Our Classes

About Founders - Carley & Alan

Carley and Alan established the Yoga Connection in 1999. The first studio of significance in Pretoria at that time.

Carley has always been interested in the inter-connection of the body and mind - accordingly yoga was a natural home for her. With a background in the dramatic arts and a deep interest in the spiritual nature of man, she has been influenced by various influential thinkers and gurus of various disciplines. eg: Mirabai, Lionel Berman, Barbara Brennan, Ingrid Kohler, Swami Krishna Chandra, Gangaji, Elizabeth Kruger (Master EK), Terry Winchester (Mind Frame Technique) and Keith MacFarlane (RHASA) etc. Carley is also a dedicated student of A course in miracles.

She trained under various Yoga schools around the world, in the East and the West. Thus her style is a fusion of Hatha Yoga systems. In South Africa she received training from Durgana, the then president of the Yoga Teachers Fellowship, and graduate of the Ishta Yoga School. Carley has also had training in the fields of Reiki, Thai Massage and Cranio Sacral balancing, Barbara Brennan school of healing - all of which have enhanced her practical application of yoga asana.

She has had the privilege of visiting and practising yoga and similar modalities under a variety of instructors and teachers in New York, Thailand and India. Carley believes in all learning leading into one great truth. This principle has been developed into a unique system of integrating yoga and reiki so that yoga can be practised more effectively as a healing modality. She believes that the asana combined with the pranayama can balance the body and mind and restore personal equilibrium. Working with the awareness of prana - vital healing energy.

Alan has practised yoga since 1998 and with Carley was involved in the establishment of Yoga Connection. He has been trained with Carley and practise's a fusion of Hatha Yoga styles. He primarily presents basic / beginners classes. Being more than casually interested in yoga Alan has also participated in Reiki training and attended a wide variety of yoga classes in Thailand and India to balance his knowledge of different yoga systems.

Having personally enjoyed the wide ranging benefits of yoga practise he has always believed there was a need to provide 'western-friendly' yoga to others. He believes that yoga practise is an important complement to traditional western style practise's which generally seem to 'punish' the body. An awareness of the physical body and the energy body in the management of stress and health are important to him. This establishes a high degree of personal balance. This philosophy underpins his teaching style.

About Annette

Annette was born, raised and educated in Pretoria. Most of her working life, 20 years in all, was dedicated to providing career guidance to school leavers. She qualified as a therapeutic aroma-therapist in 1999, and is registered as such with the Allied Health Professions Council.

Having discovered yoga at the Yoga Connection, she felt like she had come home and accordingly pursued qualification as an instructor with Carley.

Yoga has enriched her life personally and at many levels. This treasured experience she now shares in her classes. These classes tend to be slower, healing and more meditative. She encourages students to become aware of the impact of yoga on the physical, mental and emotional levels. Her instruction encourages gentle work, no forcing of the body, mind or emotions.

Her experience in the fields of psychology and aromatherapy have led her to where she now is and continue to have a positive impact on her yoga practice and instruction.

About Shahnaz

Shahnaz has been practising yoga postures since 1996 when she was taught to use them as part of the warm up for Tai Chi practice. In 1999 she practised yoga with Rita and Tricia in Kampala, Uganda before joining the Yoga Connection in 2001 upon her return to South Africa. 

When her husband was sent to Kinshasa (DRC) in 2004, she realised that there was a great need for yoga classes there. After intensive study in books and on the internet she was asked to start simple classes with a friend. Later she began to give formal classes at a gym, three times a week. Soon after, the UN also asked for classes and she gave 2 evening classes on their premises. People working for the various NGO's who did not have access to UN premises, asked for classes which were held at someone's apartment on the sixth floor of an apartment building in Kinshasa – interesting times!

Soon after they moved to Brazzaville (RoC) in 2005 where she found a job with the UNDP and decided not to teach yoga there as there were no appropriate venues. However, a few months later, friends who had heard of my classes in Kinshasa, found a venue, put together a group and asked me to give a once a week session until they returned to South Africa in 2008.  

Back in South Africa Shahnaz formalized her teaching skills at Yoga Connection and now continues giving instruction at Yoga Connection.

About Shikhara

Shikhara started yoga at the age of seventeen and continued on and off while raising three children and running a business.

