Join us at Āgamā Yoga Centre (AYC) as we celebrate the the Heart of Yoga this winter solstice.
Over winter solstice, we come together as a yoga community to celebrate TKV Desikachar’s birthday (21 June).
Over three days, Agama Yoga Centre invites you to join us in honouring the legacy of his teachings and his mentorship of founder Barb Brian over 20 yrs of study with him. His impact on yoga around the world is especially remembered on International Yoga day.
Celebrating the Heart of Yoga
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Celebrating the Heart of Yoga ♥
We delve into Desikachar's text, The Heart of Yoga Developing of Personal Practice, (launched at AYC in 1995) which prizes the yoga sutra-s as the 'heart' of yoga practice. For three days, from sunrise to sunset we offer classes and workshops that focus on the yoga practice through the lens of the Yoga Sutra-s of Patanjali.
We welcome yoga students, teachers and local community.
Timetable
Press + to show more information on each workshop
Friday 19 June 2026
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Join us to welcome the sun through a strength and flexibility practice.
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Geetha Soosay
The workshop will be designed to give adults in the around 50 plus age group information on building strength through movement and what they can do in addition to yoga to build a strong body. This session combines principles from yoga along with functional strength training to support healthy ageing, balance, posture and joint health.
We will explore:
strength training for longevity
mobility, balance and coordination
bone, joint and muscle health
safe progression for different abilities
practice incorporating yoga and functional movement
Suitable for all levels.
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Geetha Soosay
Workshop exploring pelvic health through the lens of osteopathy and yoga. Designed for women wanting a deeper understanding of their pelvis, breath and posture
Topics will include:
Pelvic floor function and common dysfunctions
Breath, pressure and core connection
Posture, hips and low back relationship
Menopause and pelvic health considerations
Yoga and movement strategies for support and recovery
strengthening and relaxation techniques
This workshop includes discussion, education and a gentle guided practice.
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Dani Pritchard
Why do we keep returning to yoga? Beyond movement and posture, yoga offers a living relationship with breath, attention, body, mind and the deeper Self. Rooted in the teachings of Krishnamacharya and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, this workshop explores yoga as a mirror through which we begin to see ourselves more clearly. Reflecting on the ways practice shapes our relationship with ourselves, others, and life itself, this session weaves together philosophical exploration with a 45min breath-led bhavana practice, inviting attentiveness, steadiness and deep inner listening. -
A gentle group practice to honour the transition of day to night.
Saturday 20 June 2026
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Join us to welcome the sun through a strength and flexibility practice.
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Jess Wozniak
Explore asana as a pathway into meditation, drawing on Yoga Sutras 2.46–2.48 and the practice of steadiness, ease, and inner absorption.
We explore the link between body, breath and mind via mindful movement, breath awareness, and subtle inquiry to better understand the context around these yoga sutras, and their connection beyond asana.
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Annie Maver and Rebecca Nathan
Please join Annie and Bec for a workshop highlighting elements of yoga that can be used to help still the fluctuations of the mind.
Inspired by the intricate layers of the human body, Annie will lead a gentle asana practice designed to move and release tension and soothe the nervous system. Bec will then guide us in pranayama, slowing down the breath and helping to recognise the quiet stillness that can be found when we allow the mind to settle.
We will conclude with a guided meditation using the imagery of water to relax and restore the body and mind.
Following our yoga and reflection, enjoy a cuppa and discussion with Annie and Bec on the Heart of Yoga concepts and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras that informed the practice.
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Meg Tucker and Denise Duprat
The focus of the workshop will be primarily on exploring one of the senses, namely hearing, in regards to yoga practice. Some of the areas to be included are:
How we hear and how it not only affects general communication but how we practice our yoga.
The differentiation between listening and hearing.
The prevalence in the community of hearing impairment and some strategies for teachers and students to employ to overcome obvious communication difficulties.
And lots more!
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A gentle group practice to honour the transition of day to night.
Sunday 21 June 2026
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Join us to welcome the sun through a strength and flexibility practice.
