Port Douglas Yoga
Namaste from Port Douglas Yoga
Our Story
A Life of Balance & Joy
Port Douglas Yoga has continuously, since 1989, provided yoga guidance for the local community and visitors.
Classes at Port Douglas Yoga are taught from the heart in a relaxed and caring manner, by a dedicated group of professionally trained teachers who have been teaching regular classes in the area for over 30 years.
We provide a Shala, a yoga home, for students of Traditional Yoga to practice, share, experience and grow in a safe and joyful environment.
For beginner, intermediate or advance students alike, we invite you to join us in our beautiful tropical location, to practice yoga with a contemporary and holistic approach whilst having some fun along the way!
Bookings are now essential for each class.
Please text or email the teacher to book.
Lesley Johnston 0455 035 185
Tricia Middel 0410 693 010
Petra Kupkova 0438 117 486
Schell Clancy 0419 027 807
Noeline Clarke 0429 492 930
Cost for a casual class is $25 and a 5 class pass is $110.
We offer a local's 10 class pass at a reduced rate.
Located above The Book Lounge on Warner Street.
Time Table
Monday am
9:15 am - 10:45 am
Hatha Gentle - Lesley
Monday pm
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Hatha - Tricia
Tuesday pm
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Hatha - Lesley
Wednesday am
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Energising Flow - Tricia
Wednesday pm
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Yin - Petra
Thursday am
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Energising Flow - Tricia
Thursday am
9:30 am - 11:00am
Restorative - Schell
Friday am
9:15 am - 10:45 am
Hatha - Lesley
Saturday am
9:30 am - 10:45 am
Hatha Flow - Petra
Regional Classes
Mossman Yoga
Tuesday 9:30am
Gentle class lead by experienced teacher Lesley Johnston at Buffs Hall Mossman.
Classes We Offer
Lessons to Live By
Hatha
These classes are perfect for both newer students and seasoned Yogis aimed at keeping the foundations of practice solid.
Walking into a studio for the first time can be daunting, but here you will find classes to learn the practices of Hatha Yoga in a way that is accessible and also faithful to tradition. Explore the foundations of postural practice, discover simple breathing techniques and explore the world of meditation in a supportive environment, guided by experienced teachers.
Gentle
Our Gentle Yoga class is suitable for those seeking a safe, less intense, slower-paced, relaxing practice. It provides an environment that is welcoming and accessible to all no matter their age or state or health, it can offer relief to those with chronic conditions or are recovering from injury or illness.
The session offers a range of mobility exercises and stretches as well as traditional Yoga Practices, such as Breathing exercises, Meditation and Relaxation. An individual approach to all aspects is encouraged.
The class is suitable for absolute beginners, those who are fit and well, and all who would to enjoy a peaceful, comfortable and meditative approach to their practice.
Yin
Our Yin Yoga classes are a slow-paced and calming style of yoga. Poses are held for longer periods of time with a focus on floor-based postures. Yin Yoga targets the connective tissues (ligaments, tendons and fascia) to help improve flexibility and create the feeling of space and freedom in your body. You will leave feeling amazing! These classes are suitable for all levels of students.
Energising
A Yoga flow to energise you, strengthen and focus. This practice is meant to wake you up, and help you find your centre; so you finish your practice calmer than before, but also invigorated. The one hour session will also help you feel more connected to your body, as you challenge your muscles and build stamina.
Vinyasa Flow
This class focuses on your own personal journey in yoga by working to strengthen and awaken your body. Working with a series of flowing movements, Vinyasa Flow includes balancing postures, inversions and guided floor work and relaxation techniques. These classes will help improve flexibility and relaxation.
Slow Flow
Slow flow is a slower paced vinyasa class designed with greater emphasis on meditation and inquiry within each pose. Every posture is held for several breaths or longer so as to drop into the experience that is being offered. You will still flow and play with your edges yet with increased harmony, creating peace in the body and serenity and mind.
Restorative
This gentle Yoga Therapy leads you to core stability of your breath, body and mind. Using bolsters, blocks and folded blankets we create positions of ease and comfort that gently leads us to deeper health. The relaxation and rebalancing of the central nervous system is a time honoured pathway to a centered body. Suitable for all ages.
