About our school
Newcastle Yoga is an Iyengar Yoga Institute in Georgetown, Newcastle NSW.
Our teachers are qualified, skilled & dedicated and our space is warm & welcoming to all.
Our vision is an inclusive school that feels like home, a place where everyone feels safe and supported to explore, be challenged and learn.
Teachers here are committed practitioners of yoga.
Make a start now if you are keen!
We are happy to chat and answer any questions you have about starting classes or the method of Iyengar Yoga.
The Iyengar Certification Mark is the logo that pictures Yogacharya BKS Iyengar in a pose called Natarajasana in front of an outline of RIMYI, the Institute he founded in Pune, India 50 years ago.
The use of this mark by a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher demonstrates authenticity and commitment to the Iyengar system. Only qualified certified teachers are permitted to use this mark.
The Iyengar Certification Mark has been registered by the Trade Marks Office and is granted to those teachers who have been trained, assessed and accredited by a qualified assessing committee, operating under the Certification Committee.
It was the wish of BKS Iyengar that the mark be used by all certified teachers worldwide as an international symbol of the highest standards of excellence in training and continuing education in the Iyengar method.
This is the Iyengar Certification Mark.
The use of this mark by a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher demonstrates authenticity and commitment to the Iyengar system and is granted to those teachers who have been trained, assessed and accredited by a qualified assessing committee, operating under the Certification Committee.
Our Philosophy
Yoga means union. Regular practice can provide a way for us to feel connected and present with ourselves and the world we live in.
The subject of yoga is vast and its effect on the mind and body can be profound. At Newcastle Yoga we aim to provide the environment where each student can develop to their full potential and explore the great depths of this ancient practice. Our teachers aspire to offer immersive experiential classes based upon Yogic principles that challenge students beyond their habitual ways of perceiving and acting.
We value steady, consistent and applied effort and our school is structured, based on decades of teaching experience, to provide pathways for you to progress at your own pace. For this reason, we have developed courses with a curriculum that builds week by week, year by year. Asanas (yoga postures) and yoga philosophy are introduced sequentially with the aim of building strong foundations for future development.
We teach authentic Patanjali yoga, knowledge passed down through a teacher / student lineage over thousands of years. At Newcastle Yoga we acknowledge the great contribution made by BKS Iyengar and his children Geeta and Prashant and grand-daughter Abhijata. BKS Iyengar was significant in bringing the practice of yoga to the West, and we are indebted to his dedication and disciplined life of enquiry.
We teach Iyengar Yoga exclusively, providing an excellent foundation to build a lifetime’s practice upon in this inspiring style.
Our Community
Community is a living expression of unity and it sits at the heart of who we are and all we value. We have a kind, supportive welcoming community of students and teachers. Many friendships have formed over coffee after classes, and we hold regular school social get-togethers. Stay tuned by subscribing to our newsletter (see below) and checking the News and Events page for upcoming social events.
Our Facilities
We moved into our beautiful, freshly renovated yoga-dedicated studio at the end of 2024. Originally a church hall it has a spacious feel, with high ceilings and plenty of natural ventilation and light. There is gorgeous timber flooring, as well as split-system air conditioning and ceiling fans.
Warm in winter and cool in summer, it is a lovely comfortable place to practice yoga.
There is a space for changing, and shower facilities.
Plenty of free parking is available close by although you may need to allow a few extra minutes during business hours to park in a nearby street.
Nearby stops for bus routes: 12, 24 & 27. Bus Routes
The studio is fully equipped with everything you will need for your class.
Our Team of Teachers
Amanda Hood
Amanda founded Newcastle Yoga in 2023. She is a Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher (level 3), a teacher trainer and an assessor with the Iyengar Yoga Association of Australia.
Amanda loves to see students find a path in yoga, regardless of their age, fitness, health or ability. Iyengar Yoga is an intelligent and inclusive yoga method, and she is rewarded by observing students gain confidence and skills. Amanda embeds the underlying principles and philosophy of yoga in her classes to take the practice beyond the physical level. It is here that yoga profoundly affects us by empowerment with a process to recognise and take responsibility for our pyschological habits.
