About our school, Hamilton Yoga
In 2017 Amanda Hood and David Morley partnered to establish Hamilton Yoga as an Iyengar yoga centre in Newcastle NSW. This Yoga School was first founded by David Morley in 1996 as Newcastle’s first Iyengar Yoga school, the Novocastrian School of Yoga. Amanda Hood is Newcastle’s first and only Senior Iyengar Yoga teacher. We have the most experienced Yoga teachers in Newcastle, with David and Amanda each having over 20 years full-time teaching experience.
Our Philosophy
Yoga means union. Regular practice can provide a way for us to feel connected and present with ourselves and the world we live in.
The subject of yoga is vast and its effect on the mind and body can be profound. At Hamilton Yoga we aim to provide the environment where each student can develop to their full potential and explore the great depths of this ancient practice. Our teachers aspire to offer immersive experiential classes based upon Yogic principles that challenge students beyond their habitual ways of perceiving and acting.
We value steady, consistent and applied effort and our school is structured, based on decades of teaching experience, to provide pathways for you to progress at your own pace. For this reason, we have developed courses with a curriculum that builds week by week, year by year. Asanas (yoga postures) and yoga philosophy are introduced sequentially with the aim of building strong foundations for future development.
We teach authentic Patanjali yoga, knowledge passed down through a teacher / student lineage over thousands of years. At Hamilton Yoga we acknowledge the great contribution made by BKS Iyengar and his children Geeta and Prashant and grand-daughter Abhijata. BKS Iyengar was significant in bringing the practice of yoga to the West, and we are indebted to his dedication and disciplined life of enquiry.
We teach Iyengar Yoga exclusively, providing an excellent foundation to build a lifetime’s practice upon in this inspiring style.
Our Community
Community is a living expression of unity and it sits at the heart of who we are and all we value. We have a kind, supportive welcoming community of students and teachers. Many friendships have formed over coffee after classes, and we hold regular school social get-togethers. Stay tuned by subscribing to our newsletter (see below) and checking the News and Events page for upcoming social events.
Our Facilities
We aim to enable access to all people regardless of fitness, age or ability in our inclusive and supportive environment.
Our beautiful yoga school faces Gregson Park in Hamilton. We are located just a two-minute walk from the cafes and shops of lively Beaumont Street in Hamilton, Newcastle. Our charming historic building offers natural ventilation, filtered sunlight, gorgeous timber flooring, as well as split-system air conditioning and ceiling fans. Warm in winter and cool in summer, it is a lovely comfortable place to practice yoga. The indoor facilities have been freshly renovated adding a cosy change room.
The yoga hall is a dedicated yoga space and has been recently redesigned to give students the best possible access to all equipment, improving the flow of classes and enhancing your experience on the mat.
It is fully equipped with everything you will need for your class, and props that can help you to experience the depth of this subject even if you are stiff, unwell or have a disability.
Parking
Please allow enough time to find a car park. Usually there is plenty available around Gregson Park, with occasional busy periods when you may need to park in the neighbouring streets.
Our hall is wheelchair accessible and there is disability parking nearby on Steel street.
Our Iyengar Community
Hamilton Yoga is connected to a broad network of Iyengar schools and teachers across Australia and the world.
Cygnet Yoga in Tasmania
Yarraville Yoga Centre in Melbourne Victoria
Maroochydore Yoga Centre in Queensland
Darwin Yoga Space in the Northern Territory
Lismore Yoga Studio in Northern NSW
Yoga Mandir in Canberra
Geelong City Yoga in Western Victoria
Queanbeyan Yoga Room in A.C.T.
Doutta Galla Yoga in Melbourne, Victoria
Iyengar Yoga with Paula in Southern NSW
Yogaville in Preston, Melbourne Victoria
Balmain Iyengar Yoga Studio in Sydney
Yarra Ranges Yoga in Monbulk, Victoria
Ballarat Iyengar Yoga in Central Victoria
Tassos Yoga in Paros, Greece
We source our props mostly from
Iyoga props – online, based in Yarraville Melbourne.
