Repetition

Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to learn a very basic skill. It’s easy to understand and not very complex, yet most of us struggle to put it into action. Despite learning this lesson in multiple settings, I still find it difficult to apply consistently myself. That skill is repetition.

Military

During my time in the military, the most important lesson I learned was that repetition creates change. In high-pressure environments, there was no time to think things through. We had to respond quickly and reliably. Training was repeated again and again so the body knew what to do when stress was high.

Repetition in the military was about preparedness. We trained under fatigue, stress, uncertainty, and changing conditions so that familiar responses remained available when pressure was high.

Psychology

After leaving the Army, I studied psychology to better understand myself and make sense of my own experiences. It helped clarify why repetition mattered so much under stress. When pressure is high, the nervous system relies on what is familiar. What we practise repeatedly becomes easier to access and more reliable. Trying to apply new skills in moments of stress rarely works if they haven’t been practised during times of calm.

Yoga

After years of injury and re-injury, I came to yoga to rebuild strength and movement. Over time, it became clear that yoga was another way to work with repetition under stress. By returning to the same postures and breath, I learned how the body responds when effort, discomfort, or fatigue is present. Practising these responses in a calm and controlled setting made them more accessible when stress appeared elsewhere. Yoga reinforced the same lesson I had learned before. What is repeated becomes reliable.

Bringing It Together

Taken together, these experiences point to the same lesson. Under stress, we fall back on what we have practised. What we repeat in calm moments becomes how we respond when life feels demanding.

Dharma Yoga

Dharma Yoga is a traditional form of Hatha Yoga rooted in the classical eight-limbed path. Founded by Sri Dharma Mittra, a direct student of Swami Kailashananda, it draws from the Himalayan yogic lineage and places equal emphasis on ethical living, physical practice, breath, meditation, and self-study.

In Dharma Yoga, asana is one part of a much larger system, practised to prepare the body and nervous system for steadiness and clarity rather than performance.

Dharma Yoga emphasises:

• Discipline, consistency, and compassion

• Steady sequences and longer-held postures

• Pranayama, stillness, and meditation

• Using the body to support clarity of mind

The practice reflects yoga’s traditional intention: cultivating stability and awareness under stress.

Yin Yoga

Yin Yoga is a slower, quieter practice influenced by classical Hatha Yoga, Taoist philosophy, and modern understanding of connective tissue. It focuses on long-held, passive postures that gently stress joints, ligaments, and fascia.

Rather than movement, Yin invites stillness, allowing the body to soften while attention turns inward.

Yin Yoga supports:

• Long-held, passive postures

• Nervous system regulation through stillness

• Awareness of sensation and breath

• Meditation through physical stability

Although modern in form, Yin Yoga aligns closely with yoga’s original purpose: creating enough comfort and steadiness in the body for the mind to settle.

Training & Background

I completed my academic studies at Griffith University and James Cook University, where I built a foundation in psychological science, human behaviour, and the nervous system. This shaped how I understand learning, stress, and change as processes that unfold through time and repetition.

My academic background informs my teaching through:

• Nervous system science and stress regulation

• Understanding how behaviour and learning change over time

• A grounded, evidence-based approach to practice

My yoga training has taken place over several years and across multiple settings.

My yoga training includes:

• Four years training with Perla Navia (Australia)
  – Introduction to classical eight-limbed yoga, including asana, pranayama, meditation, and ethics

• 200-hour Dharma Yoga Teacher Training (New York City)
  – Study within the lineage of Sri Dharma Mittra, integrating physical practice, breath, meditation, philosophy, and self-study

• 50-hour Yin Yoga Teacher Training (Rishikesh Yoga Association, India)
  – Focus on stillness, long-held postures, and nervous system regulation

Alongside formal training, I practised and studied across India with a range of teachers. This reinforced an understanding that continues to guide my teaching: yoga is a lifelong practice that evolves as the practitioner evolves.