Our Teachers
Ros' yoga journey began when she was 10 when she picked up her mom's yoga book and she was introduced to meditation. Her practice began in 2001 when she accidentally walked into a yoga class at the gym. In 2004, she decided at the last minute to go on a yoga holiday to Turkey. The holiday transformed my yoga practice in the space of a week and this was where the idea of becoming a yoga teacher took shape
In 2008 my then boyfriend (now husband) and I decided to make the move to South Africa. In 2009, I decided to do the yoga teacher training at Yoga Warrior. She has been teaching vinyasa since 2010 and has also become a self-taught yin yoga teacher. Ros says, ‘Yoga for me is a spiritual experience and gives me a calmness and inner peace that I am unable to find anywhere else and now I am the co-owner of the Sandton Yoga Lounge I am able to continue to spread the word about how beneficial yoga can be for everyone.’
Ros
Hinchcliffe
Leanne Glanville
Leanne has been teaching yoga for 8 Years . She is a qualified ISHTA teacher and Children's Yoga teacher with an honours degree in Psychology. Leanne's greatest passion is sharing the light of yoga with her students and assisting them on this journey we call LIFE. Leanne lives with her husband, toddler and menagerie of furr-kids in Morningside.
Rulene Moolman
Rulene has a background in science and obtained her honours degree in applied maths and science from the University of Pretoria in 2005. While studying she found yoga and was hooked. She worked in her field for a few years before doing her first yoga teacher training in 2012. She’s been teaching ever since. Through the years she’s done additional trainings which includes her advanced level training (500 hours), Transformational Yoga, Aerial yoga, Life coaching, Yin Yoga and Pregnancy Yoga. In 2020 she studied yoga for fertility, women’s health and did an additional pre- and postnatal teacher training in an Ashram in India. 2020 was also the year in which she qualified as a Yoga Therapist and received her Diploma. Because of her background in science, Rulene’s approach is both pragmatic and logical. With over 2000 hours of training and a decade of teaching yoga, she has an in-depth understanding and honours the innate wisdom of the body-mind to heal itself. Rulene intuitively and authentically facilitates the healing process by incorporating and applying years of experience and a unique skillset in her group- and private therapy sessions.
Website: Rulenemoolman.com
Instagram: @maidentomother.sa
FB @maiden to mother; yoga with rulene
Dané Blignaut
Dané began her fitness journey and realised her passion towards it as a career in 2019. She was never really athletic, but her love for dance stretches as far back as she can remember. She only officially began dancing when she was 16 and stopped after her matric year. For a long time something was missing. In her search for something new, yet similar to dance, she found pole fitness, and subsequently her love for aerial yoga, dance and fitness spiraled. Dané got her International Certifications in Fitness, Aerial Yoga and Pole Fitness and continues to expand her knowledge and career in fitness.
Instagram: dane_agatha_blignaut
Facebook: @Dane.Agatha
Lauren
Bauer
My journey with yoga has helped me to plant my feet on the ground, breathe and channel ‘bubbling-over’ energy into positive intention. My practice, both as student and teacher, has been integral in overcoming the limitations of physical injury as well as opening me up to deeper connection with those around me. I completed my training in Bali in 2016 and it’s been a path of continuous learning ever since. At SYL, I teach aerial yoga. Through facilitating these classes, my hope is to inspire you to explore the intuitive and nourishing movements that are supported by your hammock. For me, aerial yoga is all about flipping your perspective, learning to trust your capabilities and exceeding expectations by taking flight. Designer by trade, I’m always looking for ways to be more creative in my sequencing. I aspire to hold space for students to be curious and playful, meeting and greeting their own inner teachers and ultimately, to take lessons learned on the mat and in the hammock, into their lives. Teaching yoga has been a platform for me to share the love I’ve received from this practice over and over again.
Instagram: laubaa.bends
Mandla
Enoch
They call him the African Dragonfly! Mandla has been teaching yoga and meditation for almost 6 years and received his training in Rishikesh, India in Ashtanga, Hatha and Vinyasa yoga and is trained in meditation, breathing and mindfulness techniques. He also has a degree in philosophy and anthropology from Wits university and is currently completing his LLB Law degree. Mandla says, "Yoga is such an amazing and powerful practice and has the ability to bring tremendous knowledge, peace and bliss to any sadhaka (practitioner). Thus, my passion is to use yoga to help others journey deeper within themselves and help them explore every layer of their being: the physical, mental as well as spiritual. My classes are quite challenging but also very fun and are Ashtanga Vinyasa-inspired. All students are welcome and I so look forward to meeting each and every one of you beautiful yogis!”
