our instructors

Alexandra

Alexandra has been teaching internationally since 2004, leading retreats and teaching Teacher Training programmes in Australia. She is honoured to have studied with some of the world’s leading teachers such as Cyndi Lee, Donna Farhi and Sharon Gannon & David Life. Through her friendly and welcoming approach, she aims to guide students of all levels through a creative, dynamic vinyasa practice that harnesses the power of the breath in order to allow each individual’s practice to gracefully unfold.

Amelia

Amelia is an experienced yogi with a love of Vinyasa flow & the journey of evolving yoga focusing on calm, power & precision. She qualified in London & embraces the teachings of Vinyasa flow, Hatha & recently qualifying to teach prenatal yoga. Amelia’s lessons follow a wonderful combination of flowing asanas, breathing techniques, beautiful music & gentle instruction, allowing the body to move freely & the heart to be open to new experiences.

Bahar

Bahar discovered Pilates 6 years ago in her home country Turkey. Her passion especially for Reformer has grown throughout her regular and dedicated personal trainings. Short after she moved to Dubai, her enthusiasm for practicing Pilates led her to Zen Yoga. Bahar has completed Balanced Body University Pilates Instructor Training Programs at Zen Yoga both for Mat and Reformer. Since then she has been an instructor at Zen Yoga teaching Reformer and Mat classes.

Caroline

Caroline Leon from Australia has been living in Dubai for over 3 years. Whilst completing a Bachelor of Medical Science majoring in Anatomy & Physiology Caroline began her Pilates training with the founder & director of Pilates Moves, Helen Tardent. In a two year mentorship program Caroline attained a Full Pilates certification including all the original Pilates equipment as well as a Pathology & Conditioning course & Neuro-liguistics Programming (NLP).

Cheryl

Cheryl first found yoga at 16 & quickly developed a passion for the practice. She has trained with Yoga Arts & is a 500hr+ registered teacher with the international Yoga Alliance. Cheryl also took her pre-natal yoga in 2009 & Kid’s Yoga training in 2010. Cheryl has been with Zen since March 2008 & teaches Hatha Flow, Vinyasa Flow & Ashtanga. She loves to add an element of fun to her classes, encouraging students to laugh & enjoy their yoga practice.

Christine

Christine has had a passion for yoga since she was a science education student. Interested in yoga for healing, she is certified in Hatha & Prenatal yoga from Paul Jerald RYT-500 Yoga Alliance & Vinyasa yoga from Sadie Nardini. Also certified in Mat Pilates from Expert Pilates & Meditation from Anmol Metah, a Kundalini master, she believes that by combining yoga with Pilates & meditation, greater balance, flexibility, & inner peace can be achieved.

Elaine

Elaine discovered yoga as a university student in Canada & has been practicing for the past 25 years. Moving to Dubai with two children, she qualified as a fitness instructor & personal trainer. A trip to Yoga Thail& made her decide to take the Yoga Alliance 200 hour instructor's course in Vinyasa Flow. She now balances teaching group fitness with working full time for Microsoft. She is passionate about helping people find a positive work life balance.

Eva

Eva became involved with yoga as a student many years ago & was immediately captivated by the way yoga it affected her. She studied with Paul Dallaghan & Neil Baker & is certified through the Centered Yoga Institute, Yoga Thail&. Eva currently focuses on teaching prenatal yoga as it helped her stay fit & cope with delivery throughout her own pregnancy. She would like mums-to-be to experience the same positive effects of yoga that she did.

Delia

Delia Tate began teaching mat pilates at Zen towards the end of last year. Started doing pilates in 2003 and became addicted after it seemed to rid me of debilitating cervical and upper thoracic spine pain and stiffness which I had suffered from ever since I was a teen. I have came across some wonderful instructors including Jill Trevethan, Sarah Noble and Laura Weston. I graduated from the Q.U.T. in Australia in 1985 with a B.A. Ap Sc in Diagnostic Radiography and have worked in the health care industry for many years.

Heidi

Heidi has a background in dance & personal training but enjoyed the physical & mental development that yoga offered. She has seven years practicing different styles of yoga & found the most personal improvement through the more traditional, Purna Yoga. She trained in Byron Bay, Australia, where her underst&ing deepened on how to provide individual students the opportunity for inner peace & health that yoga provides & allows us to keep.

Joanna

Joanna has an Architectural background with which she pursued carrier in Nuclear Industry for about 10 years. Her move to Dubai seven years ago helped her discover Pilates, which she fell in love with straight away. She adapted her Pilates experience into every day activities. Seeing how it transformed her posture's balance, mobility, stability & strength, inspired her to pursue Pilates further. Joanna completed Pilates Mat & Reformer Instructor Training through Balanced Body University.

Judit

Having been working in the wellness industry for 6 years, as fitness instructor & body therapist, I have gained valuable knowledge of well-being & healthy lifestyle. My yoga journey started 5 years ago, & immediately it became my life force energy. I completed my 200 hours Vinyasa Flow YTT, at Frog Lotus Yoga ( RYS 200) with Vidya Jacqueline Heisel & SUN YOGA Prenatal YTT wih the fascinating Jacqueline Koay.

