Why Tamara

About Us

We believe yoga can change the world for the better, one person at a time. We believe within each of us is a deep well of contentment, strength and joy. Yoga is the tool that’ll help you recover your natural peacefulness and to know the true brilliance of your soul.

Tamara symbolises peace. In Hebrew the name means palm tree, a representation of peace, and in Tamil – one of the oldest languages, and a classical language of India, it means lotus.  The lotus represents purity and power, symbolizes elevated consciousness – growing out of the murky mud, lifting in beauty to the light.  We believe tending to your Yoga practice is vital so you make room for your own blossoming, your own light, just like the beautiful lotus.

Tamara Yoga is grounded in ISHTA Yoga. ISHTA is the physical and spiritual form of yoga that addresses the individual needs of each student.  ISHTA is an acronym for the Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda. Hatha is the physical practice of yoga that creates balance and health.  Hatha purifies the body to prepare it for experiencing higher levels of consciousness, particularly uninterrupted bliss. Tantra is the yogic philosophy that recognizes the perfection in all beings and Ayurveda is the ancient, holistic Indian science of healing enabling a long life. ISHTA is a Sanskrit word meaning that which resonates with the individual spirit. Hence, the emphasis at Tamara Yoga on personalizing your practice to deliver the results you need.

Every teacher at Tamara Yoga has successfully undertaken comprehensive nationally and internationally recognized training with Tamara. The teachers at Tamara Yoga are the best of the best, and are passionate about increasing happiness in the world and helping you to feel great.

Tamara Yoga is ideal for you if you feel there’s something more you could be getting out of your life, if you’re stressed but you know deep down that there must be a better way.  We’re perfect for each other if you feel drawn to learning about real yoga.

Tamara Yoga delivers proven benefits. Tamara Yoga is calming, energizing, helps you sleep better, makes you stronger, healthier, increases brain function, concentration and memory, increases fertility, has been shown at the cellular level to be ‘anti-aging’, plus it helps you to feel happier.  Our students say things like “my yoga practice has changed my life and I owe that change to Tamara and her wonderful teachers.”  – Angela.

“I feel so at home at Tamara Yoga; and I am so thankful for everything that I have learnt, shared and experienced. It has reshaped my life and bought me much happiness.”  – Tanya

Who Is Tamara

When you come to a class or workshop with Tamara regardless of how many other students are there, you’ll feel as if it was just made for you. So many students have said after class, “How did you know that’s just what I needed? It’s like you see into my soul.”

You’ll learn how to translate the teachings of yoga directly into your life transforming you into your happiest, best, most authentic Self. Get ready for a whole mind-body spirit workout, for the experience of real yoga.

When you leave Tamara’s class you’ll feel as though you’ve had fitness, strength and flexibility training, a massage and deep meditation all rolled into just one hour! You’ll feel energised, vibrant, peaceful and clear, more resourceful, wanting to come back, planning your next class time.

Tamara’s love of yoga and enthusiasm for teaching is infectious; you’ll be inspired to realize the goal of yoga, enlightenment. Tamara’s mother introduced her to yoga as a child and she began practicing meditation in 1986. After qualifying as a special education teacher she began teaching yoga as a part of the school day in 1991.

Tamara’s able to pace the class to suit multiple levels and abilities so that everyone regardless of age, experience or background feels welcomed, supported and challenged. Tamara has extensive experience teaching students with needs as varied as New York marathon runners to fellow yoga teachers to high profile clients like Donna Karen, as well as busy CEO’s and medical specialists.

From 1998 – 2004, Tamara taught group and private yoga classes for both adults and children in New York. While living in the U.S., she studied with Kavi Yogiraj Alan Finger of ISHTA Yoga and received Yoga Alliance certification in the ISHTA system of yoga. Since moving to Australia and establishing the thriving Tamara Yoga schools in Perth, Tamara has travelled back to New York to undertake further one to one studies with Alan Finger. Kavi Yogiraj Alan initiated Tamara to transmit Shaktipat- the transference of spiritual energy to assist meditation and the experience of highest consciousness. Tamara is honoured to represent ISHTA Yoga in Australia. Tamara’s an E-RYT 500 Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance and Senior Teacher with Yoga Australia.

