Qualified, friendly and passionate teachers

Claire Massey

As a kid sports were not my thing but in 2006 I decided to give yoga a go and have not looked back for a moment. Since then I’ve been a regular at yoga for the people and in February 2018 I bought the business from Anika. My initial training was in hatha yoga and Yin and in 2021 I took the plunge and trained to deliver the 26 + 2 Bikram Yoga Sequence. I love being able to share my knowledge and my ongoing learning with others

I’ve spent much of my career researching how NZ’s small and medium enterprises can contribute to the society we all live in. YFTP is one of those enterprises and I love the fact that being the owner makes it possible to connect my professional skills and my personal passion. When I’m not at the studio or up the road at Massey University’s Wellington campus I design and sew clothes and do the odd bit of DIY!  

Glenda Swan

I started practicing Bikram Yoga in 2006, just after having my second baby. My very dear friend dragged me along to a 6.30am class, told me to wear tight fitting clothing and I arrived having no idea what to expect or do. OMG – it was horrible. I had to bend and twist AND look at myself in the mirror for a whopping 90 minutes. Everyone else seemed calm, and good at it. I was struggling to breathe, overwhelmed by the heat, and didn’t understand what I was supposed to do. To be honest, I didn’t like it, not one little bit.

I grumbled about this ‘silly’ yoga as I went back for my second class and every class after that. Then one day after about 10 months someone said: “you look great”. I had lost a lot of weight (20kgs), but more importantly, I was calm(er) and less grumpy, enjoying the yoga (sort of), having fun with my family, and sorting my work life out!

After two years of practicing yoga, I came home and declared to the hubbie that I wanted to teach this yoga. So off I went to Mexico for 9 weeks (500 hours) of intense teacher training. The training was fantastic, but challenging with 2 longggg classes a day, study, and 300 other students!

I have now been teaching yoga on and off for over 10 years. It’s provided reflection, balance, fun and bought me closer to my values. I hope you also find inner peace and joy from yourself and your yoga.

I started practicing Bikram Yoga in my early 40’s, pulling on my trousers was hard, muscle tone was non existent, weight was slowly coming on my midriff. Drinking a tiny glass of wine daily, working very long hours and being self-employed, my personal relationships were coming second in my life and my head was driving me crazy, sleep was virtually limited to short bursts.

When I first started yoga I couldn’t do any of it, I had a million reasons why it was too hard, and used all of them, BUT from day one I knew it felt good, and it felt right for me and my body. I had good and bad days, I progressed from the back row as I slowly became more comfortable with me myself and I.

Practicing Bikram Yoga has changed me in so many ways, mainly how I react and respond to situations. It has freed me from limiting beliefs and brought some incredibly special people into my life. Through practicing I have slowly eliminated many people and things that no longer serve me today which has enabled me to move in more of a positive peaceful direction. I am incredibly grateful to have found this yoga and I’m able to share it with others.

Renee Reid

I started practicing the original Bikram hot yoga sequence back in 2014 while living in Auckland. It was when I was busy training for my first full marathon and a friend recommended a Bikram class to help with endurance for the run. I bought a trial pass, and thoroughly enjoyed every second. I couldn’t believe how good I felt afterwards too. It really improved my fitness with running and improved many aspects life in general. In my very first week I knew I wanted to be a teacher, and 10 months later I was in Thailand at a 10-week Bikram Training course. That was one of the best experiences of my life. I look forward to teaching your class – see you on your mat.

Rhys Kaan

My practice began in 2009, the right people at the right time suggested I join them after work and told me it was going to be hot, that I’d need to hydrate and to do what I can as best I can. It was hotter than I imagined and no amount of hydrating seemed enough, but I thought one class wasn’t enough to get a feel for the yoga and its benefits so I did a second class, then a third, and so on until it became a regular part of my life. Once that happened the benefits kicked in, my mood, sleep patterns and outlook on life improved, not to mention some very significant weight loss.

After a while I decided that practicing yoga wasn’t enough. I wanted to share it with others and the best way to do that was to become a yoga teacher, so I went to the Spain 2019 training and started to deliver the yoga with the same energy and passion that that got me to where I am today.

Helen Davey

I started practicing Bikram yoga in 2009 – my back and knee pain disappeared and it calmed my mind. 

In 2015 I discovered Yin yoga – it was the perfect balance to strength based yoga and other active exercise.  

The desire to learn more and be able share my passion for yoga inspired me to complete my first Yin Yoga training in 2017.  I love guiding people through a yin practice – a much needed opportunity to slow down and reconnect with yourself while helping to regain or maintain your range of motion.

