Meet the Team

Hannah Bacarreza

Playful Vinyasa & Restore

Originally from Fremantle, Han grew up travelling and spent much of her adolescence in Qatar. After living in the UK for 3 years working in Film and Television she headed home & shot straight down to Margaret River & has been here ever since . A student for over a decade, Yoga has been her key to ground, guide and feel good. During her maternity leave she completed her 200hr YTT at YogaLab in Fremantle; a total exploration into uncharted waters and the rest is now.

Han’s classes play on balance; flow paired with long holds, play paired with purposeful movement - space to explore and expand each asana. The aim; to dive into yourself, to explore the challenge and notice the changes in body and mind.

Ayla Wilde

Mobility, Stretch & Release and Yin & Massage

As with most yogis, Ayla is a wanderer and has been teaching for the last 10 years all over Australia and in the UK. She teaches a variety of styles, but her most preferred is a “Hatha meets Vinyasa” where she begins with gentle stretches and holds, builds up to dynamic flows, and finishes with a short meditation and deep relaxation.

She’s extremely passionate about passing on to others, the tools that yoga has given her for her own personal development, mental and physical health, and overall life outlook. Ayla looks forward to sharing space with you and meeting you on the mat!

Wendy Muir

LSD (long, slow. deep), Vinyasa and Power Flows

Wendy Wesson is a passionate and experienced yoga teacher previously of Yogaworx in Perth. With over 25 years of experience, Wendy brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her classes. Her teaching style is grounded in the traditional Hatha yoga tradition, with a strong focus on alignment and breath awareness.

Wendy believes that yoga is a transformative practice that can help people connect with their inner selves and cultivate a sense of balance and harmony in their lives. In her classes, students can expect a dynamic and challenging practice that focuses on building strength, flexibility, and balance while encouraging mindfulness and self-awareness. She offers modifications and variations to cater to individual needs and encourages students to listen to their bodies and practice with compassion and self-care.

Malcom Yates

Powerhouse

Mal started this journey as a farmer in Kojonup. Wanting to "dig a bit deeper," he travelled the globe for a couple of years, meeting some remarkable people and having lots of fun. Eventually settling in Santa Monica, California, he was invited to a Bryan Kest Power Yoga class and was immediately hooked by the energy and the feeling of wellbeing. 25 years later and over 5,000 classes taught and attended, he is still as excited about getting on the mat as ever. He feels that the truth, which we all are drawn to instinctively, lies hidden in the body. Yoga takes us there!

Mal teaches a strong, challenging and invigorating class, suitable for everyone. He believes yoga cures EVERYTHING!

Emilie Fincher

Slow Flow, Massage

Emilie was introduced to yoga at the age of 16 when training with the circus. Emilie's classes offer a light-hearted journey to yourself, encouraging introspection and self study through asana, pranayama, philosophy, and movement exploration. With a background in gymnastics, circus arts, iyengar and ashtanga yoga, Emilie loves approaching asana from all angles and is passionate about sharing the joy of movement with her students.

In 2015, Emilie completed her first 200 hour training with the Radhika Yoga Institute in Vrindavan, India. Emilie has since completed a further 550 hours of training with Byron Yoga Centre, Authentic Movements and the Yoga With Carson Academy. As a qualified remedial massage therapist, Emilie has a keen interest in functional anatomy, biomechanics, accessibility and logical sequencing.

Lauren Pilat

Stretch & Strengthen, Slow Flows & Vinyasa

Lauren was drawn to the lifestyle yoga encourages while on her continued pursuit of connection - to self, community, culture, and the universe. She nurtures the wisdom this ancient Eastern modality offers beyond the physical asana and honours yoga as a practice of mind, body and soul connection - both on and off the mat.

Like many certified yoga teachers, Lauren never intended on teaching and enrolled in training for self-study and to connect further with her own inner intelligence. That inner intelligence later led her away from an 11-year corporate career as a journalist and out of newsrooms into yoga shalas and studios.

Since then Lauren has added Kinesiology, Neuro Trainer, and Reiki practitioner to her qualifications to complement the mental, physical and spiritual elements of her yoga offerings. She is currently studying a Diploma in Counselling to further support people holistically.

Lauren has a natural ability to connect with people and is conscious of making everyone feel welcomed and included. Her warm and supportive nature is reflected in her Slow Flow classes where she caters to each individual by offering an inclusive and accessible practice with a focus on mobility, stability, balance and subtle strength.

Maria Jesus Nazar

Mindful Vinyasa, Slow Flow & Massage

Maria, originally from Chile, now calls Margaret River home. With 8 years of teaching experience, she is a dedicated yoga teacher at our studio. Maria's approach to yoga is rooted in her personal devotion to the practice, combining tradition with innovation and a therapeutic style.

