VALENTINA TURRI
DIRECTOR and HEAD TEACHER
I am originally from Verona, Italy. At age 19, I began my world travels that led me to San Diego. Here, I was introduced to the transformative practice of Yoga, which has helped me establish an integral balance in mind, body, and soul.
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Yoga has been a significant part of my life for over 10 years, and the practice has helped me grow stronger, more flexible, and fearless. I like sharing my knowledge with my students, hoping that they step off the mat feeling refreshed, nourished, and balanced.
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In my spare time, I love to frequent farmer's markets, go surfing, and ride my bicycle. Gardening and cooking are part of my daily meditation practice. When I travel I enjoy visiting local yoga studios and the community, as there is always something new to learn.
I am registered as a Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance. I have studied Hatha, Kundalini,Vinyasa, Karma and Bhakti Yoga, among others.
The yoga style I teach is a combination of all the practices above, with strong emphasis on pranayama, mantra and asana. Using these exercises, I am able to extend my passion for Yoga and its holistic practice to students of all abilities and experience levels.
I teach in a range of different contexts, from traditional yoga studios, gyms, corporates, private clubs and individual clients to more specialized populations.
I worked with seniors at independent and assisted living facilities, offering a variety of teaching techniques that combined traditional yoga and meditation with the ancient Chinese Tai Chi and Qi Gong practices.
Teaching in these varied environments, I have learned to be creative and spontaneous, making any kind of space suitable for a peaceful and relaxing practice.
I have tailored my classes to serve the needs and abilities of my students by offering conventional mat to chair classes.
In the past I have been actively engaged within wellness
programs aimed at helping children who have been abused, offering these tools (yoga and meditation) to aid in the process of healing within themselves and their relationships. These young woman and girls have offered me great lessons - specifically that yoga is not simply 90 minutes on a mat, it is the intentional breath and pause we all need to inhale in order to find calm in life. I have focused on providing and expanding yoga where it is less accessible, targeting minorities and underrepresented communities around the world.
A few years ago, I relocated to Wellington, New Zealand,
becoming the director and head teacher at Sadhana Yoga, Miramar.
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After the Miramar adventure I decided to continue my teaching
independently as founder and director of YOGA RAE
('be the reason someone smiles today')
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VERONICA BUTTURINI
TEACHER
Ciao a tutti, I'm Veronica. I am a freelance performance artist from Italy. After graduating in dance at the London Contemporary Dance School, I attended the Kibbutz Dance Company dance program in Israel, and later traveled around Europe experiencing different dance-art practices. I found yoga as an alternative way of movement exploration. After my yoga training in Australia with Russell Vitale of Vita Yoga Byron Bay, I moved to New Zealand in 2014 and fell in love with the country and the people. Since then I am based in Wellington, and have been working and collaborating with a wide range of inspiring New Zealand artists and international yoga teachers. In these past three years, I have deepened my yoga knowledge by training intensively with Valentina Turri, and teaching to the YOGA RAE's community.
I love sharing my passions and seeing people come to life and express themselves fully through movement. My mission is to engage others in a relationship with movement and inspire a deeper sense of confidence in their physical experience as human beings,
BRYDIE COLQUHOUN
TEACHER
Kia ora, I am originally from Ahipara, Northland. Dancing is my life. I am blessed to collaborate with mayor dance companies (Black Grace, Footnote NZ and World of Wearable Arts ) and talented choreographers around the world. For more than six years I have been performing in local and international tours. One of my major projects "Tiki Taanemahuta" a contemporary dance work that involved aerial duets and solo work, brought me closer to the world of yoga. I developed a deep sense of curiosity in the practice, and appreciated the benefits combined to my daily training. Yoga helped me explore my mind-body connection. To deepen my knowledge, I recently traveled to Goa, India, and achieved a multi style yoga certification, Yoga Alliance Certified, with the "Kashish School of Yoga". I am passionate about holistic health and well-being in general. I strongly believe that "the mind is not our inner peace... the mind is learned and can be taught".
We offer a wide range of high quality classes to the community. We organize innovative workshops, fundraising events and kirtan meditation gatherings partnering with the Wellington kirtan group, outdoor POP UP classes and beaches clean up.
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..We welcome you to join our journey.
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