Y O U R T E A C H E R S
Our yoga journeys
All of the teachers at Kapiti Hot Yoga have one thing in common, our passion and love for teaching yoga. While we have all come from different backgrounds, jobs, and even countries, along the way, we all stumbled across our yoga practice and for each of us, our practice has shaped and changed us and ultimately led us to become teachers.
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Anjana (Anj) Mistry
I’ve been practicing the 26+2 hot yoga sequence for over a decade and have been teaching it for just over 6-years and I LOVE everything about it. For me the heat, humidity and, the consistency of the sequence work. I love how the heat warms my body up from the inside out, allowing me to safely stretch. I love how I sweat no matter what and flush out toxins from my body along the way. I love the 'sameness' of the sequence and knowing what is expected of me. I love how the heat and humidity force me to concentrate and focus for 90-minutes, calming and quieting my mind. Opening Kapiti Hot Yoga and being able to share this incredible practice with my community is a privilege and a dream come true, and I look forward to meeting you all soon! |
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Zara Degetz
I’ve been practising various types of yoga for almost ten years, but the first time I stepped into a studio heated for the 26+2 sequence, I knew I’d found the perfect environment – a space that keeps you warm, keeps you safe and helps you explore poses at a deeper level while grounding your mind. For me, this sequence is the perfect blend between physical challenge and meditation. The body is working hard but the mind is at peace. For 90 minutes, I don’t need to think at all, and that perfect place of mental stillness is invaluable. Where else can you get a brain cleanse along with an optimally balanced physical practice? I finished my 250-hour training with Evolation Yoga in April 2022 and am thrilled to be joining the team at Kapiti Hot Yoga. I love chatting about poses and look forward to seeing you on your mats! |
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Cameron (Cam) Castle
I discovered 26+2 hot yoga during my medical school days when living in Dunedin and quickly recognised its ability to heal, restore, and re-centre the mind. After being inspired by many teachers along the way, I pursued my own journey and completed the Original Hot Yoga (OHY) Teacher Training (Bikram lineage) in 2021 in Queenstown, New Zealand, 350 hours credentialed by the OHY Association. To me, yoga is the balance between strength and flexibility, effort and release. I am passionate about helping others tap into their potential within the practice, guiding them toward a more positive, energetic, and well-balanced life. |
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Katarina (Kat) Cattermole
I discovered hot yoga just over two years ago and immediately felt the need to come back over and over. I wanted to know more and recently trained in Queenstown as a hot yoga teacher. For me, this yoga offers structure and sharp focus that now also translates to my personal and work life. It feels good. I like our studio because it feels like “coming home” to where I am nurtured. From my stressful but rewarding job as a midwife, this is where I get to take care of me. Every so often, I am noticing progress in the way I practice, no matter how big or small. I learned that putting myself out there, into hard or uncomfortable situations, is the best gifts that one can give to themselves because this is where the real magic happens. The body works hard but the mind remains calm. I hope my experiences can help others guide to find their potential, peace or whatever it is they may find through their hot yoga journey. |
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Ngila Bevan
I have been practicing yoga for over 20 years experimenting with Bikram, Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Vinyasa before finding Forrest Yoga in 2015. My teaching journey began in 2014 after completing a 200hr Yoga Alliance training at BodyMindLife in Australia. In 2015 I trained for a month with Ana Forrest in Sydney, and in 2018 became a certified Level 2 Forrest teacher in Bali. Nowadays I am most at home teaching Forrest, Yin, and meditation. I am to keep my classes light hearted, intentional peaceful. I believe that practicing yoga can help us to build the best versions of ourselves, to relinquish what doesn’t serve us, and to celebrate our gifts with confidence and grac |
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Carol Shortis
