Natasia Cook:

My first passion was dance. Having trained in various styles of dancing since the age of 5 and later worked as a professional ballet dancer for 7 years, I have a huge respect for the incredible human body and it’s ability to transform and heal itself. After retiring from the stage I moved into the corporate world and later studied Reflexology & Meridian Therapy, registering as a Therapeutic Reflexologist and running my practice “The Sole Sanctuary” for 6 years. Returning on & off to the corporate world over the years taught me a great deal but nothing quite fed my soul until my yoga journey began in 2001 when I attended my first yoga class. Finding yoga felt like coming home!
My yoga journey so far has included exposure to the Hatha, Iyengar, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Indieyoga, Sivananda, Anusara, Budokon, Yoga Synergy, Yin, Restorative, Partner/Acro and Dharma styles. My special interests are body alignment and the healing potential of yoga.

I am profoundly grateful to my teachers & mentors; the late Ingrid Eriksen, who first guided me into teaching in 2008 (Hatha & Vinyasa), as well as Kerry Weavind from Haum of Yoga (now IndieYoga) whose insightful and life changing IndieYoga course (2013) inspired me to finally take the leap out of my ‘day job’ and make sharing this incredible art and discipline my full time passion. I continue to attend courses and workshops to update and expand my knowledge as Yoga is an ongoing journey of discovery; the more you learn the more there is to learn!  I am currently studying yoga therapy with Shakti Yoga Teaching Academy & Therapy Centre.
What a privilege it is to interact with people from all walks of life and watch as they develop their own awareness, strength and peace.
I started Namaste Yoga Studio on an impulse in June 2008 and it has grown over the years to become my happy place, community and purpose.

 

Sancha Fulton:

My own yoga practice started in May 2015 with Namasté Yoga Studio when my mom and I started attending classes together with Natasia Cook. It all began with me just wanting to ‘feel good’. I had tried out different exercises like running, Zumba classes and the gym, just to get my body moving, but nothing really stuck until my mom suggested we try yoga. I had never thought of it, but still was eager to give it a try. Wow…did I fall in love with the practice! I felt so amazing afterwards, like a great positive shift happened within me. All the elements taught in the yoga class – the breathing techniques, meditation and keeping present and focused, as well as movement for the body were, and still are, so aligned with what I value.  Especially as at that time I was doing a metaphysics course, I was really into all that great stuff.

After some time of practising yoga I wanted to take it further and was introduced to children’s yoga. I was inspired to see how these lessons were teaching the children essential life skills through a fun yoga practice. That’s when I decided I wanted to get involved and make it a part of my life.

I enrolled in one of South Africa’s leading children’s yoga companies, Yoga4kids with Suzie Manson and completed my children’s yoga teacher training, and soon after started teaching kids in 2016. 

As it does, my practice evolved, and in 2017 I went to India for a month to practice and to learn more about yoga. I trained through Rishikul Yogshala in Rishikesh, where I received my 200 hour Teacher training certificate in Hatha and Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga. It was a wonderful experience as I learnt the traditional Indian yoga, and it deepened my interest and love for the practice.

Recently I went back to India for 2 months and furthered my studies in Goa. In February 2019 I completed my 300 hour yoga teacher training as well as adding a 100 hour meditation teacher training. I teach Hatha Vinyasa and children’s yoga.

This yoga journey is a beautiful one for me! I have learned so much about my body and myself and there is so much out there to deepen my love and interest for yoga. I will always continue to grow through experiencing this beautiful practice. A forever wonderful and evolving, unfolding journey.

 

Steph Salomo:

I took my first ever yoga class in 1997, in Ireland, at work, encouraged by a colleague, for one hour during Monday lunch times, and it completely changed the whole week!
For the next ten years I fluctuated between basic self-practice at home, attending one or two yoga classes a week, which helped to control back aches, tendonitis and headaches, exploring different styles such as Sivananda, Hatha, Ashtanga, Yoga Synergy, Anusara, Acro, Forrest, Vinyasa, Power Yoga, Iyengar, Yin, Restorative, Aerial, Budokon, Meditation, Mindfulness… until I was introduced to Pilates in 2007 which helped me develop the core strength I needed to take my yoga practice to a whole new level… and thanks to Natasia’s support, I made the decision to take part in an intense teacher training programme at Yoga Warrior in Rosebank in February 2012.
I qualified as a Hatha Vinyasa teacher eight months later, in September 2012, after an amazing journey through this first level of yoga teacher training, which started me on a new path, with new tools and a deeper understanding of yoga asana, meditation and philosophy, enabling me to share this wonderful gift with you.
I continue to develop my self-practice and teacher training with daily meditation, workshops and retreats whenever, wherever I can, such as Yoga Synergy one-week intensives in 2014 and 2015 with Simon Borg-Olivier visiting from Australia, and starting advanced teacher training with Jim Harrington of ReUnion Yoga & Meditation in Cape Town, which lead to my first visit to India, with my first yoga ashram retreat in September 2015, and hopefully many more to come! During 2016 I developed a liking for Budokon yoga (budokon.com) thanks to my teacher Dave Gardner, which swiftly lead to attending the first ever Budokon yoga teacher training in South Africa in Nov 2016, and qualifying as a Budokon® Yoga teacher in January 2017. In March 2018 I am continuing with the next model of Jim Harrington’s advanced teacher training in Cape Town with a focus on anatomy & physiology of yoga and movement… watch this space!

 

Kylie Coleman:

The journey of self-discovery is the most important journey we can take. It is about finding ourselves, accepting ourselves as we are and expressing that divine power within, without fear; uncovering and tapping into the very best we can be. It is a lifelong journey and it all starts with a single step; onto the mat.

My first step onto the mat came at a time in my life when I thought I had exhausted all options and had nowhere left to turn. From that first step, yoga showed me that the happiness I was continuously searching for in this life was already within me. And I promise you can find that same, elusive happiness within you too. All you have to do is take that first step.

I am a 500 level hatha yoga teacher with a devoted love for everything calm, tranquil, slow and serene. I specialise in traditional hatha yoga but also like to incorporate and explore principles and techniques from more gentle, introspective styles like yin yoga and restorative yoga. 

My classes follow a balanced approach, focusing on uniting body, mind and spirit through the use of asana (postures), pranayama (breath-work) as well as mindfulness and meditation techniques in a way that induces complete relaxation on all levels. My intention? To ensure that everyone who leaves class feels a little lighter, more balanced, calm and collected and fully committed to continuing down their own path to reconnecting with their true selves.

Kirsty Cocolas:

My dream growing up was to become a ballet dancer but as I grew older, the competition grew stronger and the constant need to be the perfect ballerina began to take a massive toll on me both physically and emotionally forcing me to give it up. After a friend introduced me to yoga in 2014, I discovered that my yoga practice brought me the same joy as dancing but even more so, because there was no demand to perform and there was no pressure to be perfect. I was absolutely inspired by my yoga teach, Steph, and I quickly learned that I HAD to become a yoga teacher so that I could inspire others and pass on the same joy that yoga instilled in me. I completed my teacher training in 2017 at Yoga Warrior and have since done various trainings in prenatal yoga, yoga nidra and natural health and nutrition.

My classes offer sequences with variations for all levels but my ultimate intention is to allow my students to experience a quiet place of stillness and the benefits of living in the moment, leaving them feeling calm yet energised. I take pleasure in meeting my students exactly where they’re at in their practice and provide them with the space to explore what it means to move their body with integrity. I love to encourage my students to push themselves where they can but know that they can always pull back when they need to.