Nikki Shilling

I teach classes Port Stephens from a gorgeous home studio located close to the beach and surrounding bushland at One Mile. Despite the peaceful outlook it is only around six minutes drive from Nelson Bay, Salamander Shopping Centre and Anna Bay.  

For the most part, I prefer to a block of classes as a course. This is what is available in the evenings Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (please see the website for further info). Yoga is an integrated and deeply beneficial philosophy that is essentially for the mind - although we find this while working with the body. The benefits are unlikely to be experienced if we attend a class every now and then; like most things, it just doesn't work that way. Financial commitment to a six-week session also means we are more likely to have it embedded in our mind as "that thing we do" on a particular day.

Vinyasa means “flow” or “fluidity”.  Vinyasa-Krama translates to mean something along the lines of “intelligent steps towards a goal”.  My yoga teaching and sequences are based on rethinking how we tend to move habitually. During classes I tend to suggest making simple, technical and postural adjustments that often challenge what it is we may tend to normally do without being aware. The practice is akin to a dynamic, moving meditation – calming and soothing, yet invigorating. Participants build strength and flexibility effortlessly, plus overall performance is generally improved.  However, these things are not the goal of yoga and the first step is to let go of draining and habitual body tension. Once understood, these techniques can be applied to anything – daily life and other forms of exercise. Guaranteed, niggles, aches and pains will diminish – if not disappear – for good. But do be patient. The hardest thing to change is the mind.