Our Teachers
Amanda Hood
“The subject is a vast ocean. Knowing about the ocean is not the same as swimming in it. Yoga is experiential. Float, dive and explore, from the surface to the depths. There’s so much more to it than meets the eye”
Amanda is Newcastle’s only senior Iyengar Yoga teacher. She first became certified in 2000 after serving an apprenticeship at Clifton Hill Yoga Studio in Melbourne, and in 2003 helped found the busy Yarraville Yoga Centre in Melbourne’s western suburbs.*
With over twenty years of teaching experience, she chose Newcastle to be her new hometown and is enjoying the creative vibrancy and friendly community here.
Amanda travels regularly to Pune to study with the Iyengar family and pay respect to the lineage at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. Her first visit was in 2000, and most recently in 2019 learning with renowned and revered teachers Geeta Iyengar, Prashant Iyengar and Abhijata (Granddaughter of BKS Iyengar) Amanda has continued to learn with several senior Australian Iyengar teachers over the past few decades. In particular with Alan Goode of Yoga Mandir in Canberra, as well as with Pixie Lillas of Balmain Iyengar Yoga.
Amanda has an interest in social justice and has taught yoga to ‘at risk’ youth in Melbourne’s west, as a volunteer with asylum seekers and other detainees in Maribyrnong Detention Centre, and most recently in the remote NT Pine Creek primary school.
As well as teaching, Amanda runs a 3-year teacher training mentorship program at Hamilton Yoga
Amanda is in training as an assessor for Iyengar Yoga Australia, has recently served on the Iyengar Yoga Australia Board and the Ethics and Certification Mark Committee, and currently holds the (Junior Intermediate) Level 3 teaching certification.
David Morley
David is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, the first in Newcastle, and has been teaching Yoga since 1994.
He started his Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training in 1995 with Pixie Lillas of the Balmain Yoga Studio, Sydney.
David was certified as an Iyengar Yoga Teacher in 1999.
He has also studied in India with B.K.S. Iyengar at his 80th birthday celebrations in 1998, and also with Geeta Iyengar and Prashant Iyengar in 1999 and 2006 at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune.
Harriet Ferguson
Harriet has been practicing Iyengar Yoga since 1992. Her primary teacher throughout this time has been Senior Iyengar Teacher Pixie Lillas. Harriet was awarded her Iyengar Yoga Introductory Teaching Certificate in 2016. Harriet has a special interest in remedial yoga and enjoys teaching to students of all abilities. Harriet formerly taught at Swansea Physio and Yoga
Candace Schreiner
Candace first attended Iyengar Yoga classes in her early 20’s whilst working as a registered nurse in Melbourne. She was impressed by the quality, precision and high standard of teaching in this form of yoga and found this sparked an interest in studying and practising yoga ever since.
Candace undertook teacher training in 2015 with Senior Iyengar teacher Shayna Odgen at Ballarat Iyengar Yoga, during this time Candace taught regular classes at the studio and became a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher in 2017.
Candace and her family moved to Newcastle in 2018 and she is continuing to attend classes and workshops with Senior Australian Iyengar teachers such as Alan Goode of Yoga Mandir in Canberra and Pixie Lillas of Balmain Iyengar Yoga as well as regularly attending classes and workshops here at Hamilton Yoga with Senior teacher Amanda Hood.
Candace finds her role as an Iyengar teacher highly rewarding and is motivated by the personal transformation observed in students who regularly attend classes at Hamilton Iyengar Yoga.
Candace completed a Masters of Art-Therapy at La Trobe University In Melbourne in 2008. Candace now works as a registered art-therapist in the Newcastle region, she has a passion for working with both adults and children helping them to express themselves through creative processes to achieve their individual goals.
