Catching up with Yoga Teacher Training Grad Danni

We recently caught up with Danni Hayward, March 2015 Gili Meno 200 hour yoga teacher training graduate. Danni resides in Perth, Western Australia. She dabbled in yoga for many years, but she admits she used to be the person to roll up her mat and sneak out of class when it was time for savasana. "Then something happened a few years ago. Yoga became less about the stretching and more about the way it made me feel emotionally and mentally." Danni began to find that yoga provided calm and balance, helping her deal with the anxiety and panic attacks that used to plague her. "I have transformed my life immensely over the past couple of years. I am much more interested in taking care of myself and being connected with my body, mind and spirit. Yoga has been a really important part of that." 

Upon returning home from her yoga teacher training in Indonesia, she started her own mobile yoga business called Bendable not Breakable. Danni offers public classes as well as private sessions. "I am getting so much out of sharing yoga with others. I plan on ramping my yoga in the park when spring hits! I hope to meet more of you along the way and especially connect with any West Aussie based Zuna Yoga graduates."

Danni confided something else you might never have guessed if you saw her practicing and teaching: "I am hopelessly uncoordinated and never participated in any team sports growing up. The one and only trophy I ever received was for the school speech competition."

Hats off to Danni for moving past her obstacles and continuing fearlessly on her journey. We're continually inspired by our students, and success stories like this are one of things we love most about what we do.

5 things I learned at Yoga Teacher Training

by Sammy Garrett, Zuna Yoga 200 hour Yoga teacher training graduate

I’ve been so busy living, breathing and sharing the beautiful message of yoga that I felt it was time to stop, take a moment and appreciate what I have learned. It has been six months since I set foot on the beautiful Indonesian island of Gili Meno, and wow - a lot has happened since then. Upon reflection, I realized how my month there transformed not only my practice, but also my life. Here are the top five life changing lessons the Zuna Yoga 200 hour yoga teacher training taught me:

1. There is more in you. Just when you think you’ve had enough, there is always a little more to give. I learned to never ever ever underestimate the power of my being. The body, mind and spirit are miraculous forces capable of achieving great things. Ever look back in wonderment of how you did something so completely amazing? That’s how I felt looking back over the 200 hours of training with Zuna Yoga. 5:30am starts for three weeks, who would’ve thought it possible! With aching bodies and challenged minds, Zuna Yogis learn the ability to dig deep and pull through any emotional and spiritual roadblocks, allowing you to thrive. 

2. Sharing is caring. Before coming to the yoga teacher training, much of the group's practices were personal, practicing at home alone behind closed doors. During the training, I discovered the benefit in sharing my practice with others. Just as a problem shared is a problem halved, a joy shared is doubled - and what better joy than yoga. Practicing with a group of keen yoga teacher training students provided more depth to my practice. We had the opportunity to discuss personal challenges and improvements and share in each other’s experiences. Teaching to small groups and to the whole class opened me up to the delight of sharing. The act of giving and receiving feedback was extremely valuable when starting out teaching. Best of all, it was a real honor to see my teaching bringing joy to others. 

3. Breath is the key. During the yoga teacher training I learned to use my breath to measure myself in each asana, knowing exactly when I had pushed too far and when I needed to ease off. The discovery of breath awareness was not limited to the mat. I also learned to expand this into daily activities and to observe others during teaching. The connection between our bodily systems continues to amaze me. What an intelligent machine! Realizing how the breath is so interconnected with not just the physical but also the emotional and mental attributes of each individual has helped me immensely. 

4. Trust. In myself, in my body, in my capabilities. Through the teachings of Zuna Yoga, Everett  and Kahterine encouraged me to listen closely to my body, and focus on looking inward, rather than outwardly comparing to others. This required trust, acceptance and self-love. The yoga teacher training provided clarity around my strengths and weaknesses - both on and off the mat. It is often hard to see through the fog of competitiveness and comparisons which follow us in all areas of life, and yoga is no exception. The biggest learning I took home from my 200 hour yoga teacher training is that your practice is yours alone. It must be entirely individualized to you and your body. Once accepting this, it is easy to surrender, and trust in yourself completely. 

5. Have fun! No need to be serious and hard on yourself. Your practice will unfold organically if you hold the right intention. Each day during the training we had a two hour lunch break to adventure, explore and socialize. I made some great bonds with other participants, and as the course went on, we had a lot of laughs, both in and out of the classroom. I keep this fun and laughter going by practicing with friends, hanging out in an aerial silk, or taking my practice to the beach or the wilderness. Keep yoga alive. Do whatever it takes to bring joy to your practice. Combining yoga with other things I love (such as nature) is a total win-win. That’s why I chose the location of Gili Meno for my yoga teacher training. What could be more fun than yoga on a tropical island with 21 other liked minded people?