She first gained certification in 2000 after serving an apprenticeship at Clifton Hill Yoga Studio in Melbourne, and in 2003 helped found the busy Yarraville Yoga Centre in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
With around twenty-five years of teaching experience, she chose Newcastle to be her new hometown and is enjoying the creative vibrancy and friendly community here.
In 2018 she helped to found Hamilton Yoga and for five years was the creative and energetic drive there, holding the community together and steering the studio through multiple lockdowns with the arrival of COVID-19.
Amanda travels regularly to Pune to study with the Iyengar family and pay respect to the lineage at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. Her first visit was in 2000, and most recently in 2019 learning with renowned and revered teachers Geeta Iyengar, Prashant Iyengar and Abhijata (Granddaughter of BKS Iyengar) Amanda has continued to learn with several senior Australian Iyengar teachers over the past few decades. In particular with Alan Goode of Yoga Mandir in Canberra, as well as with Pixie Lillas of Balmain Iyengar Yoga.
Amanda has taught pregnancy yoga, childrens yoga including an ‘at risk’ group of teenagers in Melbourne’s West, Inclusive yoga for adults with intellectual disabilities & Inclusive yoga to Guide Dogs NSW clients with vision impairment & blindness. She has volunteered teaching yoga to asylum seekers held at Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre, and at Pine Creek Primary School in the Northern Territory.
As well as teaching, Amanda runs a 3-year teacher training / mentorship program at Newcastle Yoga. Amanda is an assessor for Iyengar Yoga Australia, has recently served on the Iyengar Yoga Australia Board and the Ethics and Certification Mark Committee, and currently holds the (Junior Intermediate 3) Level 3 teaching certification.
Cath Morgan
Cath Morgan has been practicing Iyengar Yoga for 25 years and teaching since 2008, training with Pixie Lillas in Sydney.
Cath started teaching at Marrickville Yoga before relocating to the UK and setting up her own yoga studio which she ran for 8 years. Alongside this, she also assisted for several years at the therapy class at the Sheffield Yoga Centre. Now back in Australia, after a year of travel, Cath continues to teach online and is delighted to be joining the team at Newcastle Yoga. Cath has travelled to India to study at the Iyengar yoga institute in Pune and has also attended conventions in person and online with Geeta and Abhijata Iyengar. She continues attending classes and workshops with Pixie Lillas and organises and attends Pixie’s annual retreat in Dolcedo Italy. She holds a level 2 certificate.
Sophie Brown
Sophie is dedicated to guiding students through the fundamentals of Iyengar Yoga, emphasizing alignment, precision, and mindful practice. Sophie’s teaching reflects her deep respect for the tradition and its therapeutic benefits.
She began practicing yoga 17 years ago and has been teaching for 12 years. With training from Pixie Lilas in 2015-2016, and studies at RIMYI in Pune, India, Sophie Brown is a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher IYA Level 1.
Harriet Ferguson
Harriet has been practicing Iyengar Yoga since 1992. Her primary teacher throughout this time has been Senior Iyengar Teacher Pixie Lillas. Harriet was awarded her Iyengar Yoga Introductory Teaching Certificate in 2016. Harriet has a special interest in remedial yoga and enjoys teaching to students of all abilities. Harriet formerly taught at Swansea Physio and Yoga
Harriet currently holds the IYA Level 1 teaching certification.
Michele Ashford
Michele has been a dedicated and passionate practitioner of yoga for more than 20 years.
She is honoured to have been taught by senior teachers Pixie Lillas, Julie Hodges and Alan Goode. Michele’s interest in yoga as a way of life deepened when Amanda came to Newcastle five years ago, and soon after she commenced teacher training with her. She is incredibly grateful to Amanda’s knowledge, guidance and authenticity.
Iyengar Yoga’s richness and integrity continue to amaze her. Michele’s goal is to dispel myths of practice (being too old or too stiff !) and to guide students to a better understanding, appreciation and application of yoga in everyday life.
