Our Teachers

Wendy Samek

I was introduced to yoga at a  young age by my father who had been influenced by his mother, who lived in India during the time of the British Raj.   My childhood grounding and belief system was strongly tested in my early 20’s, when holidaying in Acapulco I became very ill with a bacterial infection. During the long recovery of 3 months in hospitals in Mexico, the US and Canada, I made a vow to myself that I would take great care of my health and endeavor for the rest of my life to practice the yogic principles taught to me by my father.

I made the time when I was a mother of 5 young children to meditate, which helped enormously to give me stability to balance the daily chaos of family life.  I practiced yoga asanas, sometimes very briefly, but which gave me stamina and mental endurance.  I studied the ancient yoga texts, ayurveda, health and nutrition, anatomy and eastern philosophy.  I had grown up in outback Western Australia and in contrast, the lovely home and orchard in the lush Adelaide hills where I lived when my children were young, was an ideal environment to explore organic gardening and permaculture and a myriad of other new age revelations .   But yoga was always my compass to lead me on and my passion.   I sought out teachers and yoga classes and was inspired and influenced by each one in some way or another.

I have been fortunate that my path has crossed with many wonderful International teachers, some of whom are Swami Venkatesananda, Salvarajan Yesudian, Elizabeth Haich, Penny Neild-Smith, Martin Jackson,  BKS Iyengar,  Geeta Iyengar and Prashant Iyengar, Mukunda Stiles.

In the early 70’s I was part of a small group who had the vision and put in the hard work to build an ashram for our revered teacher Swami Venkatesananda, to  be able to come and live-in and be our resident teacher for 6 month periods at a time. The Beacon Ashram in South Fremantle, WA is still a thriving centre for spiritual teachings and yoga and organic gardening.

I am accredited to teach yoga with a few national yoga associations, namely IYTA and Yoga Australia. My beloved teacher for half my life time, BKS Iyengar granted me the great honour and priviledge to teach under his name whilst living in Jakarta in the late 90’s and separated from a yoga community.  I have taught in halls, homes and community centres, nursing homes and parks and for a short time a women’s gaol. When Sue Kent and I opened the Kensington School of Yoga at the beginning of the 90’s it was one of the first schools of yoga in Adelaide fitted out with Iyengar inspired props and running classes 6 days a week.

To never stop learning and practicing the art of yoga is my life’s path.
To share by teaching yoga to a wide range of the community is my deep desire.