OUR TEACHERS
All of our teachers at KAI YOGA have been hand selected, yes for their ever-expanding wisdom, but more for their ever-expanding hearts! Who our teachers are off the mat is just as important to us as who they are on the mat. We absolutely love our team, known for delivering the highest quality of Yoga in a way that is down-to-earth, accessible and inspiring.
FRASER GUTHRIE
A beach boy at heart, Fraser first found yoga via surfing. ‘I needed something to do when there were no waves!’ he says. Pastime quickly became passion when Fraser noticed how yoga had increased his strength and balance.
‘I was hooked, but it was when I noticed the balance it brought to my whole life that I fell in love with yoga and wanted to share it with others.’
This passion led him to teacher training with Power Living. Most recent, Fraser completed a Yin Teacher Training with Mel McClaughlin from the Yin Space. Having experienced both the Yin and the Yang, Fraser believes this is the key to balancing it all - they compliment each other.
Becoming a dad changed how he looked at the world. "Every single day offers something new. A chance to really appreciate the small things and acknowledge the wonders around us and the beauty we can create from within us"
Fraser brings an infectious enthusiasm to all his classes. There is something about his sweet Scottish accent and his calm smile, that gets you working hard deep into your practise without you even realising! He is loved because he knows how to keep it real, keep it light in amongst all the power.
'We never stop learning with yoga. It’s when we’re on the mat that we can truly find out what we’re made of.'
ELISHA YOUNG
Elisha fell in love with Yoga because it spoke to her body in a very powerful way. From there it was undeniable, the impact was more than physical…
Elisha's love for movement inspired her 10 year professional dance career. However, It was when she found her yoga mat that she truly experienced what it was to ‘just be’ - Bhavana. To be creative & strong, to be expansive without apology. A feeling of freedom that could not be kept to herself! :)
Elisha has trained with some amazing master teachers from all over the world. The journey began with Duncan Peak from Power Living in 2007. Throughout the years she then went on to train with Baron Baptiste, Kathryn Budig, Sarah Powers, Simon Park, Maty Ezraty and most recently, Rod Stryker.
Elisha's greatest teachers are her children, Willow and River.
Her sequencing is playful, her alignment is articulate and her philosophy sparks deep curiosity. Via anatomical and energetic exploration, Elisha's classes take you on a journey within to awaken the inner landscape. She offers herself completely to every class and truly challenges her students to hold their own space. Witnessing her students explore their own boundaries and play with their potential is the most fulfilling gift of teaching yoga for Elisha.
PHILLIDA BARTIK
For Philli, yoga is a way of life and a state of being. The non-dualistic experience of unification that yoga offers, has been the most nourishing inclusion in supporting and celebrating our existence and awakening. It is both the space holder and the stabilizer as we master the dynamism of the beauty and the challenges that we may encounter throughout our lives. Passionately inspired by the teachings that follow the tradition of Tantra from the Kashmir Shaivism lineage, Philli honours the potency of these teachings and offers them to our community to share the liberation and joy of the science and practice of Yoga.
Beyond the mat, studying the yoga philosophy, Ayurveda and meditation Philli enriches her life by adventuring and being active in nature, drawing and offering her time working with children with disability.
Forever a student, the love for experiential learning runs deep. Philli completed her 200hr YTT with Ana Forrest, her advanced 300hr Embodied Flow YTT with Tara Judelle, has studied Foundations of 5 Element Theory, and has also studied with master teachers Rod Stryker, Sally Kempton, Carlos Pomeda, Andrea Boni and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen.
Astonished by the sophisticated nature of the human organism, Philli feels that the body is a cloak for our creative consciousness and that it is the perfect vehicle for awakening to the vast possibilities of this life.
As a facilitator, Philli guides her students into anatomical and energetic explorations in-order to focus attention inwards, creating a greater overall body-mind connection.
Philli’s classes are woven with pranayama, bhanda, kriyas, meditation and yoga philosophy as a means for offering the true essence of yoga.
Always striving to create a safe and nurturing environment for discovery and transformation Phillis orientation is to empower students with the agency to curate their own vitality through becoming more aware of their true nature.
OLIVIA BURLEY-KNOX
Olivia grew up dancing all of the time at every possible opportunity. Her passion and dedication saw her graduate from dance college and work as a professional dancer and musical theatre performer on West End stages, a life long dream!
This love affair of movement is what led Olivia to first find yoga. More and more she began to enjoy the freedom and space her asana practise gave her both physically and mentally.
In 2016 Olivia completed her teacher training at The House of Yoga, London. This training brought out the courage within her and once completed Olivia took a bold step to move across the world to Sydney in 2017! Expect a vibrant and powerful class!
BIANCA KENVYN
Bianca's Yoga journey began many years ago upon arriving in Sydney from her hometown in the UK. After exploring with many different sports and an array of physical alternatives to move her body she discovered that what was missing was the connection to her heart and spirit.
