Nicole

Nicole Goodwin is principal teacher and owner of BodyMindLife Yoga, and has been practicing yoga for over 10 years and teaching for more than 7 years. Nicole is recognised as a teacher of teachers. Previously from the corporate world, Nicole's desire for a lifestyle that was more holistic and empowering led her to embark upon a life-changing journey, studying with prominent teachers around the world. Her own growth and evolution through the many practices and styles of yoga has been the creative inspiration for BodyMindLife Yoga Centre. Nicole's teachers include Shiva Rea, Baron Baptiste, Mark Breadner and Paul Balch.

The roots of Nicole's teachings are expressed through the creativity of her own personal style, her in-depth studies of yoga and Ayurveda (Diploma of Health - Yoga Teaching), bodywork (Diploma of Remedial Massage) and energetic healing. Her passion is for Vinyasa yoga, focusing on the integration of breath and movement, awareness and alignment, strength and flexibility, effort and ease.

Her dynamic classes are a combination of breath inspired movement and creative, yet balanced and intelligent, sequencing that allows individuals to experience greater ease and vitality - moving from "doing yoga" to "being yoga". Nicole recently assisted her teacher, Shiva Rea, at the very first Asia Yoga Conference in Hong Kong, and continues to study with her through her global retreats and teacher intensives.

Nicole's desire is to encourage individuals to bring themselves back to balance through yoga, and lifestyle choices that help them move in the direction of wellbeing. She leads yoga retreats and teacher training courses in Australia and internationally.

Nicole contributes her knowledge of yoga regularly to newspapers and magazines and has a monthly column in Women's Health Magazine.

Philip

Philip spent 12 years working for international investment banks. Working as a commodities trader he operated in very tense and pressurised environment. The stress adversley affected his life in more ways than one, when he found yoga he found releif and a new beginning.

Philip has been practicing yoga for six years and teaching for three. He started his practicing and teaching journey with Bikram Yoga then studying with Baron Baptiste, completing both Barons Level 1 and 2 trainings in the US. More recently he completed trainings with Wade Morissette, and John Friend. The learning does not end, Philip has been studying and mentoring personally under the guidance of Mark Breadner and has been working with healer and teacher Paul Balch for the last four years, studying Toltec and Tibetan healing, meditation and metaphysics.

To Philip, yoga is an evolving tool, when practiced with discipline (regularity), bringing about harmony and balance to body, mind and life. Every time you step onto your yoga mat, bring a beginners mind to class, imagine a new experience is unfolding each time you practice. Learn to observe and feel things differently in your body when you practice. Yoga is a beautiful way to express yourself in a healthy and healing manner. 'Why do we practice? To find the absolute truth in ourselves and for the sheer delight of it. In sanskrit two words describe this - Sat Chitananda.

Philip teaches Vinyasa flow, Power Yoga and Yin Yoga, He loves to work privately with people allowing them to find more of themselves and their experience of this sacred art of yoga. Email phil@bodymindlife.com for postural assessments and private yoga tuition.

Melanie

Melanie has been practicing yoga since she was 25 and swapped a corporate life in the UK for a 6 month stay in India and took hatha yoga yoga teacher training with Sivananda Ashram in Kerala, and "(it) changed my life forever" With a background in dance, massage and healing, yoga felt like such a natural step and it awoke the dormant teacher through amazing personal experiences from yoga/meditation and pranayama, and the desire to share this knowledge.

8 yrs later finds her teaching at Bodymindlife in the style of Baron Baptiste and Shiva Rae's power Vinyasa yoga and fluid power flow and Paul Grilley's Yin Yoga..
A Meta physical student and teacher also, she blends this with her background in movement and dance, with instructing yoga asana's and delivering a class that is from the heart and gentle in its strength, with whatever is necessary to allow growth, freedom, inspiration and creativity, mentally physically and emotionally for her students.

Loving teaching group classes and her favourite, one on ones you can email Melanie for questions, personal sessions ("or anything else you want to share with me!")

" I have a passion for helping others, from my own experience of a life not being lived fully, with painful physical injury and old emotional scars getting in my way of the here and now, and not having the tools to uncover my dream life.. and so now through yoga, meta physics, meditation and the healing and self awareness that comes with all of those processes, I LIVE and love life (in all its ups and down!) and have found my inner joy. There's a whole journey I'm looking forward to and I ask you ..What are you waiting for? Just do it!  I believe it's far more important where you are going than where you've been, so come along for the ride of your life...

Andrew

After many years of rugby, weights, and surfboat rowing Andrew's body was tight, locked and painfully out of alignment. Some days he would have to spend an hour lying flat on his back to try and relieve chronic back pain. 

Lo and behold however, after his third Bikram class he could feel his never-flexible body starting to open and his back issues soon disappeared - never to return.  So in 2003 Andrew flew to LA to do the Biikram teacher training program (another story in itself) and  had such a good time spent the next year teaching in San Francisco, San Diego, Austin-Texas and Colorado.

Andrew's classes are for anyone. He believes yoga is not just for the fantastically flexible..."If you cannot touch your toes, or even see your toes, you are a perfect candidate for the benefits of yoga. Come try it out.....yoga rocks!"

Heather

Heather's yogic journey began in 2002 after she attended a Bikram class and experienced yoga's life-changing potential for the very first time. Since then she has transformed her life in many ways - quitting a successful 14-year-long career in state government, becoming certified as a Power Vinyasa yoga instructor, relocating to Australia, and commencing work on a Ph.D. in English at the University of New South Wales.