Instagram: @theafricandragonfly
Simoné Balt
Simoné is a bubbly person who has a passion for teaching. She obtained her International Certification in Aerial Yoga during 2020 and continues to expand her knowledge in this area. Simoné believes that "fun" should be part of any fitness activity and incorporates this in her classes. She is very vocal in her excitement when students reach their goals and believes that with patience and practice, all students excel beyond their own expectations. Simoné practices pole fitness, aerial silks, aerial hoop and aerial yoga in her free time and loves how these complement her growth as a person.
Instagram: @s.i.m.i_balt
Facebook: Simoné Balt
Pebetsi
I was first attracted to yoga back in 2004 when I struggled with fertility. I practiced Hatha yoga in a mosque in Pretoria. The bug really hit when I moved to Johannesburg and stumbled across Bikram yoga. I left my corporate job and went to teacher training in Los Angeles , graduated 2012 as a 500 hour Hot Bikram yoga teacher. I have since travelled and taught in Phuket , Bangkok , Kenya and Durban. I believe this yoga unleashed the inner child in me. I continue to teach from love and believe I send out the same vibe to my students.
Zoey
Lapinsky
Zoey started her yoga practice accidentally in 2000, as part of her dance training. What really made her fall in love with yoga was the sense of ease and sometimes bliss that followed a yoga class. She loves the way yoga brings the mind and body together to create a fuller sense of self (some might even say spirit). She began teaching Bikram Yoga/Hot 26 in 2006 and since then has expanded her yoga knowledge and teaching practices to include Vinyasa, Yin and Restorative. She has a deep sense of what becomes possible for the person when the body and mind connect.
Marishka Appalsamy
Marishka began her yoga journey in 2020 and is qualified in Hatha Yoga, Yoga Therapy and Aerial Yoga. She is an MBA graduate and works in the corporate world too and therefore understands the importance of creating balance in life. From personal experience, she believes that yoga has the life-changing ability to heal the mind, body and spirit from past traumas and limiting beliefs. Her classes are focused around creating a mindful, sustainable practice that builds the body and nourishes the soul.
Instagram: appalz_
Louise Madderson
Louise received an Honours degree in Psychology with distinction in 2008. She has always been deeply motivated to be a vessel to allow others to heal themselves. She began practising Kundalini Yoga in 2014 and fell instantly in love with the practice. She did her 200-hour Level 1 Training through 3HO in 2015 and graduated in March 2017. She taught at Open Kundalini Yoga Classes (OKYC) from 2016 until 2022. This was a community initiative that made yoga classes accessible to those from marginalized communities. From 2018 to pre-Covid she co-administrated and taught weekly children’s yoga classes at Ekhaya Park in Hillbrow. She has also been teaching weekly classes to teenagers in Alexandra at Ntethelelo Foundation since 2022. She has completed two Level 2 modules through 3HO and one Level 2 module through Sat Sangat. She is currently completing a 1000-hour Level 3 Yoga Therapy qualification through Sat Sangat which is accredited by IAYT. Her teaching style is thus imbued with a therapeutic approach and a sensitivity to mental and physical health conditions.
TEACHER
TRAINING
This 500-hour, year-long course, accredited by the Yoga Teachers Fellowship of South Africa and the International Yoga Federation, is unlike any other teacher training currently on offer in South Africa.
It is our intention to provide a course that is extremely comprehensive in all aspects, deeply spiritual and which provides you with a well-rounded and in-depth knowledge of the eight-limbed path of Yoga. This is a very hands-on training course and you will be guided, mentored and “held” in a space where your individuality is embraced and celebrated.
The course is co-facilitated by Leanne Glanville and Ros Hinchcliffe and runs over a full year to allow it to be easily accessible and practical for everyone, regardless of career or lifestyle. This will also assist you to absorb and assimilate the large volume of new information and to integrate it into your daily life, thereby ensuring lasting positive changes.
By the time you have completed The Sandton Yoga Lounge’s Teacher Training you will be firmly established in your own personal sadhana (spiritual yoga practice) and be fully prepared to confidently step out of the classroom and onto the mat as a yoga teacher and fellow light worker. You will be well versed in teaching not one but TWO styles of yoga – vinyasa and ISHTA.