Yoga then became a safe haven for her to step away from the 'chaos of life' and tune into the inner realms of her being by recognising and deeply nurturing her relationship between breath and body.
After years of consistent practise Bianca finally submerged herself into the depths of teacher training and discovered a newfound connection and desire to want to share her experiences of the practise with her students in order to cultivate that same sense of inner peace and freedom.
Always curious and forever questioning the nature of our reality; Bianca loves to infuse the traditional philosophies of Yoga in a modern way and weave them throughout a fun and dynamic class to spark inquiry into the self and use the physical postures as a gateway into the mind.
With a strong focus on receptive presence and breath as a means to access inner stillness, Bianca loves how Yoga is all encompassing of body, mind and spirit and hopes that her students can leave feeling like they can take something with them from their practise into their everyday lives.
Bianca has the ability to remain in tune with her students and nurture them throughout their practise whilst still holding a strong space for physical challenge! Once we can slow down our breathing and steady our mind we can experience what it’s like to 'feel' rather 'think' and come from a place of 'Being' rather than doing. This is truly why Bianca loves to teach Yoga! :)
GEORGIA LLOYD
Having stumbled into her first Yoga class at 19, Georgia has found endless refuge in the practise of Yoga. Not long after her first yoga class Georgia sought to dive deeper into the path of meditation which helped to seal her fate as a lifelong yoga student. As if preconceived by the universe, Georgia found herself working at a Yoga studio where she began to undergo a more devoted practise to Yoga asana as well as continue her journey of meditation.
By the time Georgia had finished her Business degree, much to the surprise of those around her, she committed to the path of Yoga by undergoing her first 200hr Yoga Teacher Training followed by a mentorship with Kylie Hennessy. This solidified her hopes and aspirations to continue to share as much heart-felt yoga as she had received from her teachers.
Always remaining grounded, Georgia was grateful for the path of yoga, this has led her to become a student of Shiva Rea, currently completing her Prana Vinyasa certification as well as having the privilege of assisting some of her teachers on their respective yoga retreats and yoga teacher trainings.
Georgia hopes to fill her classes with the love and compassion that she has received from yoga. Her classes provide flow and embodiment to bring people back into their nature and relish being in the present, coupled with endeavouring to remind us of the power of the breath and the magnificence of moving meditation.
To continue her path of encouraging healing and support, she is currently undergoing the study of Traditional Chinese Medicine at UTS.
KRISTIN SPENCE
Kristin is a world class yoga facilitator and spiritual teacher, with a professional teaching career stretching over 15 years.
She is renowned for her ability to apply ancient traditional practices in modern contexts and in a fully accessible way. Laid back yet passionate, grounded in compassion and free of judgement, she makes the yogic and spiritual path a joyous journey.
Kristin offers a unique blend of modern and traditional yogic practices; while fully honouring the tradition of yoga and ayurveda, she also uses modern methodologies rooted in psycho therapy to design unique and potent practices for those who are ready to transform.
Always being a seeker, Kristin deepened her practice after experiencing anxiety and depression in her early twenties. The practice of yoga transformed her on every level, brightening her desire to share their power and potential to remain steady even through the most turbulent of times.
Kristin began her yoga journey through Kundalini in her teenage years, then started studying Vinyasa in her mid twenties. Now, with over 1000 hours of certified training, Kristin has facilitated teacher trainings, world class retreats, workshops and masterclasses on Vinyasa and now Traditional Tantric Hatha. She has studied with Duncan Peak, Annie Carpenter, Janet Stone, Octavio Salvado and Brad Hay and is now a dedicated student of Yogarupa Rod Stryker, founder of Para Yoga.
JESSIE-ANNE VANDERTAK
Jessie-Anne grew up in a mountainous region of Victoria surrounded by vast forests and picturess scenery. It was this playground that ingrained in her a deep connection to nature and the seasons. With an abundance of space and an affinity to the outdoors Jessie-Anne was sports mad as a youth. She found yoga in her 20’s as a balance to her love for running. Yoga quickly became an integral part of her life, which enabled her to find strength and flexibility in her body that also enhanced her mental and emotional wellbeing. This deeper connection to yoga enabled her to find confidence in her uniqueness and reduce life's stresses and this is what motivates her to show up on her mat every day.
After living abroad and travelling throughout Australia Jessie-Anne settled in Sydney and after 5 years in Bondi now calls Manly home with her partner and their Cocker Spaniel. She has completed trainings with Power Living, Melanie Mclaughlin and Mysan Sidbho. She currently teaches Vinyasa flow and has a great passion for the art of Yin Yoga.