These are just five of many take aways from a magical time spent learning on Gili Meno. Yoga continues to be a source of new lessons and inspiration for me, every time I practice and teach. 

Fear Of The Unknown

by Katie-Alan Calhoun, September 2015 200 Hour Bali yoga teacher training graduate

Abhinivesa, the fourth and final limb of Avidya (ignorance), stands for fear. This particular fear is the fear of the unknown or the fear of what has not yet happened. Everyone at some point in their life has dealt with the crippling effects of fear in some way, shape, or form. It blossoms deep down inside us when we lack certainty in ourselves or our surroundings.

I found the Zuna Yoga teacher training program at a very critical point in my life - my "quarter-life crisis". Unlike the mid-life crisis, where you are coming to terms with the decisions you have made, the quarter-life crisis is the point in which you attempt to make the conscious decisions that will last. As in, what do I want to do? What is my life's purpose? Where do I want to be? Who do I want to be with? Yoga has taught me maybe the most valuable lesson to help with this crossroad, and that is to move with the ebb and flow of life. When we practice yoga, we're striving for physical flexibility - but it's equally if not more important to be mentally flexible. Always remember to move with the twists turns of life, and breathe.

Not knowing what lies ahead can be daunting, but it is also a beautiful gift. By being open minded and making decisions based on love instead of fear, life's wonderful possibilities are presented to you in abundance.


When considering the idea of teaching yoga, I initially had my doubts. It took me about two years to get past the "I don't know enough to share with my students what they need" or "What if I'm not good enough?"

By finally deciding to choose love over fear, I applied to Zuna Yoga and booked a flight to Bali. I will be training in their 200 hour program for three weeks in Ubud and am certain it will be filled with exactly that: love. Traveling to a different country alone is scary. Taking a leap into a new chapter of my life is frightening. But not taking an opportunity to reaching my full potential because of fear is downright terrifying.

If there are three things that have helped me overcome fear, these are it:

1. Have a strong connection with your inner child or adolescence. This is your state of relentless joy and sense of adventure. Do what brings you true happiness.

2. Swim with the current and not against it. When you resist change or refuse to go with the flow, you are depleting a powerful source of energy. We're talking potential illness and disease here people. Just remember: relax. Every little thing is gonna be alright.

3. Leap! Do what scares you the most. Those particular things end up being my favorite, and they may be yours as well. To think I would have never discovered those parts of myself because of fear is heartbreaking.


You are always changing, you are always learning. Don't let the fear of the unknown dictate your destiny.

This is it!

by Vanessa Vitali, September 500 hour Bali yoga teacher training student

We all go through life dreaming. We wish, hope and want that “someday” we will see these dreams become our reality. What if that someday was today? For me, today is the day I will embark on adventure.

I was that spirit that got caught in the thought of “someday”. Bali has always been calling me since I first learned of the outside world. Yoga was prevalent in my life since as far back as I can remember. When I decided last year that I wanted to teach yoga i did some research and came across the Zuna Yoga 500 hour Yoga Teacher Training in Bali, Indonesia. I was ecstatic! The price of the school was a little out of reach for me at the time, but I continued to look into it. I knew that this would be an amazing experience and when I saw the solid red letters, “SOLD OUT” I was instantly envious of their travels. I was only a waitress. Almost a whole year went by as my desire for travel grew. The only travel I have done outside the US was backpacking Mexico city and staying in a nice house on the beach of Sayulita.) I saved as much money as I could, if it was a twenty or higher i stashed it, knowing I would make it back tomorrow. Twenties turned into hundreds which turned into thousands and before i knew it, I was getting by and had the money for the deposit on the early bird 500 hour training. I applied and thought long and hard about what I was doing. Two months overseas? Alone? What about my relationship, my dogs, my house, my….everything. Can I really just uproot life to soul search? Why not?

After talking with my partner, I put the deposit down. This is it! My dream of “someday” finally has a day!! I had close to a year to pay the other half of tuition, find a house to rent and learn as much as I can. I am a student of Holistic Nutrition Therapy and I will complete my masters in early 2017. I was able to take a leave of absence from school for a max of four months, which I set aside for this beautiful trip. When I set the date, I was excited to tell my friends and family and in sharing my reality I inspired others to follow their dream.  It is such an amazing feeling to spark that magic in others when they too believe they can do anything they wish. I started to invite people to come with me, offering a house share. My parents and my partner took the bait.

