Meet our yoga and embodiment teacher... Maile
"My love for teaching is witnessing people return home to their bodies"
Maile has developed a highly respectful and intuitive practice which promotes connection and care. Her love for teaching is grounded in facilitating space for people to deeply honour their bodies and rest.
HOW DID YOUR YOGA JOURNEY BEGIN?
Both my parents were yogis and I was introduced to and initiated into a meditation practice at a very early age. I lost that practice for a while and re-found it on my own terms at the age of 16 at a local gym. Yoga became my life very quickly and at 18 I began my first 350 hour training in Melbourne.
HOW DOES YOGA FIT INTO YOUR LIFE?
I have travelled from being an obsessed (and quite rigid) yogi to now allowing the practice to come and go in my life. I meditate every morning and enjoy all that yoga teaches me in how I live my life and see the world. I find yoga to be my teacher in being present with my body, with my community and with the world around me.
AS A TEACHER WHAT DO YOU SEEK TO BRING PEOPLE WHO PRACTICE WITH YOU?
My love for teaching is witnessing people return home to their bodies, that’s what it's all about for me. This returning home, like a re-remembering of what has been with us all along. Yoga can teach us so much about being present with our world and I believe our world is desperate for that right now, people who are willing to be fully embodied and present despite everything that is happening around us.
WHEN DO YOU FEEL MOST CONNECTED TO YOUR MIND AND BODY?
When I am swimming in the ocean, cooking a meal with loved ones and practicing a meditation or movement practice with others.
IN MOMENTS OF UNEASE WHAT DO YOU DO TO DOWN-REGULATE, RESET AND RESTORE?
I switch between a few different things, I love exploring sensory somatic meditations. Going for walks and tapping my body.
WHAT IS A DAILY RITUAL OR HABIT THAT YOU NEVER LIKE TO SKIP?
I am somewhat reliant on my morning routine! I wake up and practice some (pranayama) breathwork and always have a hot cup of lemon tea. As long as I can have those two things I know I am going to be ok in my day.
MAILE'S BIO
As a writer, teacher and a practitioner in mental health and community development spaces, I am passionate about promoting better care for young people struggling with their mental health.
I grew up in a house enriched with the teachings of yoga and completed my first 350 hour training when I was twenty. In recent times I have gone from teaching regular weekly community classes to running weekend long retreats and day retreats. My love for teaching is grounded in facilitating space for people to deeply honour their bodies and rest. I believes yoga offers us so much in how we can show up for ourselves and in the world.