A yogiraj is a sacred and ancient honour that is only bestowed upon the most advanced practitioners of yoga. It’s a title that’s conferred by a teacher, who is themselves a yogiraj, onto a student who they consider to be an illuminated living yogic master.

It takes decades of study under one teacher to reach this milestone, which Tamara was initiated in by her long-standing teacher Kavi Yogiraj Alan Finger in 2018.

In an age where people flip between teachers and projects as quickly as we flip between Netflix shows, few practitioners ever reach the consistency and depth of practice that allows them to receive this honour.

The opportunity to study under a yogiraj is not like attending any other regular yoga class.  A yogiraj helps students truly awaken to higher levels of consciousness, by teaching them how to change and alter their consciousness in their energetic body.

When you drive a car and you want to go to a new place you haven’t been before, we all know a GPS will be your best choice to help you reach that destination. Without one, you might get lost or take you a long time to reach your destination, or maybe you might not reach it at all!

A yogiraj is a yoga GPS system. They are someone who’s already walked the path and therefore knows the secrets to help you to reach that end goal, as well the mistakes to avoid if you want to get there.

They are here to inspire other people to find the light of their spirit. That’s Tamara for you.

perth yoga tamara pic 2024

Benefits of Yoga

perth yoga yoga img 2024

Research has proven Yoga is beneficial for respiratory issues, back pain, weight reduction, depression and anxiety.

perth yoga yoga img 2024

Yoga increases overall strength and balance, enhances wellbeing, improves flexibility.

perth yoga yoga img 2024

Yoga triggers remembered wellness, lowers cortisol levels, improves focus and concentration.

perth yoga yoga img 2024

Yoga regulates blood pressure and heart rate, relaxes chronic muscle tension,  elicits the relaxation response and improves sleep.

.

Our Teachers

FAQs

To live in a state of yoga is to be free, to know liberation, to be serene and fully alive, open hearted and open minded. Through the practice of yoga, we learn to ceaselessly surrender to the guiding force, the eternal luminous being within. Unendingly meditating on the light in the heart beyond sorrow. We practice yoga to strip away any obstructions so we can truly know the brilliance of our own souls. Yoga is a state of union, of peace, without attachment to pleasure or aversion to pain. The yogi is free from distraction, able to be here now, experiencing consciousness without limits, knowing and being love.

You certainly do not need to be able to touch your toes to come to class.  Yoga is not about how you look, it’s about how you feel. Yoga will help you to feel much better. You’ll gain flexibility with regular practice.

Comfortable clothing that’s easy to move in. Yoga is practiced barefoot, so you don’t need shoes. Do I need to book in advance? It’s ideal to book ahead of time to make it more stream-lined when you get to the studio. Most of our classes are drop-in though, which means you can just turn up. Our courses and workshops need to be booked beforehand.

We have all the equipment here you’ll need for you to use, though if you have your own mat do bring it.

All of the drop-in classes vary between 75 minutes, 60 minutes and 45 minutes.

A drop-in class is one that you’re welcome to just pop in for, you don’t need to call first. All of our courses run for one session per week for 4 or 6 weeks. They require booking in advance. You can book on-line or over the phone by calling 9385 2242 or visit us at our office in Claremont.

That’s okay. There’s no need to be shy. Mantra is about the vibration inside. Not about how it sounds on the outside. When we Om, we practice breathing slowly and consciously. This helps you to relax and feel more peaceful. Om is said to be the sound of universal consciousness, both the sound inside us and outside us…all potential, all inspiration. Within the om, we hear the ‘a’, the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, the beginning of all sounds; this resonates in our lower three chakras, then the sound ‘u’ vibrates in anahata chakra in our heart, the sound m is the final consonant in the Sanskrit alphabet which is then followed by the vibration even after the verbal sound ends. This vibration moves through the throat chakra all the way through ajna chakra to sahasrara at the crown. Therefore within the om, everything is expressed: all that can be said in words and felt inside, as well as the mystery that words cannot explain.