My mom went to elementary school in Ecuador and traveled a lot growing up. When she researched Bali she got very excited about the chance to travel again and she used a bonus from work to get her and my dad here on the island for a week and a half. They have been getting their passport together and finding amazing things to do on the island and are very excited to share this experience with me.

My partner loves to travel around the world and in fact has been to most of it! He always inspires me and lights the travel spark in me that I never want to escape. We turned this 500 hour training into a backpacking trip. We are backpacking around Thailand and Cambodia then landing in Indonesia, where he is dropping me off for the teacher training. 

SO EXCITING!

My life in boxes

by Franzi Priemer, September 2015 200 hour Bali Yoga Teacher Training student

My adventure starts in two weeks! I am leaving my country for an extended journey and I don't know when I'm coming back. I already quit my job and booked my 200 hour yoga teacher training as the first step of many new experiences. 

As I started to pack up the flat that has been my home for the last four years, the space became more and more chaotic everyday. I always had the intention to stay calm and positive. Breathing in and out, I filled the boxes with stuff from my life. Boxes with many folders, books and other school things - my "job boxes." "Fashion boxes", with all my clothes. There are 'kitchen boxes', 'decoration boxes', 'tool boxes',  boxes with magazines, movies, games, postcards. I was standing in the middle and it felt like trying to put my whole past life into boxes, without knowing what I would be facing next. 

It felt overwhelming. I felt the pressure of time, work, duties and own expectations. I have to leave in two weeks, I have to hurry up! Moving, not thinking; running - instead of standing paralyzed without any idea where to start. Every time I held something in my hands, I struggled to make decisions: Do I throw it away or do I put it into one of these boxes? Keep it or leave it? Should I store it in case I need it one day? Do I really need it at all? Many times I enjoyed a guilty pleasure of adding more stuff to the boxes named "cute things with eyes" or "memories and pictures" – not because I need it,  but because discarding the item was out of the question, I was off the hook. Sometimes, I felt totally incapable of making any decisions. I wanted to fast forward the clock, or just fold myself into child's pose without moving for the next 14 days. But instead I lifted my head, got to my feet, and kept going.

Trying hard to keep breathing, I kept on packing my stuff. Deciding, thinking, keeping, jumping, throwing away. Laughing about an old postcard from my cousin, crying over a photo from my childhood, thinking about what my friends could need or what they would like to get, sitting on my balcony and watching the sky full of stars, taking a deep breath and storing memories in my heart. Sorting out stuff was a process of clearing myself from the inside out. Every single box helped me say goodbye, farewell. Maybe it's not the leaving that is so hard, it's the letting go. Getting focused on the moment and not thinking too much about the momentous event that starts in two weeks. Every movement and every small decision I made felt like getting closer to this moment and I realize that it doesn't really matter what stuff I keep or in which box I'm putting it. Finally, filling boxes didn't feel like work or stress anymore. 

My flat is becoming emptier and emptier, my soul is becoming lighter and brighter because I start to feel the movement inside. The adventure starts in two weeks, but somehow it has already started. I am sitting between boxes, letting my emotions flow and starting to realize that this too is a moment to enjoy, and this exactly is the place I have to be.

Ready…. Or Not: Preparing For Yoga Teacher Training

by Eva Brockschmidt, September 2015 200 hour Bali Yoga Teacher Training student

Eva gets ready to climb

500 hours of yoga teacher training in Bali are probably not an experience that you can just throw yourself into without some thorough preparation. That's why I’ve spent the past month stepping up my asana practice, making my way through the reading list, and generally putting my house in order. During this time it began to dawn on me what I had really gotten myself into. I was in for a wild and wonderful, but also frightening ride.

Getting Ready

Everyone probably expects yoga teacher training to be physically intense and challenging, and so I’ve tried to make sure that my body is ready. Living in London I’ve been blessed with a host of amazing teachers. After a month of practicing six days a week, sometimes twice a day, I could notice real physical progress. My body feels stronger, more flexible and generally more responsive and my energy levels have been soaring.