During 1999 she started practicing healing and discovered the enormous benefits of Reiki. This led to further training in a variety of healing modalities.

Yoga was a natural part of her discovery in healing. Yoga became a serious part of her life in 2000, qualifying as an instructor at Yoga Connection in 2003 and then furthering her instruction skills with Durgana. Shikhara’s creative skills led to the design and sale of a range of clothing suited to yoga practitioners. She now also sells other objects d’art at the recently opened shop “Samadhi” at Yoga Connection.

Shikhara runs our special prenatal (preggie) classes.

About Trevor

Trevor started beginners yoga classes with Sivananda yoga teacher Janice Hamman in Pretoria. Trevor attended Advanced Yoga Courses conducted by BKS Iyengar in Mauritius, Malawi, Swaziland, Poona India. At the end of the course Trevor was granted certificate to teach BKS Iyengar Yoga Method.

Trevor then attended a six day intensive BKS Inyengar Workshop conducted by Geeta Inyegar in Johannesburg.

Trevor is now qualified to teach the Senior Intermediate course of yoga Asanas and Intermediate Pranayama as set out in light on yoga and light on Pranayama.

Trevor is a founder member as selected by BKS Inyengar of the South African Ramamani Inyengar memorial Yoga Institute also a drafted original constitution and certificates.

About Deborah

I have been a practicing yogi since 2000 and work as a Natural Health and Wellness practitioner specialising in reflexology, therapeutic massage and detoxification, supporting clients through cleansing and fasting programs combined with colon hydrotherapy. I believe that fasting and cleansing gives the body the space to heal itself, still the mind and raises one's vibrations.

My lifelong yearning to teach yoga became a burning desire when I started attending yoga classes at Yoga Connection in 2001. After the traumatic birth of my first child, which resulted in severe cerebral palsy, life became intense, stressful and chaotic. Yoga was my salvation. Being on my yoga mat became a place of solace. The asanas allowed me to be in my body, in the moment. The pranayama and yoga nidra induced a calmness, peace and connection to my deepest self that could be found nowhere else.

We are each an expression of the life force within. Yoga guides us into a relationship with this life force. Through the breath, the physical body, a focused mind and an open heart, we encounter a more authentic way of being ourselves. In my classes I like to practice asana which strengthen and tone the body, in a meditative way, with time between each posture to feel the relaxation and tranquility that yoga induces. Allowing time for introspection and self-realization, combined with pranayama, yoga nidra and meditation for that connection to one's inner light and love.

I am honoured and filled with gratitude for the opportunity to share my knowledge of this ancient healing practice.

About Cornelia King

After many years of attending yoga classes and having an inquisitive mind with an interest in philosophy, I decided to enrol for a yoga teacher’s training course to deepen my understanding and practice. I subsequently completed several yoga courses.

My interest lies mainly in a holistic approach: perfect alignment for each individual body, and a meditative, transformational yin practice. For me the balance and harmony obtained through yoga practice (perfect alignment for each individual body, mind and self) is important.

Yin yoga is sometimes called the fountain of youth. As we grow older, our bodies lose flexibility, tension increases, circulation is inhibited and tissues begin to atrophy and deteriorate. Yin yoga can greatly reverse this process, thereby slowing down ageing. The simplicity we find in the stillness and silence of a yin practice might just be the most potent medicine for our modern busy lives.

About Charene

I came to yoga from a background in physical education, having specialized in this during teacher training at the Pretoria College of Education. I began my practice of yoga under the guidance of Swami Yogasagar in the Bihar system of Yoga, a comprehensive and holistic system of Yoga based on the teachings of Swami Satyananda of Bihar, India. Here I became more interested in the Philosophy and Spiritual teachings of Yoga which have become a way of life.

I started teaching yoga during 1999, teaching both at Yoga Connection Brooklyn and Loreto Convent in Pretoria. I opened the Centurion branch of Yoga Connection in 2001 and have been teaching yoga full time since July 2002. To further enhance my knowledge and teachings skills, I completed an additional intensive 2-year yoga teacher training course with Durgana Inglethorpe of Om Shanti Yoga of Integration that is fully recognised by the Yoga Teachers Fellowship of South Africa and International Yoga Federation. I have attended many Yoga workshops and courses among which are the first stage in Shiva Babaji Kriya Yogam with Swami Shankarananda of Jadatharaya Institute of Right Living and Yoga and a six-week course in Restorative Yoga with Andrea White

My teaching philosophy emphasizes gentleness and gradual progress, an awareness of individual differences and the utmost importance of combining asana practice with mental awareness or mindfulness.

