Meet the Teachers
Who We Are
Justine Sydenham
Founder/Owner, E-RYT 500
Reiki Master, Bodyworker
Justine is the founder of Sangha Yoga Studio and has been immersed in the healing arts for over 20 years. She is a Reiki Master, Integrative Bodyworker and Energy Healer, Senior Yoga & Meditation Teacher (500hr ERYT), and Retreat Facilitator.
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Her classes and sessions are rooted in presence, compassion, and curiosity—meeting each person where they are and guiding them back to their own inner wisdom. Justine’s approach is deeply trauma-informed and somatically aware, with a strong emphasis on nervous system regulation, embodied movement, and energy medicine.
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She draws from a wide range of traditions, including Hatha, Vinyasa, Forrest, Yin, and Trauma-Informed Yoga, as well as Reiki, Craniosacral Therapy, Internal Tracking, and ceremonial practices.
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At Sangha, Justine teaches weekly yoga classes, facilitates 200hr teacher trainings, continued education trainings, integrative healing practitioner programs, and community retreats. Her work is inspired by the Sanskrit word Moksha—freedom and liberation—in the body, the mind, and in life itself.
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Karen Pike
Owner, Teacher
A teacher of yoga for almost 10 years, Sangha co-owner Karens love for the practice of yoga deepened when she was in her early 40s. Expanding on her 5 year certification as an Instructor of Bodybalance (a tai chi, yoga and pilates inspired group fitness class) Karen under the guidance of her teacher and mentor Danny Fremantle began teaching yoga at Divine Wellbeing. Completing her 500 hour teacher training, co-facilitated by Danny and Michael DeManincor of the Yoga Institute, Karen's desire to teach continued. Karen has since studied trauma sensitive yoga, 20 and 25 hours consecutively Yin teacher training, Reiki Level 1 and 2 with Justine Sydenham and continues to practice, study and learn through the many resources available from the great teachers of our time.
Teaching Hatha and Yin yoga, Karen's invitational teaching style, allows students to honour their own unique human experience and perspective. Starting from where your at, offering opportunities for self exploration/inquiry for potential healing. Reminding us yoga is not just physical exercise but a practice of intention, attention, ethics and disciplines that support how we show up to and treat other's, and more importantly how we treat and show up to ourselves. Enabling yoga to be embodied, lived and taken off the mat.
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Bre Knobel
Teacher, Social Media Manager
I wish to share a bit about my yoga journey, in hopes that it will provide a sense of the energy I hope to bring into my yoga classes..
I attended my first yoga class at age 16, and for a few years yoga was only a physical practice. The focus was primarily on my flexibility and managing back pain.
At 20, my world changed when I attended a Chakra workshop series by now Sangha Studio owner Justine. Delving into the magic of the Chakra system, I began to realise the deep impact yoga could have on my mental health which I had been struggling with for years. I began to cry during a yoga flow, having a massive realisation of how unkind I had been to myself and my body throughout my teenage years, and how I needed that to change. Just like that, yoga had transcended what had been purely physical and become a deeply transformative spiritual practice.
Connecting to my physical body, my breathing, and my emotional body has become a new way of being. Yoga continues to support my mental health recovery, and to hold space to nourish self-love.
As a yoga teacher, I am simply a guide and a container to hold space for you to have your own experience and healing journey on the mat. I believe in the power of autonomy, choice, strength in softness, and communicating safety to the nervous system. I look forward to practising with you!
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Connie O'Donovan
Yoga Teacher
You could say I was a late bloomer. I started my spiritual journey about 6 years ago with meditation, which naturally flowed onto yoga then reiki. I have been teaching yoga for 4 years. My most rewarding classes came from teaching adolescents males in detention. We taught each other. My passion is every BODY is able to experience yoga, despite age, shape, fitness or insecurities.
I am a mum of three children and a grandma of one. I have enjoyed 25 years of nursing. I would describe myself as a homebody at heart and love nothing more than curling up with a book and hot cup of tea.
Yoga for me has been a journey in itself. I am still on a journey and it's a road I am grateful for everyday. I look forward to meeting you all in the magical Sangha Yoga Studio and feel very humbled to be part of this amazing community
Alison Makin
Yoga Teacher
I have leant into yoga and meditation as practices to support me on and off since my teenage years. As such, it felt natural to return to this support during several recent challenging life changes. After seeing the difference it made physically, mentally and spiritually, I decided to pursue my goal of becoming a yoga teacher to hold space for others to receive these teachings.
My yoga classes are an invitation to connect body and breath and feel into what the body needs in this moment (which is constantly changing!). They are a space to feel held, safe and supported- to explore the connection between body, mind and spirit.
Always at the core is the breath. It has much to teach us about our nervous system and our body- if we only learn how to listen.
I am an experienced primary school and special education teacher (over 20 years combined), with trauma-informed training and extensive experience supporting people with a disability and their carers. I completed my 200 YTT with Justine Sydenham and am also a Reiki Practitioner and Master.