However, beyond asana practice there was also a lot of reading to be done. Coming from a law background, processing a lot of written information has never been a big problem for me, although this kind of writing was completely new to me. A lot of the books I thoroughly enjoyed, almost wolfing them down. Others didn’t really seem to relate to my current life – “if you can hold your breath for 300 counts you will reach enlightenment”. Say what? More like pass out from lack of oxygen. But on the whole, the reading seems to have started a transformative process. I’ve begun to re-examine and reevaluate not only my relationship with myself and others, but also all my long-held beliefs, ideals, behavioral and thought patterns. While this is a tremendous opportunity for which I am deeply grateful, at times it also feels extremely confusing and rather scary.

Starting Over

Flowers in my garden in London

Having spent the past three years doing a degree that made me miserable, I knew I needed a change. So I decided to take a break, do my yoga teacher training in Bali and then spend a year traveling. For six months I have been looking forward to this point with increasing anticipation, joy and excitement. But now that the training is just around the corner I have noticed that there are new, darker emotions creeping in: anxiety, fear and doubt. Am I making the right choice leaving everything behind at least for a while? Should I have stayed in London? What about my friends, will they still be there when I come back? Ego innately resists change, and it's probably human nature to prefer the present status quo. So every time these questions arise, in my mind, I try to rephrase uncertainty as possibility and opportunity.

Tackling Insecurities

Yoga forces us to look inward, and the prospect of yoga teacher training has forced me to confront a number of deeply held insecurities. I find myself repeatedly questioning whether I’m really good enough. Are the other students better than me? What if they are? Even in yoga it can sometimes be extremely difficult to escape our society’s competitive mind-set. In class, it's sometimes all too easy to feel jealous of the super bendy student next to you, or the one who’s seemingly effortlessly balancing in a handstand. Even though I’m happy with my own practice, it’s sometimes hard to shake of perfectionistic tendencies and I’ve been wishing I were more flexible, stronger with a better sense of balance. Oh, if only I had more time to get ready.

Fortunately I’ve had the chance to share these fears with one of my yoga teachers who has encouraged and supported me on my journey these past few months. In recounting her own doubts when embarking on her own teacher training many years ago, she made me realize that these doubts are completely normal and almost anyone will have them to some degree. In addition, she gave me a helpful reminder that will hopefully stay with me for the rest of my time: “If you’re worried that you can’t hold pincha mayurasana, then you’re completely missing the point.” And she’s right. That’s not what yoga is about. It’s not about fancy poses or how well you can stand on your head. Although these things are fun too, yoga is really so much more than that.

Even though it doesn’t feel like it, I know I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. Instead, I choose to have faith that I am exactly where I need to be right now. If I already knew everything and my asana practice was perfect, then what would be the point in me going? Instead I am ready to learn and to grow, and am excited to meet some wonderful people along the way. Ultimately I am so grateful for the opportunity to completely immerse myself in something I love. How amazing is that?

Don’t think. Feel.

by Mandi Orozco, September 2015 200 hour Bali Yoga teacher training student

Mandi flies high in Budapest

There was a very unmistakeable message and theme to my week: Don’t think. Feel.

Now, I don’t know how that goes over for the rest of you, but for me that seems about as likely as winning the lottery. My brain is often the captain of my ship and sails away with me from my first waking moment until I crash into my pillow at night. In many ways it serves me well. Very well. I am usually very pleased with the balancing act I call my life, which is actually quite literally and metaphorically true (I'm a professional circus artist). I have a fire of ambition in my heart and enough dreams in my head to fuel the flames. I have been extremely blessed in terms of where that fire has propelled me to go. My daily life is a bit out of the ordinary. Despite the unique and somewhat bizarre lifestyle I lead, I have realized that no matter what a person does, no matter how “big” or how “small” the world labels them to be, we all boil down people with the same basic aspirations.

This week found me in Budapest, Hungary. I was performing as a guest act with a Czech company at the Sziget Festival, the biggest music festival in Europe. The festival was an amazing array of energy, people, music, lights, food, and sounds. Lots of sounds. Did I mention sounds? I think I will hear (and feel) the bass in my head for the next week to come. We performed each day in front of an extremely open and receptive audience, a strong reminder that the collective energy of a group of people is very real and influential. Among the applause and the music from the live band, I am always able to lose myself. Finally the captain that is my brain can bark orders as loudly as he wants without being heard. When I can connect with and begin to function from the most genuine place deep inside, no matter how still or active I am being, it’s like a surge of raw power. It’s a feeling that I cannot explain other than with the words: Don’t think. Feel.