Michele currently holds the IYA Level 1 teaching certification.
Maria Pavela
After many years off the mat, Maria returned to Iyengar Yoga to renew her interest in the Iyengar method, and to explore the benefits and joys it brings to her life.
Fiona Ryan
More to come!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to bring anything with me to class? Do I need my own mat?
Most importantly, bring yourself. ♥
If you are a new student we will provide everything you need. We have heavy duty studio yoga mats you can borrow, but we recommend that you purchase or bring your own once you have decided to continue attending after a term. We have cheap, good quality light weight mats, as well as studio mats (Sadhaka mats from iyogaprops, for the mat officionados) for sale at reception.
Once you have committed to regular attendance you may feel more comfortable using some of your own personal equipment. A mat, yoga strap & 2 foam blocks, (and for home, 2 of the sturdier yoga blankets comprise a good little kit for class and home practice.
Wear loose comfortable clothing that allows you to move freely, such as leggings or shorts.
Why do you run courses?
We see ourselves as being more like a place of learning than a gym or a salon. We have a curriculum structure and content. There is plenty of scope for a teacher’s individuality and creativity within this structure, but it ensures that the most important topics are covered when they are most relevant. It also ensures that all students in the school learn the poses important to progress and prepare for the next level.
Courses offer a structure to students, who then find it easier to commit and attend regularly. These are the students who benefit the most from yoga.
New students can find it more difficult to commit until beginning to really experience the cumulative positive effects and seem to benefit most from a more structured program.
Can I do yoga? I am old/ stiff/ injured/ feel hopeless?
Yes. Lucky for you our teachers are highly trained and experienced, and have taught many who were older, stiffer or more injured than you.
Also the kind of yoga we teach (Iyengar) is renowned for being adaptable and inclusive.
Please let us know if you have significant injuries that will affect your capacity to participate, and we will help you to find a pathway to progress.
What happens in the Foundations Yoga Course?
There is not much sitting around! You are introduced to the actions and the essence of asanas (yoga poses), which are intertwined.
The class usually starts with a supported pose to soothe the nerves and settle yourself in.
Standing poses
The standing poses are introduced progressively and make up the main component of the classes at this level. Poses such as Trikonasana (Triangle pose), Parsva Konasana (Side-angle pose) and Virabhadrasana (Warrior pose) are perfect to learn the correct leg and shoulder actions for balanced alignment.
Standing poses will safely build your strength and mobility, improve balance, and are energising, challenging and fun. (They are preparatory for advanced poses too)
Sarvangasana (Shoulder-stand) is introduced, and no one else teaches shoulder stand as Iyengar teachers do. There is a very gradual progression, building up to stay for a longer period. Some students will stay with wall support, and some will be balancing independently by the end of the course. (please don’t panic – your teacher will guide you and has heaps of alternatives, hacks and tricks for people with injuries and other health issues)
There are some quietning floor poses to transition calmly into a guided Savasana (Relaxation Pose) for the end of the class.
Skill comes with practice, as in other arts such as music. It is the only way. So classes give an opportunity for you to repeat, consolidate develop and progress.
Can I come casually to the Foundations course?
Yes. You can purchase a single class or a 10-class pass online or through reception. Please arrive 10-15 minutes before your first class to meet your teacher and register.
Once you have purchased a pass please contact us at reception to book, as students cannot book themselves into casual “Essentials” classes
Courses offer a structure to students, who then find it easier to commit and attend regularly. These are the students who benefit the most from yoga.
If you decide after your first casual session that you would like to commit, let us know. We will deduct your class payment from the Course fee.
How long are your classes?
Doors open 15 minutes before class start times.
Foundations: 60 minutes
Developing: 75 minutes
Experienced: 90 minutes
What are 'adjustments'
Hands on ‘adjustments’ are an important aspect of Iyengar Yoga instruction.
Teachers use physical touch on occasions as an effective aid to complement verbal instruction and visual demonstration. New beginners are given space to settle in and are seldom adjusted.