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Fiona Hardie
Experience the joy of chanting in this 2-hour session, designed for beginners and experienced practitioners alike.
We'll take our time, moving from asana to chanting to pranayama and meditation. We'll use chant throughout the practice, bringing awareness to our body, breath and mind, and experiencing the power of chant.
When we're prepared, towards the end of the session, we'll learn a mantra to honour Desikachar, that will lead us into a meditative practice.
The class will be designed so that the group and the more experienced chanters support the newcomers, at the same time deepening their own practice.
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Denise Duprat and Larissa Lewis
Feed your GUT to protect your mind, feed your MIND to protect your gut!
Yoga and its sister science Ayurveda suggest that we do not just digest food, we digest thoughts and experiences. So as we strive to improve our physical and mental health through good nutrition and gut health, we must apply the same dedication to our mental wellbeing.
Join our workshop to understand the profound parallel between the ancient Ayurvedic/Yogic concept of Samāgni (balanced metabolic fire) and the science of our gut-brain axis. Learn ancient ideas of subtle, whole body connections which are absent from the western anatomy, physiology and pathology.
We will experience targeted yoga sequences, breath work and sound (mantras) to massage internal organs and your Vagus Nerve. We will enter a state of mental calm in which we can observe our thoughts and channel them towards a positive direction.
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Jill Harris
A one hour asana practice using bhavana and breath to guide us through the transformative process that is yoga, followed by discussion and shared experience on how the practice changes us fundamentally, creating ’traits rather than states.
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A gentle group practice to honour the end of our celebration. Be bathed in a Vedic Chant sound bath by the AYC teaching team.
Bookings and pricing
Please book by emailing us or by texting Barb on 0439 358 021 . Payments can be made in cash at the centre or via bank transfer.
One day $200: Access to 2 classes and 3 workshops
Two days $350: Access to 4 classes and 6 workshops
Full weekend $480: Access to all classes and workshops
Casual attendance
Yoga classes: $28 (1 tick on class pass), $25 concession
Workshops: $50 (2 ticks on class pass), $45 concession
Presenters
Geetha Soosay
Presenting Friday 19 June at 8.30-10.30am: Strengthening for 50+
and 11am-1pm: Osteopathy & Yoga: Pelvic Health for Women
Geetha Soosay is an osteopath with a special interest in women’s pelvic health, yoga teacher and strength trainer with a focus in bodyweight strength and arm balances. She has a passion for helping people move with greater strength, confidence and ease. Geetha combines evidence-based knowledge with a practical, compassionate approach. Her work focuses on functional movement, healthy ageing, women’s health, strength, mobility and body awareness.
Dani Pritchard
Presenting Friday 19 June at 2.30pm: Why do we keep coming back to Yoga?
Dani Pritchard is a Certified Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapist in the Krishnamacharya linage and a Vedic Meditation Teacher with a dedicated personal practice since 1997. She began teaching Shanti Yoga in 2005 and completed post-graduate study in the Krishnamacharya lineage in 2017. Dani’s teaching gently weaves together ancient yogic wisdom with breath and movement to create spaces of deeper connection, self-inquiry and transformation. She is especially passionate about creating retreat containers that invite students to step away from the busyness of daily life, reconnect with themselves and their wholeness and experience the power of yoga to carry us beyond the mat.
Jess Wozniak
Presenting Saturday 20 June at 8.30am: Body to Breath to Being
I have been teaching yoga since graduating from teacher training in 2016, in the tradition of T.Krishnamacharya.
I’m interested in how our bodies store and process information, and the relationship between various asanas and their effects on our breathing and what we can learn. I’m inspired by nature and the parallels between human life and experience and those we can witness in the natural world.
Annie Maver
Presenting Saturday 20 June at 11am: The Quiet Beneath the Noise (with Rebecca Nathan)
Hi I’m Annie, I started in this inspiring yoga tradition in the early 1990’s. Completing my teacher training in 2000, although still a student as it is a lifelong study. This tradition emphasizes the link between mind, body and breath.
