top of page
IMG_4946_edited.jpg

 

Kia ora, I’m Ash.

 

I am a servant, in the service of humanity, here to preserve the true knowledge of yoga.

 

I’m a yoga therapist from Tamil Nadu, South India. To me, yoga isn’t a profession or a workout. It is my culture, my tradition and my spiritual practice. It is the knowledge my ancestors gave to the world. I’m honoured to share my journey home with you.

 

A Question in a Catechism Class

 

I grew up Catholic, in a childhood of strict study. One day, as a young boy, I asked why we always pray “give me this, give me that,” when we could simply say “thank you, there is nothing to ask, because you’ve given everything.” No one answered me, but something inside me said yes. I have followed that inner yes ever since.

 

The Temple That Knew Me

 

I trained as a nurse in England and fell in love with working with the autistic community. Then, in 2015, I walked into the Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai. I had never been inside a temple, yet the carved stone and the ancient music felt like home.

 

I know this. I’ve been here before. This was built by my ancestors.

Ash's old selfie of him being overweight

The Night Everything Changed

 

Back in New Zealand I was searching for something deeper while my own health and habits fell apart. Then came a car accident. As the car spun, there was no panic, only peace and surrender, and one question: What do you want from me? I knew my life had to change. I left everything and began again at a yoga retreat centre, sitting in silence and watching birds eat fruit for the first time in my life.

 

A Promise to My Roots

 

That’s where I met my teacher, Mark Whitwell. Through him I found Vinyasa Krama, from the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya. My soul said: this is the one. Mark asked me to make a promise: stop teaching modern fitness yoga, go back to my roots, and preserve my ancestral knowledge. I said yes.

 

Yoga Is Actually True

 

When COVID stranded me in India, I practised Vinyasa Krama every day for seven months, breathing and moving in the Himalayas. One morning, in the middle of my practice, I noticed my mind had gone completely quiet. For the first time I knew from my own experience that yoga is real. Body, breath and mind came together, and I could feel the soul dance.

 

Walking With My Guruji

 

That stillness led me to my Guruji, Bramarishi Easwaran, of the Shaiva Tattva lineage. He took me in as his own brother. For nine months I lived and served beside him, asking questions every evening for hours. He gave me the eyes to see the truth of yoga : God is in you, and in everything around you.

Ash sitting cross leged meditating near a fire

Why I Teach

 

On August 3rd, 2026, I was told I would need a corporate training to teach yoga, a practice my ancestors gave the world for free. Waiting at the traffic lights afterwards, I realised I had always waited for someone else to stand up for yoga. It was time for me to do it. Soon after, a long-term student and I took over GoldenYogi, a home where yoga can be taught in its lineage.

 

I teach because yoga changed me, and I believe it can change you too, in body, mind and spirit. It isn’t about becoming more flexible. It’s about making your mind your friend, shedding the old story, and being reborn.

 

My Niche: Personalised Yoga

 

In Vinyasa Krama, every breath, every movement and every pause has a purpose, and your practice is shaped around you. Your body, your breath and your mind patterns are unique, so your plan is too. It changes as you change.

Offerings & Services

  • Yoga Therapy – personalised 1:1 sessions rooted in ancient Vinyasa Krama. We begin with your breath, then your body and your mind, and I build a plan made for you alone that changes as you change. Group classes are also available

  • The Liberation Experience – a year-long journey walking with me, with weekly sessions, for a complete transformation of body, mind and consciousness

Professional & Spiritual Training

  • RYT 200-Hour Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training from The Alternative Medicine College

  • Ashram Life & Monastic Study – lived, studied and served in a traditional South Indian ashram

  • Temple Pilgrimages – meditation in sacred Shiva temples across Tamil Nadu

  • Bachelor of Nursing – clinical background in modern medicine.

  • Healer’s Lineage – descendant of Ayurvedic Varma Kalai healer

Wisdom Lineage

  • T. Krishnamacharya

  • T.K.V. Desikachar

  • Srivatsa Ramaswami

  • Mark Whitwell

  • James Vishnu

  • Madeleine Maciel

  • Swami Satchidananda

  • Swami Satyananda Saraswati

  • Swami Muktibodhananda

  • Sri Sri Ravishankar

  • Swami Vivekananda

  • Swami Prabhupada

  • Sadhguru

  • Bramarishi Easwaran Guruji

  • Vethathiri Maharishi

Scriptures & Source Texts

  • Yoga Makaranda / Yogāsanagalu – T. Krishnamacharya

  • The Heart of Yoga – T.K.V. Desikachar

  • The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga – Srivatsa Ramaswami

  • Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha – Swami Satyananda Saraswati

  • Hatha Yoga Pradipika – Swami Muktibodhananda

  • The Bhagavad Gita – Translated by Swami Prabhupada

  • Srimad Bhagavatam – Translated by Swami Prabhupada

  • Inner Engineering – Sadhguru

  • The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali – Swami Satchidananda, Swami Vivekananda

Sacred Spaces That Shaped Me

  • Perur Pateeswarar Temple – Tamil Nadu, India

  • Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple – Tamil Nadu, India

  • Sri Ranganatha Swami Temple– Tamil Nadu, India

  • Shri Ananda Vedashram – Tamil Nadu, India

  • The Himalayan Ranges

  • ISKCON Temple – Kumeu, New Zealand

​

 

Some part of your consciousness has brought you to yoga, and to me, and I’m so happy that our paths have crossed.

 

Congratulations on doing something so significant and life-changing for yourself! 

                                                                                                                          Ash     

IMG_2948.jpg
bottom of page