Ilham

Ilham Sebti has been hooked on Pilates since she started in 2005.Pilates has helped her tone her body after three pregnancies & has dramatically improved her posture.She completed her instructor training with her mentor & greatest Pilates Master in the US Mrs. Ellie Herman on all Pilates equipment & Reformer & mat training through Balanced Body University.She particularly enjoys post-natal work outs with her clients helping them get their bodies in shape.

Inka

Inka grew up with a strong awareness of movement & posture thanks to her mother's German gymnastik classes. As an adult, she practised various forms of yoga in her many moves across the globe. Yoga has helped her find balance & vitality in her stressful work as a graphic designer. Hoping to impart that same sense of awareness to others, Inka completed her teacher's training in India, focusing on classical Hatha yoga & it's therapeutic benefits.

Laura Weston

Laura has been in Dubai & with ZenYoga since August, 2007. She is a certified yoga teacher as an E-RYT 200 through Yoga Alliance as well as a Balanced Body University pilates faculty trainer. Her passion for movement is naturally given & expressed with a creative feeling of mind, body & spirit awareness. She teaches Vinyasa Flow, Yogilates, Prenatal, Pilates Mat & Reformer.

Laura F.

Laura’s first class was actually when her mother was pregnant with her, so really, before birth the seed was sown! Having practiced yoga for the last 10 years, she is constantly amazed at how each asana class brings about a new discovery within ourselves. Seeking a deeper awareness of ‘Yoga’ she has travelled & lived all over India, teaching yoga at an ashram for 8 months as staff, as well as in Goa, & Kolkata.

Leona

From an early age Leona practised various types of dance. Pilates mat was a natural progression & a way of maintaining & increasing her core strength, posture & flexibility. Leona believes Pilates is excellent for all ages & fitness levels, compliments other forms of exercise, strengthens the core & body, improves balance, increase co-ordination all of which benefits us in our everyday life. She teaches Pilates mat & Reformer.

Marisa

Exercise has been a daily part of Marisa’s life for the past 30 years. After 13 years of yoga & fitness practice in New York, she discovered Pilates in 2005 in Paris & developed an unprecedented passion for it . On arrival in Dubai she perfected her technique under the instruction of Jill Trevethan & Sarah Nobles at Zen Yoga. Which led Marisa to take her qualification through Balanced Body University & her instructor-trainer, Laura Weston. Since April 2010 Marisa teaches Pilates Mat, private & group classes.

Max

Healthy mind creates healthy body & Healthy body creates healthy mind. Realizing the core importance’s of thoery & practical, which inspired me to graduate in Fitness & Nutrition from Penn Foster Career School,Scranton PA & Diploma in Yoga Education(DYED),Satguru Yogasramam,Palakkad Kerala. To widen my knowledge,travelled across India & South east Asia for Seminars & Workshops. Finally chose the path of Power Yoga.

Melanie

Yoga became an integral part of melanie's life as soon as she started to attend yoga classes. Over the years Melanie has enjoyed different yoga practices from Hatha to Ashtanga & Kundalini. Melanie practiced yoga through both her pregnancies. After taking weekly baby yoga classes for a year, she trained to become a Baby Yoga Instructor both with the Sitaram Partnership in London & Birthlight, & was awarded her teaching diploma in 2006.

Melissa

Melissa has been globe trotting for many years gathering an extensive knowledge on yoga from extraordinary teachers around the world. Her greatest inspiration is India where she retreats a couple times a year to further acquaint & evolve her yogic journey. Her insignia, “Yoga is a moving meditation. The breath is a bridge between the body & spirit, a gateway to the present moment".

Michelle

Michelle discovered yoga in 2003 while attending classes with Vinod Pillai, at Bayoga in Manama, Bahrain. As her practiced progressed she sought to deepen her mental & spiritual underst&ing of yoga which culminated in a journey through Southern India where she studied vinyasa flow with Dr. Senthil Kumar, at Ayurveda Retreat, Conoor, India (Yoga Alliance, RYT 200, August 2008). She continues to develop her knowledge through daily practice & is pursuing her RYT 500 through Radiantly Alive Bali with Daniel Aaron.

Mirna

I have studied with Sudha Carolyn Lindeen & Devarshi Steven Hartman & was certified by Kripalu for Yoga & Health in Massachusetts. My classes emphasize on building strength, stamina & flexibility. Students are encouraged to tap into their own, unique body wisdom as they allow the mind to quiet & the heart to open. Whether it’s your first time stepping onto the mat or something you do daily, my priority is to create a safe & sacred space for your practice.

Neha

Born and raised in India, Yoga, for Neha is simply a way of life. After completing her formal training under the guidance of Guru Dharmajyoti from well renowned Yoga University in Nashik, India, she has been a teacher with ZenYoga since 2007. Her classes are rooted in the Hatha tradition, along with creative flows which focus on strengthening the body with the Asanas, breath with Pranayama and mind through Meditation. Neha recently completed Yoga Therapy Teacher Training and is qualified to teach Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga.