Consent
Please let your teacher know or email us if you have questions or are not comfortable with being adjusted. We are happy to discuss and will of course respect your concerns.
Being Adjusted
Your teacher will give you an adjustment if they estimate you have the capacity to experience or understand more whilst in an asana. It is not a “correction’ and doesn’t indicate that what you are doing is incorrect.
Touch helps to focus attention or bring clarity to an action where words or a demonstration might not. For example if a teacher presses you on the trapezius it can help to feel tension in the neck, as opposed to thinking about the tension there if you hear an explanation. It can be a very effective aid to learning via direct experience.
Why are classes longer than at other yoga centres?
We can’t rush yoga. There is vast content to cover and you are developing skills that require practice and repetition.
Competency and confidence take time and effort
A slow cooked meal is far more nutritious and satisfying than a hastily thrown together snack…
We are not aware of time passing when mind is absorbed in action. We experience a state of timelessness.
Why do you only have one type of yoga?
Iyengar Yoga is a very comprehensive method. We know that advanced practitioners need skills across a wide range of practices, and Iyengar yoga covers that range in more depth than most.
Each class is a journey skilfully conducted to take you from the busy exterior to a quiet place within.
It is founded in a lineage that connects to classical yoga, and the yoga sutras of Patanjali.
You could spend a whole lifetime exploring in this method, and still have more to learn.
Our teachers have the skills to adapt sequences and poses for everybody who is keen to learn.
We don’t need to look for variety beyond Iyengar Yoga, because it contains such breadth and depth of content.
Is your method ‘easy' or ‘hard’ yoga?
Easy, Hard, Both, Neither.
Classes can be quite active, and physically challenging. But if you are injured, or stiff, then we can show you alternative ways of working.
The ‘hard’ part usually relates to our perceptions and expectations, our self-talk, our ideas about ourselves, and what we think we should be, or shouldn’t be doing.
Our experienced teachers aim to create an environment that encourages all students to safely explore their limits. Enter the school at the right level so you can learn the techniques to proceed.
How are you different from all the other types of yoga?
Training
Our teachers train over years (not weeks)
Our senior teachers train over decades (not years)
There is a rigorous assessment process, run by a national body, not a signing off process by the trainer.
Our students tell us that they like it how we actually teach them how to do the poses, which they tell us does not always happen in other methods.
Iyengar Yoga Australia
We have a national body concerned with upholding the highest standards of teaching, and dedicated to promoting the teachings of BKS Iyengar.
Beginners and beyond
We have a highly developed, tried and tested curriculum for introducing beginners to the most useful and accessible poses. Intensely keen students who apply themselves can develop quite quickly and move up through the levels. Students of regular intensity can work and develop at their own pace, benefitting from working with awareness and intelligence regardless of which level they are at.
Practice
We have a culture of practice, which we aim to cultivate in our students. This means not just turning up to classes, but self-directed learning. (Some other older methods, such as Ashtanga, also have this culture)
We teach from our practice which is a hallmark of the Iyengar method.
Investigation and self-study are part of our discipline of practice.
Method
It is a rich method. Part art and part science, it balances the body, mind and breath.
Our range of practices is broader, and more adaptable for all bodies and abilities, than most other methods.
The method is perfect for avoiding and preventing injury as well as for people with injuries. Physical and psychological balance is enhanced as there is an emphasis on anatomical alignment.
We don’t mix in other stuff. We find yoga to be a complete system in itself.
Lineage
We teach Iyengar Yoga (eye-en-gar). It is a name, not a brand.
BKS Iyengar was instrumental in helping spread yoga from India to the rest of the world.
He developed a method of yoga that is inclusive, intelligent, and founded in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, dating back around two-thousand years.
We have senior teachers with many decades of experience in teacher training, mentoring, assessing, practicing and studying with the Iyengar family in Pune, India.
Syllabus
There is a syllabus of asanas for teachers and students. There is a sense of progression in asanas.