I love teaching yoga so come in, roll out a mat and see how you go.
Rebecca Nathan
Presenting Saturday 20 June at 11am: The Quiet Beneath the Noise (with Annie Maver)
I am a qualified Naturopath and Clinical Nutritionist and have a keen interest in mind-body medicine and how chronic stress can directly affect our health. This came from my own experience of exploring yoga and meditation where I have noticed the many physical and mental benefits.
I wanted to share what yoga has meant to me so I completed my teacher training with Barbara and have continued to learn and expand my teaching through further study in the Krishnamacharya lineage.
I love the community aspect of joining together to practice yoga and aim to make my classes fun and accessible for all, no matter what level of experience. We will focus on creating a balanced and calm mind while improving the strength and flexibility of the body.
Meg Tucker
Presenting Saturday 20 June at 2.30pm: The Importance of Relationship in Yoga Practice (with Denise Duprat)
I have been a student at Agama since 2013 and I am a qualified audiologist working in the rehabilitation of people with hearing loss. I completed the teacher training in 2021 and have been teaching at Agama ever since. I love to teach and find the contact with students and other teachers at Agama very rewarding. My journey studying the tools of yoga is ongoing and always enriching.
Denise Duprat
Presenting Saturday 20 June at 2.30pm: The Importance of Relationship in Yoga Practice (with Meg Tucker)
and Sunday 21 June at 11am: Feed Your Gut, Feed Your Mind (with Larissa Lewis)
Denise comes from Argentina where she has had most of her Yoga experience over the last 25 years. Although her early days were in the realms of Ashtanga, it was through Krishnamacharya’s lineage that she got into a deep understanding of the vast tools and philosophy underpinning Yoga and it is through the lens of this school that she has been teaching for the last 18 years. She has extensive experience in Āsana, Prānāyāma and the more meditative elements of Yoga: Mantras and Vedic Chanting.
Having not only shared her knowledge in Group classes and Personalized home practices, but also being part of the Krishnamacharya’s Teacher Training in Argentina where new Yoga Teachers of this tradition are formed every year. As part of the Extension Studies offer to Yoga Teachers, she has been training teachers in Prenatal Yoga.
Larissa Lewis
Presenting Sunday 21 June at 11am: Feed Your Gut, Feed Your Mind (with Denise Duprat)
Hello, I’m Larissa, after practising yoga most of my adult life, I finally landed at Agama with the incredible Krishnamacharya / Desikachar lineage. The teachings through this lens have not only supported me personally in life so beautifully, but allowed me to continue learning and developing as a teacher and as a Yoga Therapist in training. I teach a gentle general class as well as a therapeutic group class. I love being part of the accomplished sangha of teachers at AYC and I love to be able to share what I learn in my classes. I love all the different ways we can experience our vital selves and hope to share some of those in class with you soon.
Fiona Hardie
Presenting Sunday 21 June at 8.30am: Experience the Joy of Chanting
have been practising yoga since I was 18 - drawn to the mindful movement and spiritual aspects. After finding Āgamā, the focus on the breath in our classical tradition opened up other dimensions of the practice and I then undertook the teacher training course to find out what lay behind yoga and where it might take me. I discovered Vedic chanting and that has become my passion as well as my teaching specialisation. I trained as a Vedic chant teacher at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandarim in Chennai and now, in addition to teaching general and private yoga classes at Āgamā, run regular chanting sessions - for groups and private students. I am also a yoga teacher trainer - in the tradition of Krishnamacharya.
Jill Harris
Presenting Sunday 21 June at 2.30-4.30pm: The Transformative Practice that is Yoga
Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapist. Since completing YTT with Barb in 2003, I have practiced and taught yoga consistently finding it to be the glue that holds me steady. The teachings allow me to ride with the ebb and flow of life. Based in Ocean Grove, I continue to share the Krishnamacharya teachings through classes, workshops, teacher training and retreats.