Mary Baseler

I use a gratitude journal every day, writing down five things I’m grateful for.  More often than not, I write I am grateful that I am a yoga teacher and for my students.  Oh, and that I’m living in paradise – Jervis Bay.

I went to my first yoga class in 1999, looking for something that would help me sleep.  I thought I was going to something where I sat quietly, meditated and did some soft stretching… I was so wrong.  The class was an intermediate Hatha with a strong Vinyasa influence.  I don’t think I had ever sweat so much, and I found out real fast how little upper body strength I had.  However, I loved it.  I was hooked, and have had some form of yoga in my life since.

In 2010, I was working in a very stressful job.  I would walk into work every morning complaining, “there has to be more to life than this!”  This was usually followed by opening up the Byron Yoga Centre webpage, wishing desperately to be able to do the Level 1 Yoga Teacher training.

I finally built up the courage to take long service leave, and any other leave I had, and booked the teacher training course. In the meantime, my husband Chris was packing our belongings and moving us to Jervis Bay Village where he was taking up a new position.

Although the teacher training was intense, I had finally found what I wanted to do when I grew up – teach yoga.  My training continued with the Foundation and Advanced Certificates in kids’ yoga with Loraine Rushton from Zenergy Yoga, and the completion of my Level 2 and Certificate 4 with founder of Byron Yoga Centre, John Ogilvie.  Additionally, I have recently completed my 100hr Yin Yoga with Mysan Sidbo over in Bali and am currently studying pre/postnatal yoga with the director of Bliss Baby, Ana Davis.