Yoga Connect; the first local online Yoga Platform of its kind.

Press Release

10 July 2020

Yoga Connect has launched a BRAND NEW Concept to the African Yoga Scene!

Yoga connect has collaborated with Yoga South Africa to create an online Yoga platform with an EXCITING TWIST.

This platform has not one but six highly experienced yoga teachers, it incorporates a variety of class styles ( Hatha, Vinyasa, Yoga HIIT, Meditation, Mindful Movement, breathwork & Yin Yoga) and it caters to all levels of experience as it has beginner, intermediate and advanced classes. Over and above all of this it has a variety of class lengths, so you get to choose how long you want to practice for.

You get all of this for only R280 a month.

Yoga is a mind and body practice with a 5,000-year history in ancient Indian philosophy. It has huge physical and mental health benefits. It's a total mind-body workout that combines strengthening and stretching poses with deep breathing and meditation or relaxation.

Yoga Connect was founded by Natasha Kelly, a Yoga Instructor from Kwa-Zulu Natal who completed her Yoga Teacher Training in a small town at the base of the Himalayas in India called Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga, this is where she found herself at the beginning of a deep and enriching spiritual journey.

Natasha noticed the gap in the market when COVID-19 landed in South Africa, the yoga community was forced to move online overnight.

With some instructors trying to create their own online presence, others completely shutting down. It was all quite overwhelming to the general public, not knowing who to follow or how to follow. With online Zoom and YouTube videos flooding the internet it was hard to know which ones to watch. The instructors and the learners all trying to find their feet as quickly as possible.

The frustrations were endless for all parties, the teacher and the viewer.

This is when Natasha saw the potential in creating a platform such as Yoga Connect. The idea of making one platform whereby a person could subscribe and gain access to various highly experienced teachers, each bringing a variety of styles and levels was promising and exciting.

Creating a space for everyone, making it easy for anyone and everyone to practice wherever they might be.

All the filming is done by professionals which means no more poor quality visuals and sound. All the classes are pre-recorded so that the subscriber can watch them whenever he or she pleases. All the instructors are highly qualified and experienced yoga teachers.

Natasha then recruited Tarryn James the founder of Yoga South Africa to be the first instructor to join the Yoga Connect teachers team.

Yoga Connect with the help of Yoga South Africa then handpicked another 5 yoga teachers from Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg. The idea was to look for highly experienced instructors that would each bring their own unique teaching style to the platform.

The Yoga Connect Team:

Dave Gardner

Dave Garner facilitates meditation & movement, and has a deep love for community and nature. Dave has formed his own sharing which he calls Original Condition.
He founded Original Condition as a practice to share with people, creating a deeply engaging learning environment where you can focus your attention back to yourself.
He provides transformative tools in the form of mediation & movement that empower people to connect to their very own, and turn problems into solutions. Dave hosts classes, workshops, retreats, immersions and trainings all over South Africa.

Anesu Mbizvo

Anesu Mbizvo from Johannesburg is a 500hr Yoga teacher as well as a medical doctor and is the proud Founder and co-owner of The Nest Space Yoga Studio and Wellness Center, which is built around the ethos of inclusivity- showing her community that yoga is for all bodies regardless of color, ability, size, age, gender or sexual orientation. Anesu, and The Nest Space have been featured in The Mail & Guardian, Destiny Magazine and Bona Magazine as well as on ENCA, Newsroom Afrika, Power FM and Metro FM for their work to make yoga and conscious sustainable living accessible to people of color and their community as a whole.

Ross Cairns

Ross Cairns is an outdoor enthusiast with a passion for movement. As a Fitness coach, Yoga teacher and Emergency Care Rescue Instructor he understands the value of maintaining an exercise routine that encourages a dynamic approach to how we move our body. To live a blissful life is his mantra and his yoga practice creates the balance and mindfulness that enables him to hold focus and move with grace towards a simple, happy life.

Tarryn James

Tarryn James is a 500hr yoga teacher and qualified Occupational Therapist. Tarryn has a strong passion for the yoga community and started the platform Yoga South Africa to cultivate an uplifting and supportive space for yoga teachers and practitioners. This has grown into an extensive website, podcast and online academy.
Tarryn has subsequently joined the teaching team on 200hour Yoga Teacher Trainings.

Naomi Marshak

Naomi Marshak aims to integrate the alignment precision of Iyengar yoga with the fluidity of vinyasa yoga to provide students with safe, intelligently sequenced classes. She encourages students to practice intuitively, to move and breathe consciously, and to curiously explore the internal connections that make up each pose. She hopes to facilitate this ‘connection-finding’ through clear instruction and adjustments as possible.

Tasia+Cover.jpg — Tasia Dellis

· Tasia Dellis started her yoga journey in Cape Town, and was instantaneously hooked. She began to experience the powerful healing (spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical) benefits of yoga by integrating mindful movement, breathwork, meditation, and yoga philosophy into her life.
This transformation left her inspired to share the gift of yoga with others. Tasia is the proud founder of The Mindful Movement.

The unique qualities and variety that each of these instructors bring to the platform make this a one of a kind in Africa. The aim is to continuously add fresh content to the platform to keep the subscriber intrigued and satisfied. Yoga Connect will also look at recruiting more experienced instructors to join the teachers team at a later stage, creating even more of a variety for the subscriber.

Yoga Connect is also hoping to launch an online shop for Yoga accessories soon, promoting and in support of the local brands, making it a ONE STOP YOGA SHOP! You can get everything on one platform.

“ Yoga Connect is proudly South African, but is open to anyone around the world for subscription. My hope is that we create an awareness of South Africa’s high quality yoga industry and what it has to offer the world while coming in at a very affordable price. There are so many people out there struggling financially and emotionally at the moment, my hope is that this platform gives them a small bit of light in these seemingly dark times.” -

Natasha Kelly – Founder of Yoga Connect