I’ve been practicing various forms of hot yoga for over a decade and completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training with Hot Yoga Wellington in 2017. It was a pivotal experience that helped me integrate my own life learnings with established principles, offering new tools both on and off the mat. After moving to Kāpiti, I began practicing the 26+2 hot sequence at Kapiti Hot Yoga, where my practice continues to deepen as I explore this sequence. In 2023, I completed my Yin Yoga teacher training at Awhi Studio in Wellington and have been teaching at Kapiti Hot Yoga since. I love being part of this community and particularly enjoy supporting people who are new to yoga as they settle into their practice. I’m usually found at an early morning Hot 60, or winding down with yin in the evenings. |
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Amy Masters
Spirituality has been a natural part of my life and began with journaling my dreams as a child, reading cards and astrology forecasts as a teenager, to qualifying as a reiki healer and yoga teacher in my 20’s. I trained as a Hot Yoga teacher in Wellington in 2015 and since then have been teaching classes, workshops and as part of my women's retreats in mainly yin and hatha yoga practice. As a strong women's advocate, I spent my nursing career working in gynaecology, maternity, paediatrics and in the community. Self-development and spiritual practices became both my passion and my lifeline when I experienced postnatal anxiety and depression after having both of my babies. I am now a spiritual life coach and retreat facilitator for women seeking more fulfilment and deeper meaning in life. |
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Min Zi Ng
I started practising hot yoga 2 years ago when I was looking for something to release the stress from my job. I remembered that I slept so well after the first class even though I struggled with the class itself, and I have been hooked since then. For me, the heat and the humidity create a safe space to keep my body warm and provide more opportunity to explore the postures. I love the same sequences in 26+2 as I know what to expect. During the class, what I need to do is to follow the dialogue, concentrate, and work hard. What a blessed to have 90-minutes of quiet mind in this busy chaotic world! After practising for a while, I wanted to explore more about the postures so I took the opportunity to attend teacher training. For me, yoga practice is like life, someday it’s easier, someday it’s harder, what matters is to embrace all of them with an open mind. See you on the mat! |
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Michelle Kliczkowski
Hi, I'm Michelle, a versatile and culturally curious yoga teacher and traveler at heart. My journey started in Berlin and led me across the globe for some beautiful, wandering years. After a decade of nomadic life, teaching yoga and wellness sessions in diverse settings worldwide, I've been calling New Zealand my chosen home since 2016. My classes are a blend of creativity, intuition, and safety - offering a nurturing space for curiosity, self-exploration and deep nourishment. I love easeful yin yoga sessions as much as my herbal tea to go, which will often be found in one of my hands whilst juggling my energetic 5-year-old whirlwind with the other.
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Shoshana Smith
After completing my Original Hot Yoga Teacher Training just over a year ago, I’m dedicated to sharing the transformative power of Bikram Yoga, a practice that has deeply influenced my journey towards mental and physical well-being. Through two c-section deliveries, navigating postpartum challenges, and enduring a decade of genetic back issues, this practice has gifted me with mental clarity, reduced anxiety, and an overall enhancement in flexibility, mobility, and strength. It’s the most profoundly healing practice I've encountered yet. Guided by my own journey, I've developed a teaching style grounded in compassion, aiming to empower students of all levels to safely delve into their practice and uncover its benefits. So, let's roll out those mats, breathe deeply, engage with the dialogue, centre our minds, and surrender to the flow of those consistent 26 + 2 postures! |
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Wan Hwa Goh
WanHwa is a chatty introvert who enjoys friends’ company followed by alone time. One of her mottos in life is – Work out hard and eat harder. When she is not at her day job where she is pricing construction projects, she finds time to work out in the gym or do a yoga or hot pilates class at Yoga for the People. She also loves arranging next food sessions with studio members! During her quiet times, she enjoys art paintings, Chinese calligraphy and some light reading. |
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Elle O'Brien
Yoga has been a safe space for me since I first stepped into a 60-minute 26+2 hot class at just 12 years old. At the time, I could barely stand up straight, let alone interlace my hands overhead — Half Moon pose was a humbling reality check. Something needed to change. From that moment on, I knew this sequence had something special to offer. Nearly eight years later, I still practise regularly. I love how stepping onto my mat steadies my brain and brings everything into focus. The sequence challenges me, builds strength, and constantly reminds me of what my body is capable of. Most of all, I’m grateful for the supportive community at Kapiti Hot Yoga. After completing my 200-hour training and teaching in California, I’m honoured to be back home sharing classes with you. |
