Te Aro Astanga Yoga

TAAY is a welcoming community and comfortable, peaceful space to practice asana. I loved it here and hope to come again if I'm in Wellington. Mike is a very experienced and respectful teacher. He's keenly aware of everybody in the room and very much willing to help with adjustments. He has quite a laissez-faire approach to teaching: he won't obsess over minute imperfections in your practice, but will correct you when the situation calls for it.

Mike is a highly experienced yoga teacher and was a regular teacher at the Treasury for over a decade. He's friendly, patient, gentle and has a great energy about him. He teaches the authentic traditional method of Ashtanga yoga which sometimes is accompanied with traditional chanting. I have done many forms of yoga but not Ashtanga. What I like about his teaching is he is always watchful and will correct your posture (if you're ok with touch) which I feel some teachers fail to do and can be bad for the student as bad positioning leads to injuries. The studio is spacious and simple but the location was a bit difficult to find if you're a newcomer- you have to walk all the way to the end of the laneway and up a flight of stairs (or use the lift) to get to the first floor where the studio is to the right. The studio also offers tea, showers and change rooms. I took the beginners classes. Ashtanga is different from common yoga studios as it requires memorizing sequences which I appreciate as it flexes my memory muscles. Experienced students walk in at specific allocated hours when the studio is open and commence their own sequences at their own time and pace, and leave whenever they wish. There are also activities on the weekend, e.g. estatic dancing, and Zoom classes if you sign up to the newsletter and the studio also offers to lease the space for temporary activities. I would highly recommend Te Aro Ashtanga Yoga :)

Mike's studio has a down to earth but still respectfully spiritual approach to yoga. He is wonderful at adjustments and I also like the helpers he has on busy nights. There is a regular core of people who have been attending sessions for years and years which provides a calm supportive atmosphere and he is welcoming to those who pass through or dip in and out. There is no branding/corporate/gym/competitive feeling - instead I feel I can work hard on my own yoga practice and enjoy the practice of those around me who are more flexible, stronger or more diligent. As must be obvious, I think it is great.

The beginners course was well paced over 6-week period and certainly worth checking out before committing to oneself to the mysore practice of Ashtanga yoga. Mike is very supportive and certainly made the practice less intimidating for a beginner like me. Thanks, Mike!

Best yoga in Wellington. Mike is such a calm, kind, encouraging and skilled teacher. Ashtanga yoga takes a bit of getting used to but once you are used to it it's much more rewarding and you get more teacher support.