The concerts were amazing, as one would expect at an event of this magnitude. It’s rare to see upwards of 50,000 people gather in one spot multiple times a day. I must admit that after a while, witnessing extreme levels of debauchery became taxing. I would often stand off to the side of the massive gathering of people and just observe them while listening to the music. Some were joyfully dancing, some were laughing, some were crying, some were drinking, and some clearly didn’t know what they were doing. And then there was me. I caught myself in the act of analyzing everything around me. I don’t mean analyzing in a judgmental way, but more like caught up in the process of thought. No matter what degree of inebriation or sobriety these people possessed, there was a sense of carefree thoughtlessness about them, a raw power. Don’t think. Feel.

Looking forward to Bali YTT

I am not criticizing thinkers in general. I am simply observing the freedom that comes with connecting to yourself without thought. More commonly referred to in yoga jargon as “Quieting your monkey mind.” While I essentially make my living as a professional monkey of sorts, I am looking forward to my yoga teacher training in Bali to reconnect with myself in a childlike, carefree, vulnerable way. I believe it is vulnerability that makes us strong, and the ability to show our vulnerability that makes us courageous. 

I’m looking forward to spending time with and being inspired by others who seek to life’s simple truths and joys, to those who seek greater self-awareness, and to those who desire to improve the world by improving themselves. Some of life’s greatest lessons are the simplest lessons. Sometimes there is no better way to find them than on a yoga mat.

A Moonlit Journey to the Self

by Hannah Liot, 200 hour yoga teacher training graduate

The stunning full moon last week sent me right back to the white sandy beaches on Gili Meno. I could almost smell the fragrant incense as I stood on the beach at home, looking at the moon. There were two full moons during the three and a half weeks of my Zuna Yoga teacher training. The nights were filled with light, warmth and sweet, salty air. Those three weeks are locked into my soul and what I discovered in Indonesia has become a foundational part of who I am and who I want to be. About a month later, here I am, finally starting to understand the layers of information Katherine and Everett shared at the yoga teacher training.

Breathe, practice, repeat

The training began with Mercury in retrograde and the energy on the island had a weight to it. It subtly moved through each of us and we found ourselves indulging in that heaviness, allowing ourselves to move inward and to truly connect with the mind, body and soul. The lesson plan designed by Katherine and Everett supported this energetic space throughout the whole training. 

During the first week, everyone forged a connection with their breath and learned to breathe into the different parts of the body. The breath brought awareness to places in my body that had been closed off. With each inhale, space was created - and every exhale stimulated and stirred dormant energy, bringing parts of myself back to life. Connecting this deeper breath with a rigorous asana practice released blocked energy and purified mentally, emotionally and physically. I’m not going to lie, it was an intense week. And it helped me to establish a stronger relationship with myself and my yoga practice. 

Hannah leading the class

The second week was inspired by balance. While learning new sequences and teaching methods, students were encouraged to become aware of their boundaries. Recognizing the delicate line between pushing yourself and limiting yourself allows for more personal awareness. I found that this is where self-trust begins to grow and where insecurities begin to fade. Finding balance in your practice ultimately translates to balance within your life. 

The third week was about embracing your authentic self and finding confidence in your voice and your teaching. The Zuna Yoga teacher training sensitizes you to the subtleties of the body, such as breathing, body movement and posture. It gives you the skills, knowledge and assurance to not only teach yoga, but to understand people and their bodies in a new way. One of the most incredible moments during the training was watching the other students experience Savasana after teaching the class. Simply watching their bellies move up and down from their breath told me so much about their practice and what they were experiencing. 

Each week brought a new wave of knowledge and personal growth. I left Indonesia feeling full and strong with a level of awareness that I hadn’t had before and I left Zuna Yoga with two incredible gifts. 

Hannah and her Yogis

One is the ability to continue strengthening my practice. It’s easy to get distracted and set your practice aside or to feel disconnected from your authentic self. Life has this strange way of getting in the way, but the three weeks of training provided me with the tools and inspiration I need to always maintain my practice. Through the training I found insight into my own personal strength and the confidence to set intentions and follow through with them. 

The second gift is the most beautiful aspect of the Zuna Yoga teacher training. It is the ability to teach yoga and to accurately share the incredible information I learned during the training. Being able to help the people I love through yoga is such an amazing gift for which I will always be grateful to Zuna Yoga. 

Hidden beauty in Bali

For our students coming to Ubud for their Bali Yoga Teacher Training, there is plenty of unexpected beauty around every corner. The Ayung Resort Ubud is filled with an eclectic collection of art, including this moss-covered rock sculpture. Keep your eyes open and enjoy exploring all the nooks and crannies of this fascinating culture.