Who We Are
Brooke
Shannon
Shannon
Yoga has been a part of Brooke's life for 24 years. Originally from the Gold Coast in Australia, Brooke has lived in Auckland for 18 years. She loves her little farmlet in the Waitakere's, and now calls NZ her home.
Brooke had a successful career in athletics and netball, until being overcome by injury a few years back. Discovering that yoga was the only activity that helped her with her chronic pain, it was inevitable that she felt indebted to the yoga world and brings this sense of gratitude to every class.
In 2018, Brooke was humbled by the beast that is known as Mt Everest. Succumbing to altitude sickness and hypothermia, she made the decision to finally follow her dreams. 3 months after her return to NZ, she dedicated her whole career to yoga, becoming a full time yoga teacher, and eventually the proud new owner of Yoga Collective (previously YogaTech).
Brooke brings a lighthearted spirit to each class. She truly believes she has the best "job" in the world!
Shannon
Shannon
Shannon
Shannon hails from Dallas, Texas, and it was while at university in South Carolina studying psychology that she first discovered yoga in 2008. Shortly after she moved to Santa Cruz, California to delve deeper into her practice by participating in Mark Stephen’s 200-hour yoga teacher training and in-depth studies program.
Upon completion, she obtained her Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. She has taught yoga at Amsa Yoga & Mindfulness Practice Center, in Sydney, and eventually in Auckland for the past 4 years. Shannon completed her 500-hour training in beautiful Bali in July 2016 which led to assisting yoga teacher trainings there as well.
For Shannon, the practice of yoga offers a sense of being grounded, light, and present. "The yoga mat offers a true journey inwards, a place for self discovery and a tuning into the present moment."
Melissa
Melissa
Melissa
Melissa was introduced to yoga in the womb, was raised in the world of alternative health, & has been teaching since 2001. New to Auckland, Melissa handed over her Wellington studio a few years ago and went on a walkabout to question & renew.
She's delighted to return to weekly teaching & to share these practices with you that she has been exploring for decades. Her aim is to empower you to empower yourself, and to embody your strength and grace in this lifetime.
Individual evolution and liberation are key drivers in how Melissa teaches. Each aspect of her teachings – mudra, mantra, pranayam, asana, poetry – has been specifically chosen for its efficient and effective ability to cultivate both union and liberation.
Over the years Melissa has developed her very own signature series, MYOGA, a fusion of influences woven together to empower you to empower yourself, and to embody your strength and grace in this lifetime.
Lauren
Melissa
Melissa
Adventurous, creative, unique, global, charitable, energetic LJ. Lauren's objective, after 18 years in the yoga industry, is to help as many people as possible to elevate their consciousness and well-being and ultimately fulfill their potential through the practices of yoga, life coaching, and mindfulness.
As an ex competitive athlete in athletics, cross-country, triathlon and duathlon, and high performing trail runner, as well as a senior corporate leader, Lauren knows how to use yoga to drive performance too. Yin has become a favourite discipline to practice and teach as she has sought more balance in her life and she loves helping others find this restoration too.
Lauren is excited to be able to combine forces with this amazing group of teachers to elevate Yoga Collective to the next level and build a true yoga and teaching community. With a deep experience in vinyasa and yin teaching, along with life coaching, her classes will far exceed your expectations.
Kimmy
Kimmy
Kimmy
Kimmy is from Petaluma, a small town in California. She became passionate about yoga while at university in Australia, and completed a 200 hour certification in India at Rishikesh Vinyasa Yoga School. The rigorous daily Vinyasa and Ashtanga practice schedule, along with in-depth classes on anatomy, philosophy, and alignment, sparked her inspiration to seriously pursue teaching. After discovering how transformative yoga can be for both the mind and body, she is now is committed to making yoga a big part of her life, and sharing her love of daily movement with others.
Niamh
Kimmy
Kimmy
Niamh qualified as a yoga teacher on an island in Thailand in 2017 and has taught vinyasa, hatha, yin and laughter yoga all over the world since.
Originally from Melbourne, she is now combining her loves of acting and yoga in Auckland city! Her classes are fun, flowy and to the point. Her classes strike a good balance of taking the practice seriously without being serious.
Prepare to sweat, laugh and chill.
Forrest Yoga®
Benji Stephenson
Benji Stephenson
Benji Stephenson
Benji came to yoga from a long background in martial arts, was intrigued by how yoga could compliment his karate and began to work yoga into his dojo training and teaching; suns are great for kicks! He has also been a UK Scout leader and member of the Scouting Movement.
Benji teaches and practices full time in Auckland and is trained in Forrest yoga, massage and bodywork: including aromatherapy, acupressure, cranial work, myofascial and deep tissue, structural integration and Gua Sha.
His passion is to help people feel great in their bodies and minds using the transformational way of Forrest yoga and the healing magic of bodywork in a safe and inclusive space.
He’s trained with some great teachers including Ana Forrest, Jambo Truong, Sinhee McCabe and Rosalind Southward, meeting some amazing yogis on his travels around the world to workshops and retreats.
Forrest Yoga®
Benji Stephenson
Benji Stephenson
Ana Forrest is an inspiration and has been changing people’s lives for over 45 years. She is an internationally-recognized pioneer in yoga and emotional healing. She is the Creatrix of Forrest Yoga, a mystic, visionary, philanthropist, author, and Medicine Woman.