When we’re stressed, breathing becomes rapid and shallow. Our daily life can be stressful. The physiological state of the body when a person’s stressed is linked directly to the fight or flight response of the sympathetic nervous system which leads to an increase in the production of the hormones adrenaline and cortisol that have been linked to immune function depression. The fight or flight response leads also to a sudden increase in blood pressure, heart rate and muscle tension and there is increased blood flow to the muscles of the arms and legs and away from the vital organs by 300 – 400 percent.

Learning to slow our breathing down through the practice of yoga has the dramatic effect of calming our body and mind and ‘igniting’ the relaxation response of the parasympathetic nervous system. Blood pressure and heart rate decrease and muscles relax. Brainwaves slow down and alpha waves increase. Blood flow increases to our vital organs improving digestion, fertility and immunity. Hatha yoga has a beneficial effect on the whole body; toning the muscles, tissues, ligaments, joints and nerves. Yoga boosts metabolism, lymphatic circulation and hormonal secretions bringing a chemical balance in the body.

Concentrating on the slow rhythm of the breath draws us into a meditative state, so that our practice becomes meditation in motion.

Asana refers to the postures we practice. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, sthira sukham asanam means to resolutely abide in the good space; a steady, comfortable seat. Every asana must incorporate the balance between steadiness and joy or strength and ease. Otherwise, it would be just exercise or relaxation not yoga…union, yoking.

You’ll be fine. Yoga’s not about how you look, it’s more about helping you to feel better. We’ll look after you. Yoga teaches us to not compare ourselves to others. It’s not a competitive sport.  We learn that there is no ‘perfect’ pose, living in the present moment is where the perfection is.  This requires practice.

Yoga is for everyone. Every asana can be modified to meet your needs.

Practicing Vinyasa yoga regularly will certainly lead to higher levels of fitness and strength. Students notice a visible change in their strength and flexibility and report a far greater sense of wellbeing and vibrant good health. This is just the beginning, our goal is liberation, enlightenment.

Albert Einstein noted the conventional sense of feeling separate from everyone and everything else is a kind of  “optical illusion.”  “This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.  Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.” – Georg Feuerstein.

The physical practice of asana ensures that we are strong and flexible, balanced and healthy. Ill health is an obstacle to enlightenment. The physical practice also gives us opportunities to open our heart, lessen our restlessness and relinquish the ego.

Is Yoga a religion? All of this talking about spirituality freaks me out a bit.

Yoga neither conflicts with religion, nor is a religion.

‘Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the human spirit -such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony- which brings happiness to both self and others.’ __The Dalai Lama.

Sanskrit is considered to be the oldest language and contains sacred vibration that is said to be understood from deeply inside us. Sanskrit words have been compared to zip files on a computer.  Within each word there is a wealth of information contained within its resonant simplicity that upon reflection can expand our awareness. Every time we hear the word asana as in uttanasana, tadasana, it reminds us to find the balance between steadiness and joy, strength and ease, in our ‘seat’; where we are now.

You do not have to be made out of rubber! Firstly, you would never force yourself into any asana, otherwise you would have lost the aspect of ease or joy. Your primary focus when practicing Vinyasa yoga is your breath. We practice letting the breath initiate the movement. If you are able to breathe slowly, audibly and happily, you will be able to always remain safe in your practice. We learn to surrender the results while simultaneously giving our best efforts. We are afforded so many opportunities to practice this in yoga class!

Yes! We have an intro offer which gives you 3 weeks of unlimited access to all of our Claremont, Bibra Lake and Online studio classes. Our intro offer is the perfect way to try lots of different classes, get a feel for Tamara Yoga and see if it’s right for you. It is $59 for 3 weeks unlimited yoga.

perth yoga tamara yoga lowres 45 2024