As a certified physical therapist, Maria brings a unique perspective to her teaching, emphasizing the importance of sustainability in one's yoga journey. Her classes encompass multiple styles, but her expertise lies in Mindful Vinyasa, guiding students towards a mindful and flowing practice.

Beyond her role at the studio, Maria runs her own yoga therapy business, offering a holistic blend of massage, yoga, and physiotherapy to the community. Her passion for outdoor living is evident in her teachings, finding inspiration from nature, particularly the ocean, which she considers her greatest teacher.

As a devoted surfer and advocate for a simple life, Maria infuses her teachings with a deep connection to the natural world. Join Maria on the mat for a transformative and therapeutic yoga experience, and discover the harmony between body, mind, and nature.

Imogen Rae Long

Vinyasa, Restore, Meditation & Energy Healer

Imogen is a dedicated yoga practitioner, energy healer & creative, who discovered the transformative power of yoga through her years in Dubai. After experiencing the physical and mental benefits of Hot Yoga, Imogen delved deeper into exploring the mental and energetic sides of the practice. Serendipitously, this led Imogen to Sri Lanka, where she completed her Yoga Teacher Training & began teaching her classes on the island.

Inspired by the connection between yoga and energy work, Imogen invites her students to move beyond the limits of the physical body and look at the “why” & “how”, encouraging a deeper meaning & sense of purpose for the practice. With a passion for the arts & literature, she often curates flows that speak to these cultures; as well as the chakras, the cosmos, or the ancient philosophies of Yoga and self-discovery. Imogen weaves her studies of these ancient teachings both into her practices, as well as her day to day life.

Through her combination of strong teachings and gentle intuitive guidance, Imogen aims to help others embrace a more peaceful, cultural and meaningful way of living, through the power of Yoga & contemplation.

Nicola Mazzella

Milyana Sound Therapy - Sound Baths

Nicola, a South West local for most of her life, is an experienced Sound Therapist with a passion for her practice. She has been holding group sound baths all over the region for the last few years and is excited to now share this medicine with our Gnarabup Yoga Community.

Nicola's fascination with Sound Therapy stems from her personal experience with its gentle and non-invasive nature, where the main focus is on restoring the body's balance and promoting a calm parasympathetic nervous system.

A group sound bath will begin with a brief mediation that connects you to your breath, followed by an immersive 45 minutes of pure sound wave bliss. A mix of crystal bowls, Tibetan bowls and chimes are used to leave you feeling grounded, relaxed and back at home in your body.

Kai Shearer

Slow Flow and Cacao Ceremony

Kai is originally from the Rocky Mountains of Boulder, Colorado; she is a salt of the earth lover of all elements of nature, and was trained as a yoga instructor at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala in 2015 with deepened wisdom at a beautiful ashram in Mysuru, India in 2019.

She loves to to help the world slow down, to stop & smell the roses, developing inner peace, embarking on a journey of self discovery & awareness, through connection with our mind, body & soul. Dance, Pilates & Thai massage influence her sequences, in addition to guided meditation and traditional yogic philosophy.

To Kai, yoga is a sacred, spiritual practice, not just a physical workout, so be prepared to quiet your mind & open your heart while also moving your beautiful body.

Cassandra Pickel

Tantric Hatha

Cassandra has been practicing yoga for close to 30 years beginning her journey with Mysore Ashtanga Yoga and teaching Hatha, Yin and Slow Flow since 2015. Since completing her teacher training 9 years ago, she has continued to study, and over the years has been fortunate enough to train with some of the world’s top teachers including Rod Stryker, Bernie Clarke and Kavitha Chinnayain. Since 2020, her studies have focussed primarily on Ayurveda including Ayurvedic Yoga trainings with Brad Hay and Ayurvedic Therapy training with Lydia Rega.

She feels that the West is often so focused on movement based yoga with most classes focussing on only asana or postures, that much of the depth and real meaning of this ancient Vedic practice has been watered down until it's barely recognisable. She is therefore committed to teaching all three ancient streams of Vedic knowledge - Ayurveda, Yoga and Tantra (not the weird neo-Western sex based version, but the householders path of spiritual awakening). When they are weaved together as they should be and as they are intended, true magic happens.

This is what she wishes to share, so that we can all grow, become more aware of ourselves and our connection to each other and all things, and perhaps most importantly to remember who we truly are - brighter than 10,000 suns - fierce, courageous and powerful as well kind, loving and full of grace and sweetness.