What we stand for
Our mission is to bring soul to the people. Our one-of-a-kind instructors guide members through an inspirational, meditative fitness experience designed to benefit the body, mind and soul. Whether it’s through yoga, massage or dance. Our members say it’s life-changing!
We laugh, we stretch, we grow, we learn, and we do it together. Moving your body and working your mind charges your soul and becomes the best part of your day. Through this shared experience, we develop an unshakable bond with one another. Friendships are made. Relationships are built. We share a soul experience.
Our members come to us from all backgrounds, levels of fitness, ability and experience. Kindred is for everyone. Our community is calling your name, so come on in and take a mat. We are Kindred.
Chai and Bex
Co-founders Kindred
Founders
Born from a love of daily practice, the desire to create an environment as transformational as it was energetic and a community where they could live their best lives, co-founders Bex and Chai Deva have always had a strong, shared vision. To create more than just a space where people could do yoga or dance, create a strong, vibrant community where people could learn and discuss the physical and spiritual aspects of healthy living, mindfulness and living a life of possibility. It’s this unique approach that makes kindred so special. Kindred is for everyone.
Bex and Chaitanya Deva had owned and operated the Studio space in Nelson since 2014 when fellow yogi Tim Maples decided to move on from his running the yoga studio (then known as Inspire Yoga). For six years, they ran it as Studio Evolve before relaunching in November 2019 as Kindred.
Bex Deva
Kindred Studio Co-Founder
Evolve Festival Co-Director
White Belt Nia teacher, RYT 200.
Rebecca ('Bex') Deva was born to dance. "It fills me with loads of energy and helps me feel connected to the source," she explains.
Born in the cathedral city of Exeter in southwest England in 1980, Bex’s life had revolved around personal growth since she was a teenager when she also discovered African drumming and dance at the age of 15 – and she has been passionate about music and movement ever since.
Since 19, Bex has managed to integrate her passions – for exploration and discovery, nutrition, permaculture and natural parenting – with business savvy. For the past two decades, she has made her livelihood doing things she loves.
Bex went along to her first Nia class in Christchurch in 2006 and fell in love with the sensory-based movement practice that draws from the martial, dance and healing arts. She completed the inaugural New Zealand White Belt Nia teacher-training program in 2008 and has since gone on to train as a Green and Blue Belt and recently completed the 52 Moves training.
In 2017, Bex completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at Kindred.
Chaitanya Deva
Kindred Studio Co-Founder
Evolve Festival Co-Director
E RYT 500, YACEP, Dip Therapeutic Massage
Chaitanya vividly remembers the first full moon of 1995. He was mid-way through a six-month pilgrimage in Poona, India. Chai was already dedicated to a daily practice, meditating up to 10 hours a day, but it wasn’t until that night, as the moonlight dripped through the banyan trees, that something switched inside, and life was never the same again. Pilgrimages to India from the UK continued for the next six years. This included driving from India to the UK.
In 2000, he moved back to New Zealand to help his father and teacher set up the Maitreya Meditation Centre in the Marlborough Sounds. His initial physical yoga experience was one of the most painful experiences of his life due to his extremely tight and stiff body. By no means did he have an instant falling in love with the yoga experience. That was until he discovered Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. He loved the combination of strength work which he was naturally good at, with his martial arts background and the challenge of stretching.
In 2001 he moved back to Auckland, working as a Reiki Master while completing a Diploma in Therapeutic Massage. He then set up three Massage clinics in Christchurch 2003-06, before moving back to the Maitreya Meditation Centre as the co-manager with his wife, Bex. They later moved to Nelson, where they also run the annual Evolve Festival.
Chai undertook a 200 hour yoga teacher training at Hot Yoga Nelson in 2008. He completed an additional 300 hour of teacher training at Purna Yoga Byron Bay in 2015 and various shorter specialist courses.
Chaitanya is a special guest teacher on many Yoga Teacher Training around NZ. He specialises in applied anatomy (the anatomy of movement). The thousands of yoga teaching and study hours, alongside the 16+ years as a therapeutic/sports massage therapist, have built a broad and experiential knowledge base, which Chai loves to share. The main styles he teaches are Vinyasa Flow, Yin, Hatha and Meditation.
Our Teachers
Samantha Dench
Yoga has been a part of Samantha's life for over 15 years now. Completing her first yoga teacher training in the south of France with Patrick Loubert, she has continued her yoga studies and teaching around the world; in France, Spain, Bali, New Zealand & Italy. Samantha has studied Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Aerial, Restorative and Yin Yoga as well as sound bowl healing practices.