Jessie-Anne aims to support and guide her students through a practice that strengthens the body, increases flexibility and balance, with her vibrant but also tender approach to teaching. She will encourage students to enquire into the subtle practices of yoga to help combat the stresses of their busy Sydney lives and find a deeper more holistic connection to themselves. Yoga is a practise that can create freedom through the body and mind collectively.
STEVE MAZABOW
As well as being an amazing yin yoga teacher, Steve is also a passionate musician and sound healer with specific focus on the ancient and ceremonial instruments – Didgeridoo and Yidaki. He has been teaching yin and holding workshops and events with
live ceremonial music since 2014.
Having travelled and explored the yoga path in it’s many different forms for over 15 years, Steve brings a multi-dimensional approach to each class and workshop, integrating the practices and arts of sound healing, meditation, mantra, kirtan and ancient Australian live ceremonial music.
Steve completed his Yin training with Mel McLaughlin and Bernie Clark and has also partaken in many other teacher trainings including, Meditation, Special Needs, Kirtan, Forrest Yoga and Sound Healing. Steve regularly holds events, workshops and retreats around Sydney with his wife and partner Vanessa.
TASH TALEVSKI
Tash comes from an experienced background in Personal Training, with a depth of anatomical knowledge. Submerged in the world of health and fitness from a young age, she quickly developed a love and fascination of the human vessel.
Movement through space, with awareness on breath, became profound and necessary tools in her journey toward self-exploration and transformation. In her quest to deepen this inner exploration, Tash eventually found herself living in Mexico at the Hridaya Yoga Centre. Here, immersed in a yogic lifestyle and the traditional Hatha teachings, was the start of her ongoing yoga journey. She has since completed multiple trainings with Modern Yoga pioneer Duncan Peak, and Embodied Flow practitioners Tara Judelle and Scott Lyons. She has taught in retreats overseas and continues to study, practice and inquire with awe into the nature of the human organism.
Tash believes much of our “knowing” has been limited to the brain alone, where many aspects of ourselves cannot be truly met. She draws from her coaching background and diverse movement education, to guide her students through an integrated practice of conscious anatomical and energetic explorations in order to deepen the Mind-Body experience.
She views each movement practice as a portal for conscious connection with our self and the world around us, and aims to inspire in her students a curiosity of the self - to feel and honour each breath and subtle bodily sensation as a gateway into revelation.
ANNA YOUNG-FERRIS
Anna first learnt to meditate at the age of 18 during her university studies and so commenced a lifelong spiritual enquiry. In 2003 she began a regular practice of Buddhist meditation but it was in 2012 that Anna discovered the simple and effortless technique of Vedic meditation and her practice and direct experiences of pure consciousness literally soared. She studies with Thom Knoles, Jeff Kober and Gary Gorrow and has undergone rigorous training with Jacqui Lewis of The Broad Place to become a recognised Vedic meditation initiator/teacher. In this way Anna, will share the gift of mindfulness and compassion, assisting one to transcend the chatter of the mind and cultivate more gratitude, lovingkindness and calm for themselves and others.
Anna is an established academic at the University of Sydney Business School, and holds a PhD that focused on the integration of social and environmental issues into institutional investment. She is now working to integrate meditation into her research career. Prior to this she worked for several years in the corporate sector as a climate change and sustainability professional.
Apart from her love of meditation, Anna has been practicing yoga since the age of 16. A power vinyasa devotee, she has tried all styles over the years. At home Anna loves being with her husband, two beautiful daughters, family and friends.
Kai Yoga is delighted to welcome Anna to guide students through meditation using a simple technique, explain its scientific benefits, and share her insights and tips on how to integrate a regular meditation practice with the demands of modern life, children, family, friends, work and study.
SAM SALES
Sam first discovered Yoga whilst living in Bali. Coming from a background in dance it was the asana that drew her in initially, fluid movements and the strength that it created in her body, it just felt like home from the first practise. Traveling the world as a dancer lead to a feeling of instability and there was always a level of competitiveness trying to get the next job. It was only on the mat that Sam started to realise the only person she was competing with was herself.
As Sam's personal practise grew she started to discover there was so much more to Yoga and this is where the real passion was ignited. Yoga soon came to influence her whole life as she continues to delve deep on and off the mat to understand and connect with her body and learn the ability to 'just be'.
In 2015 Sam went and lived along the beautiful lake of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala to complete her 200hr Vinyasa training with School Yoga Institute and later completed her Yin Yoga training in Rishikesh India. She recently traveled to India to delve deeper into understanding the rich history and background of yoga and has come back inspired and ready to share all her new knowledge, hoping to empower her students on and off their mats.
With over 8 years experience as a Pilates instructor Sam comes with a depth of knowledge of anatomy and how the body moves. Sam's classes are strongly influenced by alignment and core strength with a focus on connecting to the breathe to drive each movement. She aims to support her students as they connect to their bodies and find that balance internally as well as externally through a grounding practise.