Diane Clark Manley

I have always been interested in yoga although it wasn't until not long after my second daughter was born that I went along to try out a class. I was stressed and suffering back problems. Yoga helped me to release tension and relax by moving my physical body and using my breath more efficiently. Basically I was being asked to notice and become aware of myself physically and mentally.

I started teaching at Newlands Community Education College over 20 years ago and in 2005 I graduated from the International Yoga Teachers Association (IYTA) NZ Teachers training course with a Teachers Diploma passing with distinction. Yoga during pregnancy also interested me so in 2008 I gained a Prenatal Teacher Training Certificate. I specialise in relaxation and the use of simple tools to de-stress and let go. I love the concept of move a little, breathe a lot and then relax.

The world we live in is busy, fast paced and sometimes frenetic. We tend to spend a lot of our waking hours stuck in our head – busy minds constantly humming. Often we forget about our body until something starts to hurt or we injure ourselves. By simply reconnecting with our body and breath we can reduce our stress levels and be healthier and happier.

There are many different branches of yoga out in the community now. I teach a more traditional gentle method that follows the Satyananda lineage based on the eight limbs of Yoga. In recent years I have expanded out and begun to explore for myself personally other modalities like the Feldenkrais method – “Retraining your body and brain to function more effectively and spontaneously”, and Zhineng Qigong – “uses both body and mind to enhance health and heal illness”. Both Feldenkrais and Qigong have helped me improve my levels of awareness as well as enhance my yoga teaching.

I live in a rural area near Carterton in the Wellington region where i have my home studio Tranquillity to Serenity and I run my business Tranquillity for Wellness. it is a peaceful quiet place where I work with individual clients and run several zoom yoga classes a week. If you are unable to get to a session in person I also am available to do individual on-line Zoom sessions.