When you attend Samantha’s yoga class, you can expect a combination of creative sequencing, a spirit of playfulness and a dose of inspiration to help you deepen your yoga practice. Samantha’s mission is to help you thrive by nurturing your body, mind and soul with yoga so that you step off the mat feeling refreshed, nourished and balanced.
Samantha teaches Hatha flow on Thursdays 9:30 am & Sundays at 9:30 am.
Jane Morrison
RYT 200, qualified Sivananda Hatha Yoga Instructor. Specialty in pregnancy and preschool yoga.
Jane started to practice yoga in 2002 in Toronto, Canada and fell in love with her practice while living in Bangalore, India, in 2008. She attended classes every day and decided to stay in India longer and experience a yogic lifestyle at an Ashram in Madurai, where she met Swami Govindananda.
Jane completed her TTC in Almora, Northern India, in 2011 with Swami Govindananda. Jane is a qualified Sivananda Hatha Yoga Instructor, but her specialty and passions lie in pregnancy and preschool yoga.
Jane taught Sivananda, Pregnancy and Yin yoga at the Life Centre for three years, where she first met Chai and Bex. She has also been teaching Preschool yoga for the last four years at Stoke Montessori School.
Jane joined the Kindred Studio team in 2016, where she teaches Hatha Flow in an enjoyable, playful, yet powerful way.
"I enjoy Jane’s classes. She’s a very special lady, we all love her. She’s friendly, fun, positive, a great instructor. Such a great class, nice to be back after lockdown. Thank you." Deb K.
"Jane Morrison is an excellent tutor. Knowledgeable and friendly." Robyn B.
Jo Paine
RYT 200
Jo has practised yoga on and off for 30 years, experiencing many different styles around the world. Having a very physically active life in a diverse range of outdoor pursuits, she began training as a ballet dancer in Wales, UK and still dances today.
Over this time, yoga has helped her maintain a strong and flexible body and, combined with mindfulness, brought balance to both her body and mind.
Her professional qualification in the dental health industry as a hygienist brought her to New Zealand.
Here in Nelson, Jo completed the Kindred Yoga Teacher Training and is passionate about sharing the practice's benefits and her knowledge.
Jo invites her students to experience mindful movement-bringing stillness to the mind and releasing tension in the body to integrate mind-body connection and balance with awareness in each moment.
"Jo’s class was great. The perfect balance of strength building and mindfulness, breathing and relaxation. Will definitely go back again." Victoria W.
ANTON BENTLEY
RYT 200
Anton has been regularly practising yoga since 2018 and completed his teacher training with Kindred in 2019.
After teaching drama both in high school and after school classes for many years, Anton enjoys the change of pace and direction at Kindred and sharing and guiding the yoga journey with his students.
He teaches bliss yoga at Kindred studio and facilitates an essential voice workshop for the level 1 yoga teacher training at Kindred, covering how to free your voice as you articulate clearly, enhance your vocal resonance and projection.
"Yesterday’s class was the first one in lockdown. Anton was amazing. Not an easy situation, but he was incredible, he adapted to the new challenges straight away, and pulled it all together for an excellent class. Some yoga Nidra was exactly what was needed, I hadn’t realised how tense I was. Had a great night sleep though! Thank you for continuing on, it’s really very much appreciated." Eve H.
LISA (SHAUNE) HATTRICK
Nia White Belt Teacher
Lisa brings an enormous amount of experience, wisdom and personal inner exploration to her classes. Her most recent profession was in the Healing Arts for 25 years, counselling in self-development and transformational healing therapies, particularly the breath. She is also a professional Astrologer with 40 years of experience and an artist.
She intends to encourage, support and inspire others to free up and let go of body, mind and spirit through dance and movement. Lisa believes that ageing can be no barrier to experience positive growth and healing. She aims to help others let go through fun and spontaneity, thereby creating more health, wholeness and aliveness as we age. Nia Dance is a wonderful tool for all of the above and more.
Lisa is originally from Scotland but has travelled extensively and lived in Canada, Europe, and Australia. She is now settled in Cable Bay, Nelson.
Kati Meader
RYT 200, Pre and Postnatal Yoga Teacher and a Certified Infant Massage Instructor with IAIM (International Association of Infant Massage).
