My Training
How I study, choose mentors, and let learning shape my teaching.
I don’t collect certificates.
I study slowly, selectively, and with teachers I trust.
This isn’t a complete record of every course or workshop I’ve taken. It’s a selective record of the teachers and trainings that have genuinely shaped the way I teach.
I’ve been practising yoga for decades and teaching for over ten years — and I’m still learning. That part is non-negotiable.
Learning, for me, isn’t about novelty or accumulation. It’s about discernment.
I choose teachers who think clearly, question assumptions, and can hold nuance without collapsing into dogma.
I’m interested in biomechanics, movement science, and intelligent sequencing — but just as interested in how those ideas translate into real rooms, real bodies, and real lives.
Not everything needs to be new. Some things need time.
Much of my current work is about returning, refining, and allowing ideas to mature. That’s what shapes the way I design my six-week modules — deliberate, progressive, and clear enough for people to actually feel change over time.
My job is to stay curious, keep my standards high, and teach in a way that’s thoughtful, grounded, and genuinely useful — not just impressive on paper.
If that resonates, you’ll probably feel at home here.
What shapes my teaching now.
The way I teach today is shaped less by chasing what’s new, and more by staying in relationship with ideas that continue to hold up over time.
Some of that work is current.
Some of it is revisited.
All of it is actively integrated.
Current study
Yoga Sequencing 2.0 — Jason Crandell (2026)
A six-month advanced training in long-term sequencing, curriculum design, workshops and series-based teaching, with ongoing live mentoring from Jason and the opportunity to work through questions arising directly from my own teaching.
This work directly supports the way I now teach at the studio — through progressive modules that build steadily over time, rather than a string of unrelated classes.
Up next
The Art of Flow — Duncan Parviainen / Heart of Vinyāsa
16–18 October 2026 · Mullumbimby
A 20-hour, in-person teacher training exploring the architecture, language and rhythm of vinyasa — including intelligent sequencing, cueing, music, silence and breath.
It’s a natural continuation of the work I’m already doing around thoughtful sequencing, progressive teaching, and creating classes that feel cohesive rather than simply pieced together.
300hr Advanced Vinyāsa Yoga Teacher Training — Duncan Parviainen / Heart of Vinyāsa
Three-week in-person intensive · planned for 2027, with dates to be confirmed.
A deeper, immersive continuation of my training with Duncan, focused on advanced vinyasa teaching, sequencing and practice.
Mentors I return to.
These are the teachers whose work — and guidance — I return to again and again.
For me, mentorship means more than completing someone’s course. It means sustained study, conversation, feedback and relationship. These are teachers I’ve returned to over time through cohort trainings, live mentoring, in-person study and ongoing conversations about the realities of teaching.
Several have also become friends and trusted sounding boards. I bring real questions from my own teaching into those relationships, which is why their influence is woven so deeply into the way I teach here.
Jason Crandell
I first encountered Jason’s teaching via DVD in the late 90s. Decades later, I now choose longer, cohort-based trainings with him that allow for live mentoring, direct feedback and ongoing conversation about my own teaching.
Jason’s work has shaped the way I think about teaching: not as performance, but as a thoughtful craft — built on repetition, progression, and trust in the long game.
His influence shows up in how I teach week-to-week, with practices that are steady, intentional, and never thrown together.
How it shows up in class:
— Progressive sequencing across each six-week module
— Strength and mobility woven into flow
— Clear, grounded cues that support understanding
Jules Mitchell
Biomechanics, nuance, and a deep respect for how real bodies actually move.
My study with Jules has been deep and demanding — long-form cohort study, research, presentations and direct feedback, with plenty still left for me to integrate. It’s some of the hardest training I’ve undertaken, challenging me to research deeply, think critically, and defend and articulate my thinking in ways that have stretched me enormously.
Her work reinforces that there is no single “right” way to practise — only thoughtful options, intelligent loading, and curiosity over dogma.