In our syllabus, we explore the links. Links between actions in poses. Links between asanas. Links between body parts. Links between mind and body, breath and body, mind and breath, etc… Yoga means union, after all.
Do you have a teacher training course?
Our level 2 and 3 teachers can mentor trainees. This is conducted more like an apprenticeship than a course and is for those with a minimum of three years Iyengar Yoga Experience. Currently Amanda is mentoring trainees.
Anyone considering teacher-training needs to demonstrate a willingness to be a student first, a preparedness to learn and a capacity to practice. This is a requirement of all Iyengar teacher trainees worldwide.
After teacher training (300 hours + 100 hours observing/assisting/adjusting) there is an assessment conducted by the Iyengar Yoga Association of Australia.
Please attend at least 6 months of classes with us before enquiring about training.
What does UNLIMITED mean in your Foundations course? How often should I attend?
We currently have 3 classes a week purely dedicated for students who are new to yoga. If you enrol in the 10-week unlimited course, you can attend as many of those classes as you desire.
You should attend at least once a week, for continuity and progression through the syllabus. This is what most students do. Some students are extremely keen and come 2 or 3 times a week. We encourage you to come as often as you can. We are passionate and enthusiastic and love to share our subject with others who are also passionate and enthusiastic.
Why do you have levels for your classes?
We offer classes at 3 levels, because with time and dedication, our students learn and progress. At some point they need to go up a level, to be inspired by the other students already there, to be further challenged by the syllabus.
In mixed level classes the beginners miss out on the basics, and the experienced students get held back.
This means everyone can learn at their level, and as it provides a great learning environment our teachers and students prefer it this way.
Do you have an area to change?
There is a roomy change area, shower and toilet.
I am scared of doing Led Practice, what is it?
Led practice helps students gain confidence and skills to practice without a teacher present. Students come together once a week. They are led through a sequence of poses by another student who has volunteered.
Poses that have been learnt in classes are practiced without instruction.
It isn’t scary, as the poses are familiar from class, and the leader does the poses with the group as they call the poses names. This provides the visual cues to follow.
Led practice is open to all students who attend regularly. This means those on memberships or enrolled in a course. Led practice is free for students on Unlimited memberships, or is payable by donation.
What is your yoga room like?
Just lovely. High ceilings, natural light and ventilation, timber floors, fully equipped, loads of character, great location in Georgetown
Can I still join? The Foundations course has already started.
Yes. If you are keen you can start at any time, and will be charged prorata for the number of weeks remaining.
Ready to get started?
Our Method:
Iyengar Yoga
BKS Iyengar
B.K.S. (Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja) Iyengar (1918-2014) was the founder of Iyengar yoga, a style of yoga most notable for it’s exacting attention to proper alignment as well as the use of props to assist asanas. Iyengar was pivotal in spreading and popularizing yoga in the West. He was considered one of the most reputable yoga teachers worldwide, teaching thousands of devoted students. He authored many books on the philosophy and practice of yoga, most famously “Light on Yoga,” which became an international best-seller and is still considered a foundational book in yoga asana practice.
After a difficult and sickly childhood, B.K.S. Iyengar was inspired by his brother-in-law, Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, to begin learning and practicing yoga for his own health. After having completed his studies with his guru, Krishnamacharya, Iyengar was instructed to begin teaching yoga. He was only 18 years old.
Iyengar became influential in the West after teaching the violinist, Yehudi Menuhin, who invited him to Switzerland in 1954. After this initial visit, Iyengar began visiting Western countries regularly to teach yoga.
In 1975, after the passing of his beloved wife, Iyengar established Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India. In 1978, students of Iyengar established the Light on Yoga Research Trust (LOYRT) with it’s headquarters in Mumbai, India.
B.K.S. Iyengar was named one of “Time Magazine’s” most influential people in 2004. He had many children, several of which continue to teach yoga out of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. They are Geeta S. Iyengar and Prashant S. Iyengar.
read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._K._S._Iyengar
Dr Geeta S. Iyengar (1944 – 2018)
In her father’s light, not shadow!