Paul Jones

Paul began his yoga journey with Bikram yoga. Anxious to learn more, he began taking Iyengar yoga classes, which helped him develop a greater underst&ing of each posture. He was introduced to Ashtanga yoga & enjoyed the dynamic flow of the series. As a teacher by profession, Paul decided to build on his skills & completed his Yoga teacher training in Bali in July 2008. Paul teaches with a personable approach, focusing on detail & alignment.

Paula Samaha

Paula has been devoting all her energy to exploring the numerous dimensions of yoga; she wishes to share her experience to help her students transform, heal & awaken.Her primary influences are Richard Freeman,Rolf & Marci Naujokat & Sri.O.P Tiwari. She is currently studying towards YA Advanced Certification“E-RYT”with her mentor Annie Carpenter.Her classes are a blend of precise,classic,detailed alignment with juicy exploration & radical self-acceptance.

Penny

Penny has practiced yoga for over 15 years. Her passion for yoga & the enjoyment she found practicing with her daughter led her to train as children’s yoga instructor. She qualified in 2010 with Yoga Bananas UK (Yoga Alliance accredited). “Teaching children is amazing their willingness to explore & to take nothing too seriously is their gift to me”.

Rebecca

Rebecca wishes to enable others to enjoy improved flexibility, strength and stamina through movement. Rebecca is a Yoga Alliance certified Yoga instructor and a classically certified Pilates trainer. Rebecca teaches Hatha Yoga, Flow Yoga, mat and machine Pilates and the fusion workout-Yogalates. www.rebeccaathletica.com

Rebecca

Rebecca wishes to enable others to enjoy improved flexibility, strength & stamina through movement. Rebecca is a Yoga instructor certified through the Yoga Alliance & the Radiantly Alive institute in Bali as well as a classically certified Pilates instructor & graduate of Core Pilates NYC in New York City. Rebecca teaches Hatha Yoga & Vinyasa Flow Yoga as well as both mat & machine Pilates.

Roula

Roula has been a sports enthusiast for over 15 years. While she has practiced numerous disciplines over this time, she discovered her enthusiasm for Pilates when she moved to Dubai in 2008. Currently, Roula teaches Pilates Reformer at Zen Yoga & recently finished the Balanced Body Pilates Mat course, which she will soon add to her teaching repertoire.

Salmah

It was through Salmah’s instructor Kathy's patience & encouragement that she developed a passion for Pilates. She completed her Pilates Certification through Body Arts Science International (BASI) under one of the best instructors Ed Botha. It is Salmah's mission to touch everyone's life with pilates & bring positive change to their body & mind. Salmah teaches Pilates mat, prenatal & postnatal Pilates.

Sarah

Sarah studied with STOTT Pilates & gained a Pilates qualification that aided in her therapy work. She developed her Pilates skills to include the Reformer & a number of Pilates based equipment disciplines. She is currently a full time Pilates Instructor & Client Relations Manager at Zen Yoga. Sarah believes that what sets Pilates apart from other forms of exercise is that it can be performed by anyone, regardless of their fitness level, age or experience.

Suzanne

Suzanne’s love for yoga was born with her first yoga class in 2003 that she took to balance out the physical demands of her marathon training. Amazed by yoga’s ability not only to strengthen, balance & vitalise the body but also the mind, she deepened her awareness by studying yoga in India - the birthplace of yoga - & then qualified under the 300+ hours Vibrant Living Yoga teacher training at Radiantly Alive in Bali.

Tracy

I have been in the fitness industry for 12 yrs. I qualified as personal trainer & masseuse in the U.K. I came to Dubai in 2002 as a personal trainer & fitness instructor. I have always had a passion for Pilates. I trained with Stott Pilates in late 2009. I teach Mat & Reformer level 1&2 & also advance Mat. I have attended workshops for Body sculpting, Pilates for Men & stability ball. My coming workshops that in will be attending are: programming for scoliosis management & mini stability ball.

Walid

Walid has always been an active & dynamic person, which lead him to become a Choreographer, Dancer & Certified Sports Trainer. It was while practising all these disciplines that Walid experienced a severe back injury. Through his rehab he was introduced to Pilates. In 2004 he decided to focus on Pilates & began to explore Human Movement Potential through Body Mind & Spirit. Upon moving to Dubai. Walid became certified in the Pilates method through Boulder Colorado Pilates.

Wendy

Wendy has been involved in the fitness industry for the past 20 years. After becoming a Certified Fitness Professional in the late 80’s she went on to teach Hi & Low Impact Aerobics as well as various levels of Step. She was introduced to Pilates once she moved to Dubai, where she took her training through Balanced Body University.Wendy continues learn, train & share her love of Personal Fitness, mind, body & soul. She teaches Mat level 1 & 2 & Cardiolates