Kati dedicated her teenage and early adult years dancing and travelled as part of a dance theatre production on Europes stages. After finishing university, she stopped performing and worked within the health sector. She first started practising yoga in Germany, where she was born.
Her real passion for yoga began in 2006, during her first pregnancy, as she experienced the amazing benefits of yoga. It was a great way for her to explore her body changes and get to know herself better.
After having three beautiful daughters living and working in two countries, she concentrated on her yoga path. She completed her yoga teacher training at Kindred.
DEBBIE SUMNER
RYT 200, 100hr Yin
Debbie’s love of Yoga and movement began when she was 15 years old, introduced to this beautiful practice by her mother. Debbie is naturally more aligned with the slower, nurturing practices and specializes in Hatha Flow, Yin and Restorative.
She began her teacher training journey back in 2014 with Santosha Yoga Institute and in 2018 with Shanti Atma Yoga studying Yin and has since continued her studies with Restorative and Trauma-informed Yoga. Debbie also has a Dance background, mainly teaching and performing Middle Eastern Dance and other movement modalities. She has a deep passion for Yoga and the benefits of this transformational practice—connection of the body, breath and mind and developing that more profound relationship to ourselves.
She enjoys that sacred time with her Whanau, her husband and two children and has a love of the outdoors, camping and music. Passionate about community well-being, she works in the health sector as a Healthy Lifestyle facilitator.
ROSAMUND FEENY
RYT 200
“Yoga is for everyone. We all come to the practice as unique people, and all take something different from it. It might be calming the mind, relaxing the body or strengthening the muscles, but the result of feeling your best self is the same. The perfect practice, posture or class is the one that works for you.”
After first trying yoga in 2015 years ago, Rosamund fell in love with the practice for all of its physical and emotional benefits. Since then, she has completed her 200 hour Yoga International Certificate and has been sharing the practise through teaching restorative, Hatha and power yoga classes.
SAM PEARSON
RYT 200
Sam has been teaching in some capacity for over 20 years, having taught adults scuba diving and English and children’s swimming and drama. Sam is also a primary school teacher. Sam discovered yoga in the late 1990s but only became passionate about yoga when she started attending Bikram hot yoga in Wellington in 2005. The discipline and strength and sweat required were what attracted her.
Since then she has replaced this passion with a love for Vinyasa flow style yoga. Sam has been a regular at Kindred for the last few years and in 2018 she completed her 200-hour yoga teacher training at Kindred.
Her teaching style is inspired by all the teachers she has had the privilege to practice with. She loves to create flows that challenge people to find their “edge” and she hopes that her classes will leave you feeling more connected to your body.
POOJA KHATRI
RYT 200
After completing her yoga teacher training in 2016, Pooja and her husband packed their bags and launched an expedition to explore some of our planet's wildest places. After giving their boots a jolly good run in the Himalayas, they travelled to the remote villages of Gujarat in Northern India to trace Pooja’s family’s origins, almost got eaten by a leopard in Africa, hitchhiked their way up South America, and finally landed in New Zealand.
Yoga has played a central role in Pooja’s life. Growing up, she would watch her parents start their days with sun salutations, and when Pooja’s back became immobilised in her mid-20s, it was the practice of yoga that came to the rescue! While Pooja’s travels have required her to give up many possessions, she has held on steadfastly to her yoga mat.
Pooja’s teaching style follows a Vinyasa Flow approach, focusing on moving in time with the breath. Pooja enjoys drawing inspiration from traditional yogic philosophy and challenging students to take a deep dive. Pooja is grateful for all that yoga has given her and looks forward to sharing the practice with others.
Michelle Rooke
RYT 200
Michelle was born in Nelson and developed an interest in yoga at age 16. She has found huge physical and mental benefits from exploring the practice for over a decade and enjoys sharing this with others as a yoga teacher. She likes exploring the full spectrum of movement that yoga has to offer, from challenging strength-based poses, to slow and subtle ones; finding the connection to the breath and mindfulness is a powerful guide.
She did her teacher training during autumn in Nelson, BC (Canada) at Shanti Yoga Studio in 2017. The course covered a range of yoga styles and had a very anatomical focus on alignment, as well as clear and effective cueing. Michelle enjoys the pursuit of hobbies that promote a sense of wellbeing and creativity, as well as anything that gets her outside in nature. She feels very grateful for the opportunity to teach and empower others in their yoga practice.
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