workshops, events and yoga teacher training and I look forward to sharing some time and space with you.

In 1999, following my career as a certified personal trainer, I discovered yoga and appreciated the holistic nature of incorporating mind, breath and spirit into the physical aspect of exercise. I travelled the world for more than a decade, practicing and learning as many varied yoga practices and lineages as possible, and strove to embody the universal yogic principles. I have immersed myself in many workshops and intensives in Iyengar, Ashtanga, Yin, Bikram, Satyananda, Anusara, Vinyasa Flow and other modalities. In 2010, I completed my level 1 Teacher Training with Yandara Yoga Institute, and have been actively teaching since. In May 2015 I completed my 300hr certification with the Byron Yoga Center in New South Wales.

In the recent years my yoga has transformed off of my yoga mat and into each moment of my life, guided by the yoga principles of Patanajli’s eightfold path.

I have now led thirteen, 200hr yoga teacher trainings, and certified over 250 students as yoga instructors! YTTs are the most profound experiences in which I have the honour of sharing and I invite you to join us for the time of your life!

Swami Karma Karuna

Swami Karma Karuna, founding member and director of Anahata Yoga Retreat, NZ, is an engaging, intuitive yoga teacher with more than 25 years of training and experience in a range or areas such as therapeutic applications of yoga, Yoga Nidra relaxation, prana, chakras, women's health and applications of yoga into daily life.

Her wide range of teaching spans varying settings and cultures, including therapeutic and social areas, yoga teacher training’s, guiding spiritual sadhana retreats and working one to one addressing individual needs. She spends several months each year in India and travelling internationally, dedicated to imparting simple and powerful techniques for transformation.

Swami Karma Karuna has released several guided practice CDs and tracks including Hatha Yoga classes, Yoga Nidra and deeper meditation techniques She is also a regular contributor of articles to magazines such as the Australian Yoga Life Magazine. She aims to share simple, inspiring and practical guidance to bring yoga off the mat and into daily life.

Inna Alex

Inna is a qualified yoga teacher who loves sharing her passion for exploring the Self as well as our interconnectedness through yoga.

Practising traditional hatha-yoga for over 15 years, she has also gained an appreciation for bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion. Inna has been collecting bhajans & heart songs from around the world for many years, which she is passionate about sharing and chanting with others in singing circles.

As part of her sadhana, Inna has been facilitating Deep Ecology Workshops according to Joanna Macy’s “The Work that Reconnects” for the past 7 years: „For me, Joanna’s work is the bridge between our spiritual journeys & how we act in the world. I’m continuously amazed how powerful this work is in enabling us to experience ourselves as part of the Living Whole and to encourage us to recommit to wholeheartedly engage in its healing.“

Brendon Sakey 

Brendon Sakey completed his yoga teacher training through Mangrove yoga academy in Australia, under Bihar School of Yoga. This is a traditional style that integrates all the main branches of yoga.

Brendon has experience teaching yoga in the community, on workshops and retreats, yoga teacher training courses and also in therapeutic settings, including drug and alcohol rehabilitation, hospice and prison. Brendon is also a social worker and through his experience supporting a diverse range of people he understands yoga can be adapted for everyone and therefore he is passionate about sharing yoga where it is most needed.

Brendon believes that through mindful and diligent yoga practice and guidance our awareness and inner knowledge expands leading to a more balanced and harmonious life.

Atmavidya Schon

Atmavidya has 20 years of experience of teaching yoga and meditation in yoga centres, ashrams, retreats, primary, secondary schools, tertiary institutions, businesses, Not For Profit and rehabilitation organisations, mainly in New Zealand. During 2008 to 2012 Atmavidya guided the work of uplifting well-being of body mind and spirit for all, at Parito Yoga Retreat near Raglan, alongside her partner Pete. A range of retreats and classes in yoga, meditation and sustainable living have been offered here. From April 2014 to September 2017 she directed the work of The Vishuddhi Yoga Centre in Christchurch and has recently been guiding the work of the Anahata Health and Education Trust near Takaka in Golden Bay. She is currently giving service at Parito Yoga Retreat for Term One 2017 to assist the transition of this Centre to it's evolving form.

Atmavidya has received Accreditation as a teacher of Yoga in the style of Classical Hatha Yoga. She has given service, and received the opportunity to learn in ashrams in New Zealand, Australia. Munger and Rikhia in India (in India in 2006, 2009 and for nine months in 2013). Atmavidya has been a student of yoga and meditation for the last 27 years.

Atmavidya's living continues to be inspired and sustained by the blessing of connection with many great teachers including Swamiji Niranjanananda and other Teachers (including nature), by her yoga sadhana and her journey towards Sannyasa. She continues to also be inspired by the dedication of students reaching for Yoga practices. Atmavidya appreciates the opportunity to share practices which, in their simplicity, can work for everyone. They are practices which come from a great Yogic tradition.

Atmavidya gently supports discovery of the different ways that practices can be experienced, in order to liberate and expand well-being of body, mind and spirit, freedom, happiness, and consciousness of all beings. Atmavidya loves to facilitate practices of Yoga and Meditation that can make a beautiful difference in the lives of those who apply the practices.

Jeanette Ida

From my 20 year love of Yoga, Kokoro Studio was born. Kokoro in Japanese means Spirit, Heart, Mind. The heart, not only the physical but the essence of the heart, as the centre of life, connecting mind, and connecting to Spirit.

My Japanese/Canadian heritage connects me to Kokoro. Ever present, ever lasting, ever pure heart and spirit consciousness. For me, this also is Yoga. After converting our garage space at home, Kokoro Studio opened to Yoga classes on May 10, 2016.

My background as a Physiotherapist gives me a strong background in therapeutic movement, and injury recovery. Through the practice of Yoga, a holistic approach to the body, heart, mind and soul is able to be supported.

As the great Yogi Krishnamacharya said “If you can breathe, you can practice Yoga.” I believe Yoga is for everyone, and that teaching people to find their own practice that benefits them is the key to making it ‘their Yoga’, and hence safe, effective and personal.

Apart from the qualifications below, I have also completed Meditation Teacher Training through Ananda NZ, based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. I teach a range of Yoga classes including: Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Yin Yoga and Meditation. My qualifications include: IYTA Dip Yoga Teacher Training (IYTA) BSc. (Hons) Physiotherapy 1994 Dip Manual Therapy/PostGrad Dip Acupuncture Post Grad Studies in Physiotherapy for Woman’s Health.