How it shows up in class:
— More choice, less rigidity
— Stronger emphasis on function over form
— Movement that supports longevity and resilience
Cecily Milne
Strength, clarity, and the kind of teaching that meets modern life head-on.
I’ve studied with Cecily through cohort-based training, detailed feedback on my own teaching, and a 40-hour in-person intensive in Melbourne — a mentoring relationship that has since grown into a genuine friendship.
Her influence is felt in my interest in strength-based movement, progressive challenge, and practical body literacy.
How it shows up in class:
— Strong, steady sequences that build capacity
— Movement that supports real-life demands
— A calm focus on what works, not what looks good
Duncan Parviainen
Breath, rhythm, curiosity, and a lifelong commitment to learning.
I first found Duncan after asking Jason (above) who he would recommend for the kind of in-person vinyasa study I was craving. That introduction led from online immersion work to studying with Duncan in person — and now into a much deeper period of training that will continue through his 300-hour advanced program.
What I value in Duncan goes beyond the intelligence of his sequencing. He is an endlessly curious student himself, and studying with him has reinforced something I feel strongly about: becoming a teacher isn’t the end of our education. There is always more to investigate, practise, question and refine.
His work has deepened my love of vinyasa as something more than choreography — a practice of breath, attention, and intelligent unfolding over time. His influence shows up in the way I build flow slowly, layer by layer, always in service of clarity and feeling.
Foundations.
My teaching is grounded in a strong, in-person foundation.
I completed my original teacher training with Kate Pell and Dan Alder at The Yoga Den in Brisbane — a year-long, small-group program that moved slowly and thoughtfully.
That training taught me something I still hold close: how to lead from presence rather than performance, and how to stay connected to the room instead of a script.
Those early lessons continue to underpin how I teach today.
Professional standing.
I’m a Level 2 Yoga Teacher registered with Yoga Australia — a professional membership requiring ongoing training, continuing education, and adherence to ethical standards.
Formal Advanced Training.
This is a selected record of the formal trainings that have most significantly shaped my teaching. I’ve completed many other workshops and courses over the years; I don’t list everything.
3-day Deepen Your Practice Immersion – Duncan Parviainen / Heart of Vinyāsa, Mullumbimby (September 2025)
300hr Advanced Teacher Training – Jules Mitchell (12-month cohort format, biomechanics focus — in progress)
In-person intensive workshop – Annie Carpenter, Brisbane (November 2025)
300hr Advanced Teacher Training – Jason Crandell (12-month cohort format, 2024)
40hr Deepen Your Practice Immersion – Duncan Parviainen / Heart of Vinyāsa (online prerequisite training)
Advanced studies with Cecily Milne, Yoga Detour — Detour Method Online (32+ hrs), Detour Method Synthesis (6-week cohort training), and 40-hour in-person intensive, Melbourne (2019 / 2020)
7-day in-person immersion – Donna Farhi, Sydney (2014)
350hr Foundational Teacher Training – Kate Pell & Dan Alder, Brisbane (12-month program, 2014)
Yoga is not a formally regulated profession in Australia, which means training pathways can vary widely. For that reason, I believe in being transparent about the format, depth, and mentorship behind my education — so you can make informed choices about who you practise with.
The mentor who changed everything.
Amber Beach | Mentor, Teacher, Community Builder
Amber entered my world at a time when I really needed support. After years of doing this work largely on my own, I found in her not just a mentor, but a steady source of clarity, encouragement, and perspective.
She’s helped me navigate burnout, build retreats that feel like home, and hold boundaries that honour my time, energy, and values.
Amber’s work is thoughtful, body-liberated, and deeply human. Her influence has helped me trust my own voice more fully — and if you’ve ever felt clarity, permission, or depth in the way I hold space, chances are her fingerprints are quietly woven through that too.
In short.
I don’t teach from scripts, and I don’t chase trends.
What I offer is thoughtful, progressive teaching — shaped by experience, mentorship, and a long relationship with practice.
I teach in a way that supports your body, your nervous system, and your life.