My teaching journey continued as I extended my knowledge with a 200 hour Hatha yoga teacher training in 2020.  I enjoy practicing and teaching these postures, techniques and breathing exercises that are designed to move energy in your body, as well as stretch and strengthen your muscles – The Yang to balance the Yin.  

The science of movement, breath and meditation and how these practices improve both our physical and mental wellbeing is something I love continuing to learn about, as this ancient practice of yoga continues to evolve to help us in the modern world.

A yoga fairy told me to come to Bikram Yoga to help repair my broken body. Yoga fairy’s have a warped sense of humour (I was to find out). I still remember that class as if it was yesterday! I was bemused that I managed to do most poses and I lived to tell the story! What really impressed me was the relief it gave my back and how it worked into my other niggley joints. With regular practice I started to reclaim my body – strengthen my ankles and knees, quicken recovery after (re)injury and regain lost range of movement.

This is what keeps me coming back to class now – it is my aroha to my body and mind.  Yoga keeps me moving and helps relax my mind. I started practicing in 2008 and still find it challenging and rewarding. I just love how it makes me feel afterwards. I am constantly inspired by my fellow yogini’s journey and how yoga has helped them. Yin has been the icing on the cake – opening up those deep spots I could never quite get to and focusing on stillness of the body, breath and mind. Curious to improve my yin practice, I did my teacher training. I have been teaching since 2018.

My yoga journey has taken me to many different styles of yoga.  It is, however, the healing powers and ease of access to my body and mind that the heated room provides that keeps me returning to the hot yoga methods. Healthy body, healthy life – come and join me on the mat!

Lisa Oakley

Yoga for many years brought strength and much-needed balance to so many areas of my life. This inspired me to do my first yoga teacher training in Singapore back in 2014. During this training, I was introduced to Yin yoga which took my own practice to an even deeper level and a great desire to explore it further through teacher trainings with Joe Barnett. 

Yin practice is a wonderful complement to our busy lives. Inside the cocoon of long-held Yin poses we can really turn our attention inwards, taking time to come home to ourselves, observing more and reacting less.

Recently my family and I spent a year in the US. Along with the wonderful opportunity to live in a different county and meet some beautiful people, I was also very blessed to have the opportunity to teach and experience some amazing yoga classes. Additionally, I undertook healing workshops, silent retreats, and mindfulness trainings.  A combination of these, and my burning desire to learn more, has really helped me deepen my capacity to listen to my own essential nature.  This has enhanced not just my physical health but also my state of mind. As a teacher, I look forward to sharing with you some of these new ways of being.

Anthea Tucker

Fresh out of training with the Original Hot Yoga Association, I am completing my 350 hour OHYA teacher training certificate. 

I came to Bikram Yoga (26+2 Hot Yoga) after years of classical ballet training, which gave me a strong sense of mind body connection. During my years living in Europe I had a regular yoga practice which awakened the idea for me of following the path of becoming a teacher. 

Coming back home to New Zealand in May 2020, I returned to Yoga for the People in Wellington. I was looking for a sustainable practice to support my mind and body, and realised how much I love the hot room. It opens up the musculature and enables safe movement. Combined with the steady and held pace of a traditional Hatha yoga class, I believe there is nothing better. Sharing this yoga is a privilege. I can’t wait to see you in the hot room.

Wan Hwa Goh

WanHwa is a chatty introvert who enjoys friends’ company followed by alone time. One of her mottos in life is – Work out hard and eat harder. When she is not at her day job where she is pricing construction projects, she finds time to work out in the gym or do a yoga or hot pilates class at Yoga for the People. She also loves arranging next food sessions with studio members!

During her quiet times, she enjoys art paintings, Chinese calligraphy and some light reading.

Cameron Castle

I discovered 26+2 hot yoga a few years ago when living in Dunedin, NZ, during my medical school training. I began practicing a few times a week and soon realised how specifically the sequence is designed to help heal the body, recover from injury and re-center the mind. I practice yoga for the fitness and health benefits. I enjoy the meditative state one enters when pushing the body and mind during the practice. Yoga allows the development of clarity, resilience, and stability. 

I had many inspirational teachers along the way and so was motivated to embark on my own yoga journey towards training as a Hot Yoga teacher. I recently completed the Original Hot Yoga (OHY) Teacher Training (Bikram lineage of 26 + 2) in Queenstown, NZ.  Over the next few months, I will complete the 350 hours needed for the OHY Association teaching certificate.

For me, yoga is about the balance between strength and flexibility, exertion, and releasing. My passion is working with people to realise their own potential within the sequence and guide them on their journey toward a positive, energetic, and well-balanced life.