Heather's love of yoga also extends to her doctoral work where she is researching the West's ongoing engagement with yoga practice and philosophy. She teaches all styles of yoga offered by BodyMindLife and uses her ever-growing expertise in ancient Hindu texts to inform her teaching and introduce her students to the philosophy behind the practice. Heather contributes her knowledge to Bodymindlife Yoga's 200-hour Teacher Training, where she shares her insights on the yogic text, the Bhagavad Gita. "Nothing in the world can purify as powerfully as wisdom; practiced in yoga, you will find this wisdom within yourself." - Bhagavad Gita (4.38)

Mark

Mark Breadner has been practicing yoga for over thirty-five years, after being introduced by his mum, a yoga teacher. The roots of Mark's teachings come from a background working in the field of Somatic Psychotherapy, studying and practicing many of the more popular styles of yoga and in-depth studies of Tibetan Buddhism. He has taught yoga for 20 years and has devoted the last decade to training yoga teachers, through the Heart of Yoga Association, Nature Care College and now BodyMindLife Yoga.

Mark's extensive work in corrective exercise therapy and injury rehabilitation, combined with qualifications in Exercise Kinesiology through the Chek Institute has led him to work and travel regularly with elite athletes such as Ian Thorpe, members of the Olympic Swimming Team, pro-surfer Phil MacDonald and members of the Rip Curl pro-surf team.

His years of work and study in complementary Eastern and Western systems of health have led Mark to develop a holistic system of healing called "The Five Pillars of Health and Wellbeing". Through this system, Mark's focus is to help people heal themselves through life-style observances and practices that strengthen and purify the nervous system, increase vitality in the body and serenity in the mind. He teaches people to self-regulate - to recognize where they are out of balance, and to apply specific practices that restore harmony, balance and the natural flow of energy (prana).

Mark's drive is to take the esoteric principles of yoga and make them practical and applicable to modern-day living.

Murray

Muz (Murray) has always been an active one! Being deeply involved in all types of sport at a young age, he developed a taste for fun and liked a little danger! BMX racing led to motorcycle racing, which in turn led to many broken bones...

He began his yoga journey out of necessity when suffering from chronic lower leg pain caused by a severe leg break at 14. After being told by doctors that it would never heal properly, he decided to start yoga. The pain had been constant for 5 years, and after 2 months of attending 3 yoga classes a week the pain had stopped.  After 3 years of regular yoga practice, he decided to train as a teacher.

Muz has practiced many styles of yoga and has practiced and/or studied with a number of well known teachers both in Australia and abroad. He has been teaching yoga for 8 years and has recently taken his teaching and studies into energetic and intuitive healing, and works privately with clients. Muz loves the process of learning and constantly seeks to expand his knowledge. He is deeply involved in working with the team at BodyMindLife and has taught here since the doors opened in 2002. He runs regular workshops and is passionate about sharing his knowledge whether it physical, spiritual, or energetic.

Muz's interests also lie in the metaphysical outlook on life and he is a catalyst for people's growth. Muz is always up for a chat so feel free to just hang out when he's around or book in for a healing !! Muz's background is in engineering and he also works as a high performance mechanical/automotive engineer - one of his passions! So if you need your car tuned up or your body, mind and spirit tuned up, Muz is your man !

Evangeline

Evangeline was first introduced to yoga when she took a Bikram yoga class in her hometown of San Francisco 5 years ago. Initially she thought it wasn't for her - she didn't enjoy it, but liked the way her body felt afterwards.

Working in the fashion industry, Evangeline was always stressed out and discovered that a regular yoga practice calmed her nerves and helped her to feel better about herself. She tried other styles of yoga and practiced on her own at home, before deciding to take the plunge. In 2005, she decided to leave the corporate world and embark on a new adventure, enrolling in the Bikram Yoga Teacher Training.

Since then, Evangeline has taught in San Francisco, Vancouver and now Sydney, her new home. Here, she has combined her love of yoga with her fashion industry experience, and launched her own unique brand of yoga wear for men and women - Yogalicious.

"I love teaching yoga and sharing this passion with others. It's something I feel good about. As my yoga practice has changed over the years, so have I. I strive to remain calm, present and aware at all times on and off the mat. I encourage students to relax, have fun and remember why they are practicing... to try not to get caught up in it, and be happy with where they are at. Yoga is a beautiful experience and has changed my life."

Evangeline is continuing her study of yoga through BodyMindLife's Advanced Teacher Training program, and has also studied Vinyasa Flow yoga with international teacher, Twee Merrigan.

Beth

Beth Borowsky's love for movement and dance began at 5 years old when she enrolled in her first ballet class. Dancing throughout her school years, it was only a matter of time before she began her yoga journey and has now been practising for almost 20 years. In 2005, life changes and circumstance brought her to BodyMindLife and so began a journey of a whole other kind - the one where yoga is your life...

Trained in early childhood and Montessori teaching, she decided, (after a conversation with Phil), to travel to New York to study Kids Yoga, and returned to Sydney to start KarmaKidsYoga - a kids yoga business where she teaches children from 3 years old through to high school. In 2006 she completed the Power Vinyasa Training with Nicole Goodwin and Wade Imre Morrissette, and has since done further study with Twee Merrigan, Mark Breadner and Nicole. She subsequently started JustBreatheYoga for adults, offering individual and small group tuition in people's homes or offices.

Beth's classes are designed to inspire her students to experience moving meditation - where their yoga practice flows effortlessly and creates a balance between strength and inner calm.

She believes that yoga is for ‘every body', and is committed to guiding her students mindfully through their practice, to ensure that they honour their body - its strengths and weaknesses - to prevent injury, and so build stamina, balance and inner calm.