Ahimsa has practised yoga for most of her life and has been teaching since 2003. She is a highly regarded teacher and presenter in Australia and internationally. For many years she was manager of the Hobart Yoga & Meditation Centre, a busy yoga hub providing a wide range of classes, workshops and retreats. Ahimsa is the founder of South Hobart Yoga & Meditation and Life Beyond Trauma. She presently teaches in Hobart and travels widely offering retreats and workshops.

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Author 

Prior to teaching yoga Ahimsa worked in the media, including in publishing and with ABC TV. Her interest in writing led her to write articles and books on yoga, including for Australian Yoga Life, Yoga Magazine and elsewhere. During several years as a resident of Bihar School of Yoga (BSY) in India, Ahimsa worked in the publishing division, editing an extensive range of books. She continues to write about the benefits of yoga for spiritual living and for specialised applications.

 

Yoga for PTSD 

Since 2004 Ahimsa has taught yoga to war veterans, refugees and others with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression. She has consulted to a Colombian study on yoga for PTSD and and gives presentations, workshops and retreats on this topic around the world.

 

In 2014 Ahimsa produced an award-winning documentary, Heroes of Peace, about the experiences of veterans involved in the yoga program she teaches. View it at the Life Beyond Trauma website.

 

Her unique book, Hope: How Yoga Heals the Scars of Trauma offers holistic solutions to post-trauma suffering, showing how yoga heals the nervous system and gives skills for managing the mind and emotions.

 

Touring and teaching

Ahimsa has instructed on yogic studies and yoga teacher training courses Australia and India. 

Internationally she's taught a variety of programs in India, Singapore, UK, Europe , Serbia and Colombia. 

 

Yoga Books by Ahimsa

Yoga Day by Day: A Guide to Holistic Practices for Healthy Living

Hope: How Yoga Heals the Scars of Trauma

Leela experienced and fell in love with the healing and holistic quality of Satyananda Yoga in her early 30s. Three months later she became a resident at the Satyananda Yoga Ashram and stayed for 4 years whilst completing the 3-year Diploma of Yogic Studies and Teacher Training.  Leela then spent time teaching at the Hobart Yoga & Meditation Centre before travelling to India and stayed at the Bihar School of Yoga. For another 4 years she immersed herself in ashram life – practising, serving the community and teaching. Returning to Hobart, Leela continues teaching yoga and meditation classes, workshops and retreats. In every class or session, whilst the practices may differ, the underlying aim is to provide the space for people to feel connected, to release tensions, to feel renewed and relaxed.

 

Mindfulness Meditation

Inspired by Tara Brach’s book Radical Compassion and fuelled by a desire to keep learning and growing, Leela is currently undertaking Tara Brach & Jack Kornfield’s 2-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program.  The main thread of the collection of practices is to cultivate both mindfulness (clear seeing) and heartfulness (open heartedness) so that these two qualities blossom in life.

 

Mental Health

Leela also teaches at The Hobart Clinic, using the practices of yoga to support and nourish mental health and wellbeing. Because of Leela’s own personal journey of healing and self-empowerment through yoga, she feels blessed to offer the same beautiful gift of yoga to others, especially during these uncertain times.