Shirley Lloyds
India was my home for the first sixteen years of my life, and a country which my family has been associated with for many generations. So it was natural that I developed a keen interest and love for anything connected with the sub-continent. This, eventually, led me in to pursue the path of Raja Yoga, studying with a number of revered and well known Gurus and Teachers. Amongst these were Dr.Girin Mukherji, Ma Yogashakti Saraswati, Swami Yogeshwarananda, Swami Chinmayananda, Shri Vijayadev Yogendra and Verna Gilbert (IYTA).
I completed my IYTA Diploma Course in 1989. This was followed by their Refresher Course in 1996. I have been studying and teaching Yoga for 45 years in Fiji, Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong and Australia and have also taught on P&O Cruise ships, have organised several Seminars and a tours of South India and Rajasthan.
My personal journey over the years has brought me the greatest joy and satisfaction, allowing me to share the many benefits of Yoga with a great number of students from all walks of life and from many parts of the world.
Tricia Middel
Having left the UK to live in Australia in 1991, curiosity led me to join a hatha yoga class run by Shirley Lloyds. It was whilst in that class and under her inspired and committed tutelage over the ensuing years that I discovered many of the joys and truly life changing benefits that a committed yoga practice can bring.
When Shirley invited me to embark upon the I.Y.T.A. Teachers' Training Course in 2000, I embraced the challenge of learning and now as I continue my learning and my teaching, my hope is to help others to experience some of those truly life changing benefits. To help them to find the inner calmness and the increased awareness of their own state of being that I have enjoyed through my own practice. It is such a joy to see others develop and grow. I continue to learn so much from them.
As a bookkeeper by trade (in my "day" job), I find my yoga practice a wonderful source of dynamic energy, quiet strength and peace of mind. It is what gives us the balance we all so keenly need.
Lesley
Over 30 years ago my yoga teacher, Shirley Lloyds, introduced me to yoga and I discovered a place of peace and perfection. This revelation began me on my yoga journey which continues today.
I became a qualified yoga teacher in 2003 and hold teaching membership with IYTA and a Senior Teacher with Yoga Australia.
My classes are based on teachings from traditional Hatha Yoga and are a balanced mix of asana (physical postures), pranayama (breath control), relaxation, mantra and meditation. My aim is to make people feel better physically and mentally after class.
Yoga is for everyone and I love the remedial aspect of yoga which I attempt to include in my general classes with the primary emphasis on our breath, our conscious breath. Conscious breath is the key to our health. Our breath can connect us physically, mentally and spiritually bringing us to a place of peace & joy.
Mia Messinger
I have a passion for helping people to live a better quality of life through ease of movement.
My studies include Stretch Therapy, a Diploma of Fitness and Several Mentorships with leading international Biomechanics and Fitness Therapists. However it is the complete integration of the bodies needs that Yoga embraces which attracted me to becoming a Qualified Yoga teacher.
Whilst dealing with chronic pain and injury I started to attend Alana’s classes and began healing through self-awareness of the in-balances and restrictions caused by years of repetitive actions.
“The journey of learning is an endless one as is the lifetime responsibility of being the best person we can to ourselves and others.”
Petra Kupkova
My name is Petra and I have come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that is as unique as a fingerprint. And I believe that the best way to succeed in life is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service. My passion, purpose and lifestyle is yoga and children. As a qualified Montessori and Yoga teacher with over a decade experience working with children around the world I provide kids yoga and vinyasa flow classes at the divine space of Port Douglas Shala. I have entered my personal yogic journey in San Francisco, California in my early 20s. Over the years I have practiced different styles of yoga and found myself through vinyasa flows. In 2020 I have obtained my 250hr vinyasa teacher training certificate in Brisbane, Australia. My classes are all about the balance in life as I believe that is what we all are searching for. Dynamic, and energizing flows that leave you feeling grounded, calm, yet strong and confident in your ways. All levels are welcome. Come to flow and glow with me. Namaste
Schell Clancy
Trusting the decision to have yoga in my life has subtly yet profoundly opened and released not just my physical body but in turn my breath, mind and spirit. This is the living experience that yoga has enabled me to manifest and which rests at the centre of my practice, the classes I teach and my life. It is the realisation that matter – the human body – and energy are completely interconnected and provides the link between knowledge and spirit. A knowledge that all indigenous cultures are seeded from.
“The most beautiful and profound emotion we can experience is the sensation
of the mystical….that which we cannot see, yet we feel.” – Albert Einstein
I continue to study the many fields of the power of Yoga and energy psychology.