'Our body holds the wisdom, we just need to listen.'
Dee Brilley
Meditation & Mindfulness Teacher, Kids Yoga Teacher, Early Childhood Educator
Hi, I'm Dee from Embracing Embodied Minds. With over 15 years of experience as an Early Childhood Teacher and a Certificate in Teaching and Guiding Meditation and Mindfulness, I'm passionate about creating nurturing environments where individuals can explore emotional awareness and well-being.
Enlightenment, authenticity, and connection are at the heart of my teaching philosophy. I believe in providing a safe space for others to cultivate deep emotional awareness and explore adaptable mindfulness techniques.
In addition to my background in early childhood education and mindfulness, I am thrilled to announce I now hold my Children's Yoga Teaching Certificate as well as My certificate in Yoga Therapy. This new offering will see integration of meridian-based yoga therapy. These offerings further my commitment to holistic wellness and provide valuable tools for both children and their families to thrive.
My vision is to broaden awareness around trauma-informed education and highlight the importance of emotional literacy from a young age. By equipping children with mindfulness techniques and emotional regulation skills, we can empower them to navigate life's challenges with resilience and confidence.
Join me in exploring these transformative practices at Sangha Studio, where we create positive waves of change and set children up with lifelong skills for well-being and success.
I am deeply grateful to be part of the Sangha community and able to share these empowering skills. Let's embark on this journey of growth and discovery together!
Liz Minton
Yoga Teacher
I’ve been practising yoga on and off since my teens. For me yoga brings subtle (and not so subtle!) energy shifts, presence of mind, connection, grace and fluidity both on and off the mat which I find truly inspiring.
I enjoy bringing mindfulness and a touch of playfulness to my practises. I am passionate in helping people to feel safe, build strength, focus on alignment and feel into flow so they can truly come out of their head and into their bodies.
When I’m not practising yoga you will find me by the river, in a coffee shop or playing with my two gorgeous kids. I am looking forward to bringing my interpretation of the teachings of yoga to you and I can’t wait to see you on the mat soon!
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Indea Smith
Yoga Teacher
Hi, I’m Inde.
With over a decade of experience as a beauty therapist, I’ve always been passionate about helping others feel at home in their bodies. My journey has naturally expanded into alternative therapies, leading me to complete training in Shamanic Reiki, Theta Healing, Access Bars, and as a Honouring Heart Women’s Circle Facilitator.
Most recently, I’ve graduated a 200hr Integrative Yoga Teacher training, and I’m excited to weave together all these practices to offer deeply supportive and nourishing experiences.
In my yoga classes, I create a space where you can slow down, reconnect with your body, and feel more grounded and nourished—just as you are, in whatever season of life you’re in.
I look forward to meeting you on the mat.
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David Gopurenko
Yoga Teacher
Yoga is a learning for a positive and heartfelt life. Remembering the joy of being, letting go of what may bind us, and feeling into the gift of our existence.
My yoga classes borrow from the insights shown to me by various teachers over the last 20 years. An emerald field of gentle insight from numerous kind hearted souls.
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Our movements into the asanas and our devotion to the moments when we unify body, mind and breath, is our focus. At such moments, the lotus of our heart opens & shines. We gain so much from this opening, and like a reciprocal wheel of light it spills from us into our community & feeds back to us with the soft light of connection.
May we feel & express kindness from our heart always.
Safe journey, Namaste.
Josie Brown
Yoga Teacher
Hi! I’m Josie.
Yoga Teacher and Student infatuated with the connection of Yoga to Life. Starting as a curious teen, my practice has ebbed and flowed with life ever since. It wasn’t until I delved deeper into Pranayama and Breathwork where (in the least cliche way possible) - everything changed.
I have completed training in Breathwork Facilitation, 200 Hr Traditional Tantric Hatha Yoga and more recently, 60 Hr Myofascial Release and Yin Yoga. All of which are practices that opened me up more deeply and honestly to my own inner world and as such; my connection to everything else. And that’s exactly what you can expect from me as a teacher: to show up with depth, honesty & a little bit of humour here and there too.
I offer grounded practices rooted in tradition, in unity with breath that are both deep and accessible. I can’t wait to meet you on the mat.
“Do you want to be flexible, or do you want to be free?”
Genevieve Fleming
Yoga Teacher
Genevieve completed her 200 hour yoga teaching certification last year and is thrilled to be teaching this revered and ancient practice at the Sangha Yoga Studio. Her classes are gentle and grounding, with a focus on breathing, relaxation, simple sitting and standing poses, meditation and yoga philosophy.
Gen's classes invite calm, introspected connection to self, with gentle movement through the asanas, to get your energy flowing, release blockages and relieve tension. You will leave class feeling a sense of bliss, clarity and goodwill, ready to meet the challenges of the day with more compassion, kindness, patience and grace.