Dr Geeta S. Iyengar, daughter of Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, was the senior- most teacher in the Iyengar community. She had completed 74 years on December 7 2020.
Sister to her five siblings but a mother figure to the whole community of Iyengar yoga practitioners which now spans 59 countries across the world, Geetaji lived a simple life which embodied all the principles of being a yogini.
She chose to lead a life of brahmacharya (celibacy) and devoted her life to yogic pursuits.
As the director of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI), Pune, together with her father BKS Iyengar and her brother Prashant, she was instrumental in moulding and teaching generations of yoga aspirants from their Yoga-shala in Shivajinagar, Pune.
Last year, the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award for the best Yoga Institute in India was awarded to RIMYI. This, in a way, acknowledged her six-decades-long years of commitment to teaching yoga and mentoring generations of yoga teachers which has resulted in the Iyengar yoga certificate becoming the gold standard in the field.
The eldest child of Ramamani and Yoga guru BKS Iyengar, Geetaji was born near Tumkur, her maternal place but did her schooling in Pune, where her father had settled down as a yoga teacher.
She was inspired to take up yoga early and never looked back. An early attack of nephritis at age 9 had left her with only half a kidney, and ever since, she became a keen student of yoga.
Decades later, when asked at a Q & A, whether she felt she was in her father’s shadow, she had wittily said, “I consider myself fortunate to be in my father’s light, not his shadow.”
In 2012, Geetaji conducted a mega class in Portland, Oregon, US, which has become a benchmark for the congruence between Yoga, medicine and Ayurveda. In this convention, she gave the principles of how to hone the art of observation and application of yogasanas in the treatment and alleviation of various diseases. She repeatedly stressed how yogasanas have a transformative power, and this comes with the alignment of the outer, inner and innermost bodies (sthula, sukshma and karana shariras) with the bahya, antar-anga and antar-atma sadhanas.
When people talk of alignment, they only point to external points of reference like arms and legs and muscles and joints. But here was someone who showed us how to align a life to the teachings of a Guru, how to align a life to the learnings of an art, how to align a life to the responsibilities of a practitioner (sadhaka), a teacher and a pillar of the yoga community.
Though a teacher in her own right, she always remained a shishya to her father and the subject of yoga till the end. Even at the recently concluded centenary celebrations of Yogacharya BKS Iyengar, where more than 1,200 students from 53 countries participated in a ten-day yogasana and pranayama session, she taught tirelessly for six hours a day exhorting students to experience the intelligence in their bodies first-hand and not depend on second-hand experiences. This insistence on self-learning and self-awareness in the body, mind, consciousness and breath became her defining ethic.
She authored the classic, ‘Yoga – A Gem For Women’ which is now translated into several languages. Her continuous exploration resulted in the volumes, Preliminary Course and Intermediate Course which became a beginner-level learner’s text guides to her father’s definitive Light On Yoga.
Her six-decades-long commitment to the subject of yoga has been something which will now inspire generations of practitioners.
Written by Parvez Irani
BOOKS by GEETA IYENGAR
- Iyengar, Geeta. Yoga: A Gem for Women, 2002. ISBN 978-0-931454-98-1
- Iyengar, Geeta. Yoga in Action – Preliminary Course, 2000. ISBN 978-81-87603-01-6
- Iyengar, Geeta. Yoga in Action – Intermediate Course-I, 2013. ISBN 978-81-87603-22-1
- Clennell, Bobby; Iyengar, Geeta. The Women’s Yoga Book: Asana and Pranayama for All Phases of the Menstrual Cycle, 2007. ISBN 978-1-930485-18-1
- Iyengar, Geeta. Iyengar Yoga for Motherhood: Safe Practice for Expectant & New Mothers, 2010. ISBN 978-1-402726-89-7
Prashant Iyengar
Sri. Prashant S. Iyengar is the son of Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar and an authority in yoga. He is presently the director of Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (R.I.M.Y.I.) and an authority on Yoga. His knowledge about the scriptures and the ancient texts makes learning yoga very interesting. He is also an accomplished violinist.
