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An uplifting yoga class expertly and gently facilitated by Rishi in the Bowie Room at The Old Library, 7 Rust Ave, Whangārei.💚$10 to try it out. See more info in FEES below.
On Wednesday mornings at 9am (during our term times, which basically follow those of the 4 school terms). Our Term 1 starts on February 9. Therefore, the first Wednesday classes will be on February 11. 😎
Each session is a 75-minute general hatha yoga class - 60 minutes of āsana (poses/postures/exercises) with breath awareness and always some prānāyāma (specialized breathing techniques), then finishing with 10-15 minutes of yoga nidra (deep relaxation - psychic sleep).
Note that the āsana section is still the longest component within the 75 minutes but there will always be some prānāyāma in each class, making that the key difference between this class in format compared to our other seven classes.
This is suitable for beginners to advanced, as students work at their own level and pace for both the āsana and the prānāyāma.
Move, breathe and relax for flexibility, strength and balance.
INSTRUCTOR: Rishi Iyer
Rishi has a BMus(Hons), specializing in classical singing. He has worked with NZ Opera in the chorus of various productions in Auckland and Wellington as well as in musical theatre in Hamilton. Since relocating to Whangārei, he is now often in local shows with Opera North or the Whangārei Choral Society, having also worked with Whangārei Theatre.
Growing up in a yoga teaching environment, Rishi added yoga teaching to his repertoire, completing his yoga teacher training in 2022. To fulfil the requirements for this, he attended a series of week long sessions - which required follow-up study and practice after each one - obtaining a RYT200 yoga teaching qualification. This was through Prema-Heart Yoga School at Ritual Yoga on Waiheke Island, Hauraki Gulf. He plans to further his yoga qualifications with a 300-hour training there in 2026.
Rishi, when he can fit them in, likes to be a part of other yoga retreats and workshops regularly each year to continue learning through yoga, such as a retreat with Swami Ratnashakti at Aio Wira in January, 2025. He will also attended the REP (Registered Exercise Professionals) conference in November, 2025. As a registered yoga teacher with Yoga NZ (https://www.yoganewzealand.org.nz/)
he is also a member of REP.
Rishi had previously also attended classes with yoga teachers when studying at Waikato University. Over the past 10 years, he has worked with Swami Ānandarādhā Saraswati (Rādhe) in the Northland classes and workshops, teaching all of the 6 classes run per week in 2024 (and most of the 7 run in 2025) by Shraddha Yoga and Meditation.
Having a father who is Brahmin, from India, it seems that Rishi may have genetically inherited an ability with pronunciation of Sanskrit. Admittedly, this is probably also helped by becoming proficient singing in other languages. However, he has a particular interest in chanting and/or singing Sanskrit mantra and kirtan. Rishi likes to open and close the yoga sessions by chanting the short universal mantra Om (A-U-M) out loud.
OUR TYPE OF YOGA
✨Both Rishi and Rādhe are trustees of Shraddha - Yoga and Meditation, a registered charitable trust in NZ.
✨Hatha Yoga, a classical, traditional style of yoga including āsana (postures/poses) which is generally practiced with breath awareness, requiring co-ordination of in and out breath with the movements or following the breath for a certain number of breaths while holding an āsana - and sometimes including a few minutes of prānāyāma (specialized breathing techniques) - makes up the main part of Shraddha Yoga and Meditation 75-minute sessions. However, this Wednesday 9am class always has some of the specialized prānāyāma practices that often do not get taught in our other classes and may sometimes include a few different āsana too.
✨There is always a short yoga nidra (deep relaxation) of 10-15 minutes at the end of each class, this practice also being known as 'psychic sleep' and adapted by Swami Satyananda from earlier teachings for use in more modern times. This is a very popular (often favourite) practice where you lie down comfortably (preferably on the back) and move your attention systematically from part to part of the body by following as the instructor names each part.
✨Although our approach to āsana practice is gentle, any pose can be practiced on a continuum from softly to strongly. Hence, anyone can always go either 'easier' or 'harder' in any āsana to better suit them personally, such as choosing to reduce/extend practice of an āsana or substitute with a variation of an āsana ... or perhaps you may choose to do another āsana altogether - possibly this is an alternative that has a different level of challenge or it may be just something that you know you want/need to do, whether just on the one occasion or whenever practice of that particular āsana that you have chosen to replace occurs in future classes.
✨Shraddha Yoga and Meditation classes are largely Satyananda-focused, with practices from the Bihar School of Yoga forming the foundation of what is taught. Some āsana are repeated a number of times, a few are within 'flows' and a few may held for some time (a number of breaths), whether repeated first or just done once, e.g. some balancing poses may be just done once on each side for however long the teacher stipulates, or for whatever time length suits the individual practitioner.
✨A book that is very useful for learning more about this style of yoga is 'Asana, Pranayama, Mudra and Bandha' by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. He started the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger, Bihar, India.
FEES
💚 Your first class with us can be done for $10 (cash or internet banking), which is half the full non-discounted casual fee for an adult of $20; this is without any obligation to continue after that.
Those with SGC or CSC could then come for $15 cash each class after the $10 first class, if they wish.
However, concession cards make the rate much cheaper.
An 11-class card is what most students purchase for $110 (this keeps the rate at $10 per class) and a 22-class card is $210 (~$9.50 per class). There is also a 6-class card for $78 ($13 per class).
There's NO EXPIRY on any of our cards so that you are able to keep using a card until it is finished.
A card can be used at any venue we teach at and shared with friend/s or whānau, if you choose.
Do please contact us by DM if you need to make a financial arrangement to purchase an 11-class card, e.g. paying by instalment.
WHAT TO BRING
Wear comfortable clothing. Bring your yoga mat (let us know if you do need to borrow one of our mats) and also a blanket (winter)/cotton sarong (summer) for covering yourself for the relaxation that is done at the end of the class. The body temperature drops during relaxation.
Having your own water bottle with you is best too, although there is a kitchen next to the Bowie Room if you need to get a cup of water from there.
We look forward to seeing you at The Old Library to energize, tone, relax and release into the rest of your week!
Rishi welcomes bookings and enquiries on 0277104347.
If you would like to come via Zoom, please request the link. We already had 3 of our evening classes available on Zoom so then we decided to give virtual access to this one as well in Term 4 of 2025. It was a good idea, as it is a full 8 hours or so earlier so gave more time options for some parts of the world. 🌎
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Old Library, 7 Rust Ave, Whangārei, 7 Rust Ave, Whangarei 0110, New Zealand, Whangarei
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