About 20 years ago, I was introduced to Qigong and for the past year or so have practiced more regularly, completed some online courses with Michaël Bijker of Yogalap and Master Chunyi Lin of Spring Forest Qigong. I also attended a Wu Ji Gong training with Adele from Earth Alchemy in Johannesburg and continue Qigong practice with her.

About William

William

Yoga has truly changed and enriched my life. In my experience connection with the body is the portal to connect with the Devine. I am trained in Kundalini Yoga and Bihar Yoga, but I enjoy all the different forms of yoga. My classes have a meditative undertone where awareness of the experience is more important than the correctness of the posture.

About Franco

My yoga journey

The first time I did a ballet class I experienced a subtle awakening. Although I had been very sporty until that very moment, sixteen almost seventeen years old, standing in first position plié, I didn’t realize the pleasure and joy to be found in slow, controlled, and repetitive movement.  Instantly hooked I returned to ballet, finding a place of safety, security, and exhilaration. In a very real way ballet became my north star with my body the ship to take me there. I went on to dance professionally for 10 years. However, in all my time as a dancer I never learnt to truly listen to my body. It was a tool, an object to be pushed beyond its limits, an object of expression, of movements, to be played, like a musical instrument without care or concern.

After ballet I completed a degree in architecture. Shifting my focus to the mind and the exploration of creativity. I forgot about my body until one day when, as is most often the case, it called out to me through pain. Pathology rang clear and loud, you have forgotten about me, my body cried.

And so, very slowly, still with the perspective of a dancer I began to explore yoga. At first all I wanted was to gain strength and fitness. Yet, time after time, my body would revolt in pain, as if it was saying, no, you need to go slower, you can’t push me like a dancer anymore.

So after exploring mainly Vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga I found Yoga Synergy and a calm conscious way of moving and exploring the body. Described as being dynamic and meditative, Synergy brought a harmony to my practice, initiating a resonance between asana, vinyasa and pranayama. Currently my practice is an active dialogue, a fluid meeting of spirit and matter in the exhilarating moment of the present.

About Keri-Ann

My yoga journey started when I was pregnant with my 1st child in 2015. Yoga really helped me to move, breathe and connect with my body during my transition into Motherhood, assisting in alleviating some discomfort and preparing my body for birth.

I started my teacher training course in 2018 but had to put it on pause due to work and the birth of my 2nd child. I then went on to complete my TTC with Yoga Connection in 2023 and received my certificate. 

My passion for helping people and wanting to make a difference in the world has guided me on this path of becoming a yoga teacher and I hope that I can bring a love for yoga, kindness, compassion and peace into the lives of those who I am humbled to teach. My classes are for beginners with a deep focus on breath, relieving stress and with some level of pushing the body to go deeper and allowing it to surrender to asana physically, mentally and emotionally. 

Namaste 🙏

About Talitha

Hey, I'm Talitha (you can call me Talee).

Yoga has been central to my life and how I move through my day. We go back to when I was 18 and trying to simply find balance within myself as a young woman. It snuck up on me almost - my day felt incomplete without practicing on my grubby gym mat or taking a few moments to check in with my breathing. 

In my classes, I implement the strands of yoga that I connect with and these are its healing, harmonising and heart-opening aspects. Much like our minds and aspirations, yoga allows us to flow creatively, intuitively and self-savvily through our unique lives. I teach ashtanga vinyasa in a self expressive and affirming manner. Yoga allows us to form a bond of trust with ourselves and I believe this must be explored with poses and sequences that honour this. And yes, you will be challenged but so rewarded for it!

I have taught volunteer classes at Colab in Menlyn Maine to corporate workaholics. We explored ways to release tension and build awareness of our bodies and what they need in life's ratrace. I have also taught children's yoga in Vietnam to schoolkids. Practicing in Hanoi was one of the toughest experiences I've had but I connected with the style of self discipline, mastery and appreciation of what our bodies are able to do with time and energy.

I look forward to guiding and being a part of your journey with yourself in my classes