Located right in the centre of Newcastle’s thriving CBD, sits a not-so-little sanctuary with the sole purpose of bringing a calm, professional, humble, and non-competitive space to the local community. Meet Yoga Body Works.

Brought to you by the embodiment of sunshine itself, owner and operator, Janaína Moura, Yoga Body Works has been Newcastle’s premier yoga studio since its inception almost 11 years ago.

Originally from Brazil, Jana has called Australia home for over 20 years, with Newcastle holding a special place in her heart, and in particular, the Yoga Body Works location, as it was the space where she first found and fell in love with the concept of yoga.

“Yoga just came to when I came in here to practice for the first time with the original owners. That was my first time trying yoga and I literally fell in love with it,” Jana said.

With Jana officially taking over in December 2016, this month marks the business’ sixth birthday, so we thought it a good opportunity to drop in to hear what Yoga Body Works is all about.

“The last six years have been an amazing journey. It’s been great, with the last few years being very tough. But the sense of community here is what makes Yoga Body Works what it is today.”

Located on King Street, just up from some of our city's most popular hospitality haunts, Yoga Body Works studio is situated upstairs in its own cocoon. From the second you set foot in the space, you’ll feel your shoulders relax, and that’s before the class has even started.

Jana tells me about the core principles that come together to what truly makes the business - the team, the community, and the power of yoga.

“The team that I have, is all unbelievably amazing and they come from so many different backgrounds. We have about 20 different instructors with some from South Africans, we have Americans, we have Australians: all with the same love for yoga and for the studio.”

The space boasts a welcoming community spirit and is encouraging people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and experience levels to come in and discover the healing that Yoga Body Works can offer for your mind and body.

“Yoga Body Works is home for a lot of people. What I’m very proud of is the energy that we have created here. Everyone that comes into our space feels safe. The space here is open to absolutely everyone and that’s my priority with this studio. Everyone should feel welcome here even those who have never been before.”

Walking into a class at Yoga Body Works can feel like a reset and a warm hug, there is no ego, and exudes a humble, encouraging, and supportive environment.

“Everything we do in here comes straight from the heart.”

The current timetable offers a selection of over 20 classes which will continue to grow, with a range of class types suitable for everyone including Hot Power Yoga, Yin Yoga, Yin & Yang Yoga, Prenatal Yoga, Mums & Bubs Yoga, and their Frontline Yoga.

Hot Power Yoga allows you to hit the refresh button as you stretch, bend, lift, reach, and twist in a heated environment. Yin Yoga gently works the body through a series of slow, deep stretches, and Yin & Yang Yoga connects the best of both to encourage a strong and flexible body and a calm mind.

Prenatal Yoga is focussed on the needs of individuals’ bodies during pregnancy, indulging yourself with gentle stretching and strengthening, breathwork, and relaxation. Mums and Bubs Yoga offers a unique environment for mums and their young bubs (from 6 weeks) to practice movement and postures specifically designed for the postnatal months.

“One of the classes we offer which is incredibly important to me is our Frontline Yoga. This is for people who work directly on our front lines including police offers, paramedics, nurses, etc. It’s a free class that we run on Tuesday nights funded by donations. It’s an incredible class because it’s for people that are dealing with a huge amount of stress and mental health issues and yoga can be really beneficial.”

Depending on your lifestyle, you can choose from a range of membership and class passes suitable to your schedule and budget. Whether it’s an intro pass (our best suggestion), or a class pass pack (one, five, ten, or thirty), monthly memberships, or even a fitness passport, Yoga Body Works has you covered.

In addition to their already popular yoga classes, Yoga Body Works is renowned for its teacher training. As a dedicated school of yoga, Yoga Body Works offers 200 hours of Yin and Yang teacher training; a starting point for those interested in dipping their toes into becoming a yoga instructor.

“We have the training divided into four blocks: one for philosophy, one for anatomy, one for yin, and one for yang. We do intake once a year, and we’ll be announcing that soon.

“Once individuals finish their training, we offer them the opportunity to teach our free community classes that we do on Sundays. That way, they can use our space to teach and get that confidence up and get used to knowing what it feels like to teach a class.”

To get you excited and to experience all the joys that Yoga Body Works has to offer, Jana and her team are offering two FREE masterclasses this Saturday, the 10^th of December at their King St location.

“It’s our way of saying thank you to our community. Our first class will start at 2pm and will be a Yin class. The second will start at 4pm and will be both Yin & Yang. This will be open to the public; however, we have only limited space.”

To get your spot locked in for one of this weekend’s FREE masterclasses, click here.

“There are amazing yoga studios all across Newcastle and the Hunter, and at the end of the day we’ve all got the same hopes; that is, to bring our love for yoga to more people.”

Whether you’re starting up yoga afresh, want to bring it back into your life, or are on the lookout to delve into the world of becoming a yoga instructor yourself, discover all that and more at Newcastle’s Yoga Body Works.