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Hemi Vickers
I began practising 26+2 hot yoga at the Preston studio in Melbourne in 2013 and have since practised across Australia and New Zealand with many inspiring teachers. While I’ve explored other styles of yoga, I always return to hot yoga — simply because it works. The practice has shaped my mind, body, and overall wellbeing in ways I never expected. I love how the heat, postures, and dialogue combine into a moving meditation that challenges both body and mind while building focus and resilience. After completing my teacher training at Kata Hot Yoga in Thailand, I’m excited to share this practice and support others on their own journey. |
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Kim Tasker
With over 20 years in the wellness world, Kim brings a wealth of experience as a studio owner, retreat facilitator, remedial therapist, and international yoga teacher. She has guided retreats from Morocco to Central America, worked with people from all walks of life, professional athletes, to her regular students in Ōtaki, and now she brings her global knowledge to our studio. Drawing from her lived experience and intuition, Kim's intention is to remind and reconnect both our inner natural landscape of peace and harmony, with our outer world. Yin yoga is a doorway to this peace and harmony. Her classes offer more than stillness — she guides you into a space of deep release where the body can soften, the nervous system can reset, and the mind can find clarity. Drawing on her background in therapy, breathwork, and holistic healing, she creates a safe, nurturing environment where students feel supported to let go, tune inward, and restore balance on every level. Practicing with Kim is enriching not only in the moment, but far beyond — she has a gift for holding space and guiding deep connection. |
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Susan Knox
Ko Susan ahau. I’ve practiced the 26+2 sequence for over 12 years, and my passion keeps on growing. I wanted to dive into the philosophy and learn what makes this practice revolutionary. I completed the OHY teacher training in 2023 and did my internship at the Yoga for the People studio in Wellington. For me, this yoga is a way of caring for my body. I love the physical benefits of the spine-strengthening series and stretching up, always aiming to touch the ceiling one day! This yoga works because it’s a simple series of actions. On our mats, we get to practice curiosity and patience. I look forward to meeting you and sharing my passion for these postures! |
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Niki Roulston
Kia ora, I’m Niki a passionate yoga teacher, newly certified in Hot Yoga with over 10 years of experience in Vinyasa Power Yoga. My classes are built on a foundation of strength, structure, and alignment, while always leaving space for you to arrive exactly as you are. I love teaching in a way that feels natural and grounded, whether you’re brand new to the mat or have been practicing for years. My goal is to help you build confidence, find your edge, and feel stronger in your body and mind — one breath at a time. Yoga has taught me discipline, resilience, and how to come home to myself. It’s a gift I feel grateful to share with others, and I truly believe this practice is for every body. Come as you are , I’ve got you. |
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Tanja Trefz
Tanja is a passionate and devoted yoga teacher, originally from Germany with Thai roots. She began her yoga journey in Rishikesh, India, training in Hatha and Ashtanga, and later completed further studies in Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra, and Trauma-Informed Yoga here in Wellington – earning her 300-hour certification. Tanja offers Hatha Vinyasa Flows, Yin Yoga, and Yoga Nidra, with a focus on mindful movement that feels nourishing and intuitive. |
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Holly DavisOver five years of teaching yoga asana, my practice and teaching have evolved together, each deepening the other and expanding my understanding of this ancient tradition. What began as a focus on movement is no longer limited to the mat, but revealed as a way of living — free from the sense that we must complete ourselves through doing, thinking, or striving.
I’ve taught full-time across Lower Hutt and Wellington in studios, corporate, and home settings, and facilitated retreats and teacher trainings. More recently, meditation has become central to my work, where I love sharing yoga’s wisdom teachings and the recognition that we are already whole. |