Noeline Clarke
From my first class, with a friend in Belfast, I knew the practice of Yoga was the medicine my ailing body and mind needed, Yet is was when I allowed myself to explore various teachers on my travels that I began to witness the true essence.
On completing 200hr RYT, I adapted towards better lifestyle choices and became part of the community in Port Douglas Yoga.
Yet, it is through my passion for the body and mind connection, that has therapeutically opened to the path I am on now; sharing it with others.
Classes are authentically creative with compassion-centered philosophy and thought provoking meditations, sharing experience in body and energy work. Offering students a place to explore their personal growth with the physical and spiritual self.
I will always be a student and deeply grateful for the loving wisdom my teachers share with me.
"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving:" LAO TZU
330hr Meditation
500hr Yoga as lifestyle Medicine , BIYOME
She continues her work in Therapeutic Massage and Reiki.
FAQ
DO I HAVE TO BE FLEXIBLE TO PRACTICE YOGA?
Don’t be discouraged if you find that you are unable to perform some of the asanas fully to begin with, Yoga is progressive, as you continue your practice you can only improve. Always remember Yoga is not competitive – the extent of flexibility achieved does not necessarily determine success. Success is measured by the degree of inward attention paid to the body and the mind whilst in the pose. Your best Yoga on any given day is the best Yoga for you.
HOW WILL I KNOW WHAT TO DO?
Please follow instructions carefully and do not anticipate, even when you become familiar with the postures. Careful attention to body placement and alignment is essential if you are to gain the full benefits of the asanas; this may take some time to develop. Never try to exceed your limitations, as this will only hinder your progress. If you proceed with an awareness of your own capabilities, with patience and moderation you will be far more successful than if you attempt to do too much, too soon.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF HATHA YOGA?
Relieves physical tension, especially back pain
Lowers blood pressure
Helps with strength, flexibility, range of motion and balance
Calms the mind, reduces stress and anxiety
Increases metabolism and energy
Can help reduce depression, panic attacks and insomnia
Strengthens the immune system
Slows heart rate
Strengthens the spine
Increases blood circulation
Helps to detoxify system
Improves function of internal organs including digestion and elimination
Relieves physical tension
Promotes a state of relaxation and inner contentment
I HAVE HEARD THAT BREATHING CORRECTLY IS VERY IMPORTANT IN YOGA, HOW DO I BREATHE CORRECTLY?
In most postures you will be instructed to breathe deeply and slowly, without straining, so please do not hold your breath unless instructed to do so. Always breath in and out through the nose, unless otherwise instructed, as this not only filters out many impurities and germs in the air, but also helps you maintain important control over the length and smoothness of your breath.
DO I NEED TO BRING A MAT?
A thin rubber ‘sticky’ mat or a thin foam rubber mattress covered with a large towel or a folded blanket makes an ideal surface. If you do not have a mat, one can be provided for you
WHAT DO I WEAR?
Your clothing should not be restricting, in order to permit complete freedom of movement. Try not to wear belts, watches, glasses, hair ornaments and jewellery. Practice in clean, bare feet.
IS IT OK TO EAT BEFORE YOGA PRACTICE?
Yoga postures should be practised on an empty stomach – two to three hours after a main meal, and an hour or so after a light meal or snack.
CAUTIONS
READ THIS CAREFULLY BEFORE COMMENCING YOUR YOGA CLASSES
If you are in any doubt regarding the effects of the Yoga techniques upon you, if you are elderly, if you are obese or if you have a history of illness or disability, it is always advisable to check with your doctor before proceeding.
Please advise your Yoga Instructor If you have had an operation, confinement, injury or special medical care within the last six months, if you are pregnant, are currently under heavy medication or if you suffer from any of the following:
Asthma or other breathing problems
Epilepsy
Stomach Ulcers
Past or present neck or back injuries
Circulatory problems
Arthritis
High or low blood pressure
Any heart problems
Thyroid problems
Osteoporosis
Contact Us
Port Douglas Yoga acknowledges the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our Shala is based. We also acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia, on which our community live, learn and practice. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.
0455 035 185
Personalised Yoga
Become one with yoga
For personalised one on one yoga classes
please book with individual teacher
Lesley Johnston 0455 035 185
Tricia Middel 0410 693 010
Mia Messinger 0407 941 696
Noeline Clark 0429 492 930