Decades of Yoga
Book a classCall Susan 0404 785 052
New to the studio? Call Susan 0404 785 052

Kewarra Beach, Cairns northern beaches

About Decades of Yoga

Decades of Yoga, in the Iyengar hatha yoga tradition, is located in Kewarra Beach, on the Cairns northern beaches in Far North Queensland.

The studio

Kewarra Beach studio

Decades of Yoga is owned and operated by Susan Stackhouse, who has over 30 years experience and has travelled around the world to train alongside some of the world's best teachers.

Previously based in Palm Cove, and before that on Sydney's northern beaches, Decades of Yoga has relocated to a purpose built studio, tucked away under tropical palms and mango trees with the smell of the fresh sea breeze just a moment away.

At our Kewarra Beach studio we cater for teens and up, and are fully equipped with mats and props, so you need only bring yourself.

The studio is a few minutes from Palm Cove, Clifton Beach and Trinity Beach, and about 25 minutes from Cairns Airport. Buses between the beaches stop right at the door.

The four teachers in poses on the grass in a tropical garden, from left Susan Stackhouse with her arms raised, Clive Parker kneeling in a backbend, Nathan Dobbie in chair pose and Pam Tuck with her hands joined overhead

How we teach

Iyengar yoga

We teach hatha yoga through carefully arranged sequences of postures (asanas) as developed by B.K.S. Iyengar. The focus is on precision, alignment, strength and flexibility.

Adjusted to the room

Each class is adjusted to suit the needs of the students, making for variety and interest in students' practice. Where poses are challenging, students are assisted by the use of props, eventually working beyond the support to independence in postures.

Certified teaching

The Iyengar certification process is one of the most comprehensive in the industry, and the extensive training it provides ensures a very high standard of teaching. This enables our teachers to work with students of all levels, and especially those with injuries.

Principal teacher

Susan Stackhouse

Principal teacher. Certified Intermediate Iyengar yoga teacher.

Susan Stackhouse smiling, a head and shoulders photograph in the sun under the trees at Kewarra Beach
Susan Stackhouse in camel pose, Ustrasana, kneeling on a mat on a covered verandah with the garden behind

Susan is the principal instructor at Decades of Yoga and is a certified Intermediate Iyengar yoga teacher. She was introduced to yoga, both postures and breathing exercises, at high school, and the profound effects left a lasting impression.

She was trained by senior Iyengar teachers Faeq Biria (France) and Ramanand Patel (USA), who has been a great mentor on her path through life. Her work on bandhas came about through her studies with Shadow Yoga founder Zhander Remete and with Ramanand Patel. In Australia she continues to study with senior Iyengar teacher Pixie Lillas.

Susan has been to the Iyengar Institute on four occasions for the Japanese intensive and general classes. She has attended several Iyengar conventions both in Australia and abroad, and advanced workshops in France, the USA, the Caribbean, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and Australia.

Teachers

Our teachers

Nathan Dobbie, Clive Parker and Pam Tuck in downward facing dog on their mats in the Kewarra Beach studio
The four teachers in side plank, Vasisthasana, in a line across the Kewarra Beach studio, Nathan Dobbie nearest, then Susan Stackhouse, Clive Parker and Pam Tuck
Nathan Dobbie smiling, a head and shoulders photograph in front of a garden

Nathan Dobbie

Certified Iyengar yoga teacher.

Nathan Dobbie in upward facing dog, Urdhva Mukha Svanasana, on a mat on a covered verandah with the garden behind

Nathan is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher. He has been teaching for over 15 years in Cairns. He has attended numerous Iyengar workshops in France and Australia.

Pam Tuck smiling, a head and shoulders photograph in front of a garden

Pam Tuck

Certified Iyengar yoga teacher.

Pam Tuck in triangle pose, Utthita Trikonasana, one arm raised, on a mat on a covered verandah with the garden behind

Pam initially started Iyengar yoga classes in Sydney in 1998 to overcome recurring lower back pain. From 2001 she continued her yoga practice in France, where she lived for 19 years.

Trained in France, Pam became a certified Iyengar yoga teacher in 2016 and taught weekly yoga classes, in French and English, until she left France to return to Australia. Prior to relocating to Cairns, Pam taught yoga at the Yoga Room in Burleigh Heads.

Pam has regularly travelled to workshops and Iyengar Yoga conventions in France, Australia and Switzerland, under the teaching of senior teachers from the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, five of which were conducted by B.K.S. Iyengar's granddaughter Abijita.

In 2017 Pam had the privilege of deepening her yoga practice and knowledge in the Iyengar yoga method with the Iyengars at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, India.

Pam is particularly focused on imparting the Iyengar yoga method to help her students evolve into the yoga postures and value the connection between body and mind.

Clive Parker smiling, a head and shoulders photograph in front of a garden

Clive Parker

Iyengar Introductory teacher training, RYT 500.

Clive Parker in downward facing dog, Adho Mukha Svanasana, on a mat on a covered verandah with the garden behind

Clive was born and raised in Zimbabwe. Initially a competitive swimmer and martial artist, he first became interested in Iyengar yoga while living in Tokyo in the early 1990s.

On returning to Cairns in 1995 he started Iyengar practice in earnest under the tutelage of Nicky Knoff and James Ryan, and has practised consistently since then, studying further under teachers Geeta Iyengar, Pixie Lillas, Gulnaz Dashti and Darrin McNally, completing the Iyengar Introductory teacher training with Darrin in Adelaide. He started teaching in Dubai in 2007 and achieved RYT 500 hour status in 2016.

Clive believes it is regular yoga practice that keeps the body feeling naturally strong, aligned and flexible, and provides undoubted mental contentment. He feels that yoga self practice and teaching have a symbiotic relationship, in that they sharpen the focus and development of each other.