Instructors
Susan Stackhouse
Susan is the principal instructor at Decades of Yoga
She was introduced to yoga, both postures and breathing exercises, at high school and the profound effects left a lasting impression.
Susan is a certified intermediate Iyengar Yoga Teacher. 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, USA, the Caribbean, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and Australia.
She co-sponsored world-renowned yoga teacher, Rodney Yee’s visits to Australia in 2000 and 2002.
Susan is also a trained teacher, English (TESOL) teacher, teacher trainer and university lecturer/tutor/academic (M.Ed. TESOL, NZ teachers Cert) with the University of New England (NSW) and the Australian Catholic University (NSW).
Nathan Dobby
Nathan is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher. He has been teaching for over 15years in Cairns. He has attended numerous Iyengar workshops in France and Australia. Nathan loves doing handstands!
Pam
Pam initially started Iyengar yoga classes in Sydney in 1998 to overcome reoccurring lower back pain. From 2001, she continued her yoga practice in France where she lived for 19 years. Since returning to Australia in 2019 she regularly attended classes at the Yoga Room in Burleigh Heads and at West End in Brisbane. Now, residing in Cairns, Pam attends classes at Decades of Yoga.
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 Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI), five of which were conducted by BKS Iyengar’s granddaughter, Abijita.
In 2017, Pam had the privilege to deepen her yoga practice and knowledge in the Iyengar Yoga method with Prashant Iyengar and Sunita Iyengar, and other reputed teachers at Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) 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.
When off her yoga mat, Pam teaches English as an Additional Language (EAL) to the immigrants and refugees in the Adult Migrant English Program at TAFE.
Clive Parker
Clive was born and raised in Zimbabwe and has lived since in South Africa, West Africa, Japan, the Middle East and Australia. Initially a competitive swimmer and martial artist, he first became interested in Iyengar yoga through encouragement from his wife to join classes 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 teaching training with Darrin in Adelaide) . He started teaching when in Dubai in 2007 and achieved RYT 500hr status in 2016.
While still swimming for fitness, it is regular yoga practice that Clive believes keeps the body feeling naturally strong, aligned and flexible, also providing undoubted mental contentment.
“Without my practice, I don’t feel right”.
Clive feels that yoga self-practice and teaching have a symbiotic relationship in that they sharpen the focus and development of each other. Further, his interest in teaching also stems from the desire to pass on what is an invaluable resource for keeping healthy and centred throughout life.