Forrest Yoga was created to fill what Ana Forrest perceived as a void in the traditional forms of yoga. She crafted it while working through healing from her own life’s traumas - abuse and addictions, the helplessness around the addictions, and the ongoing suffering from chronic injuries & illnesses. The process of healing herself inspired her to teach others about what really works to heal themselves physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
Forrest Yoga is a powerfully physical, internally focused practice that emphasizes how to integrate the transformative experiences from the mat into purposeful daily life.
To find out more,visit:
Transformational Yoga® & TIME Meditation®
Utkarsh
Transformational Yoga®
Utkarsh
Yoga Master at Transformational Yoga®, NZ and Administrative Director at Meditation Alliance International. Utkarsh is a direct disciple of Swami Vidyanand and has a wide range of expertise in the subject. In 2015, he was the first to bring Transformational Yoga® to New Zealand.
Having taught people from across the globe and worked with Corporates, Armed Forces, Schools, Celebrities and trained several Yoga & Meditation Teachers across the world, his simple and practical way of explaining and relating the practices in a modern and contemporary context will enable and empower you to make a genuine difference in your state of mind and expand your consciousness.
A Master of Transformational Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Pranayama & Meditation, Utkarsh has trained in the Traditional Guru shishya parampara (direct Master to Disciple teaching), having first studied for several years in the Bihar Tradition (Satyananada) before he finally met his Guru, Swami Vidyanand, under whose guidance he is exploring and sharing the science of Yoga.
Though primarily a Yoga Teacher & Therapist, he is also a painter, photographer, graphic designer, writer and a musician, whose life got transformed when he got introduced to Yoga. In 2008, he began to explore Traditional Yoga. Soon after, he quit his corporate job to fully explore yoga as a subject as well as a spiritual path and way of living. He is now an established and experienced Yoga Master & Therapist, channeling his energy towards exploring and sharing this beautiful ancient science with the world.
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Disha
Transformational Yoga®
Utkarsh
Co-Director, SriMa New Zealand
Yoga & Meditation Teacher
Yoga for Kids Expert
Primary School Teacher
Disha is a beautiful soul, whose deep spirituality, loving nature and joyfulness is contagious. A School Teacher in Auckland, Disha has studied Transformational as well as Traditional Yoga.
She has a background in corporate advertising and is now immersed in education and working for the Divine cause. She believes that all human beings need to connect within to be truly happy. Disha enjoys sharing this special practise, with this intention of service to others in mind.
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Transformational Yoga®
Transformational Yoga®
Transformational Yoga®
ASANA | PRANAYAMA | MANTRA | MEDITATION
A simple, profound & powerful method.
In depth focus of asanas, the chakras, mantras, and breathing and meditation techniques gives you the knowledge you need to purify your body, stabilise your emotions, focus your mind, and increase your spiritual well-being.
Transformational Yoga goes far beyond just physical exercise. While offering a complete approach to well-being, Transformational Yoga takes into account physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of health. It functions on a deeper level to stimulate kundalini energy to move up through the chakras, purifying and awakening the pure body.
To find out more, visit
Kundalini Yoga®
Suzi (Joti Savitri Kaur)
Suzi (Joti Savitri Kaur)
Suzi (Joti Savitri Kaur)
Joti began her journey practicing Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan 24 years ago and gained her KRI Level 1 teacher training certificate with her original UK teacher Guru Dharam Singh and his partner Siri Sat Kaur, both long time students of Yogi Bhajan.
From her first experience of Kundalini Yoga back in the 90s, Joti knew this was a practice that could be integrated into her life for greater success and personal happiness. Today she attributes much of her accomplishments as a documentary filmmaker and ghostwriter for international film directors to the practice of daily sadhana and teaching of Kundalini Yoga.
Her classes offer a warm, safe, lighthearted experience that result in a tangible sense of elevated awareness and deeper connection to the mind, body and soul.
Justina (Baldev Kaur)
Suzi (Joti Savitri Kaur)
Suzi (Joti Savitri Kaur)
Baldev is one of the few Level 2 trained instructors of Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan, teaching in NZ. (KRI accredited). Baldev trained in the UK with Guru Dharam Singh Khalsa and Shiv Charan Singh, both students of Yogi Bhajan.
In 2006, Baldev founded Corporate Karma Yoga, to offer well-being retreats and yoga in many large corporates in London. Baldev/Justina also has a passion for nutritional healing, and works with New Zealand organisations such as Auckland District Health Board, Heartland Bank and AIA Insurance to implement and design corporate wellness programmes using yoga meditation to build resilence, help people manage change and increase creativity in their workplace.
Her classes are creative, insightful and allow a safe space to enjoy and connect with your inner self as you discover this powerful and ancient yoga of awareness.
Kundalini Yoga®
Suzi (Joti Savitri Kaur)
Kundalini Yoga®
Kundalini Yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan, is known as the yoga of awareness. Based on Hatha yoga, it is a dynamic and powerful transformative tool which combines postures, breath, meditation, and mantra to get in touch with your soul's purpose and destiny on this planet.
The classes are always different, ranging from meditative and restful to active and uplifting- each time you leave the studio renewed and revitalised.
The very nature of what we do is to awaken the energy of consciousness, to practice in a way that sheds light on our self-imposed limitations, and invites us to think out of the box and develop our intuitive mind. Being able to live from our intuitive mind is one of the main goals of a Kundalini practitioner.
To find out more, visit:
Our Journey
Our mission is …..
to encourage people to walk in beauty where they can reconnect and cultivate a relationship within themselves.
Our vision is ...
to provide teachings that allow students to take their learnings off the mat to form deeper relationships in the wider world.
Our purpose is …
to elevate consciousness and well-being and ultimately help people to realise and fulfill potential.