For the last 23 years Shawn has been a dedicated student of Yoga. After a career in snowboarding as a competitor and a coach, Yoga swiftly moved from a way to heal old injuries to a place of powerful self-reflection and personal transformation. His love for the practice naturally led him to work as an educator and teacher trainer for some of the largest Yoga communities in the United States and Australia.
Donna was introduced to Yoga more than 20 years ago. Upon meeting Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Rebecca Gilby in 2004, Donna’s practice deepened and for the next 3 years she studied under her tutelage. In 2007, Donna then began studying with Moksha at Yoga Om, eventually doing her yoga Teacher Training in 2010 with his school and then co founded The Yoga Vine studio in the Perth CBD.
Donnas class is dynamic, flowing, nurturing, challenging and will leave you feeling just plain awesome. We are so stoked to have her on our team as she brings not only decades of experience but she also brings the vibes and love into her teaching. Do yourself a favor and get into her class!!!
How did you end up on a yoga mat?
13 years ago my housemate at the time took me along and said “try not to laugh”, I had no idea what to expect – I certainly didn’t know It would change my life! Not long after this I had an accident which is when I started to explore yoga beyond the physical postures.
I have been Practicing yoga since 2000 and decided I only wanted to do yoga so I left london for South Africa where I completed my first teacher training in 2009. Since then I have co-created and co-led both 200 hour and 300 hour advanced teacher trainings in South Africa and Germany. I moved back to Perth in 2017.
How long have you been practicing Yoga?
I was first introduced to yoga in 2010 when I dabbled in hot yoga classes, but it wasn’t until I took a beginner’s course in Ashtanga yoga later the same year that a whole new world opened up for me. I found these sweet moments of stillness
through the union of breath and movement. Since then, I’ve played with different styles of yoga, eventually becoming drawn to the more creative vinyasa style.
How did you end up on a yoga mat?
When I was 19, I suddenly lost half of my hearing and began suffering from tinnitus, which caused a constant ringing in my ear. I needed to adjust to a world that sounded completely different than what I was used to. Yoga helped me find that place of peace within my mind. It helped me find my center, taught me acceptance, and lead me to growth within myself. I was able to make peace with my situation and explore new opportunities to connect my mind with my body. This journey is where my real love and devotion to yoga began to blossom.
How did you end up on a yoga mat? My sister convinced me to go to a Bikram class with her in 2015 whilst I was staying with her for two months in New York City. I did the intro offer, fell in love with it, and ended up practicing nearly every day I was abroad. From then on, I always came back to the mat through various studios, teachers on Youtube, virtually in any way that I could make the practice accessible for myself.
How did you end up on a yoga mat?
I’ve drifted on and off the mat over the past five years or so, but it’s been a consistent part of my life for the last three. Something just clicked during a class one day, and I was lucky enough to discover a handful of incredible teachers here in Perth who truly inspired and encouraged me to dive deeper.
