Leah Cooper

I was first introduced to yoga when I was 9 years old by a speech therapist who taught me the Salute to the Sun as part of my therapy for selective mutism. That exposure to yoga at a young age planted the seed for my future journey.

I rediscovered yoga when I was 20 years old, when I came across the Ryoho Yoga School in Manly, Sydney. The classes I attended were dynamic and challenging and accompanied with a dialogue about health based on the macrobiotic understanding of the universe, the application of the five element theory and the principles of yin and yang. This resonated with me deeply and I wanted to learn more, so much so that I was attending six to seven classes a week.

A few years later I moved away from Manly to attend the University of Wollongong, where I studied to become a Physical and Health education teacher. I continued to practise yoga wherever I could and found different teachers. There was Leonard who taught Iyengar yoga at the Uni Gym, and later on, Russell who taught Vinyasa yoga at Younga Yoga studio. However, I was determined to continue my Ryoho Yoga studies and, after moving back to Sydney in 2007, I was able to undertake my teacher training with Andzej, the founder of Ryoho Yoga. After I completed my training, I taught classes at Newport Yoga Centre, the Optus Gym at Macquarie Park and at Lunge Yoga in Manly.

To complement my yoga practice, I trained under Sensei Ken McLean at the Shin Sen Dojo in Sydney, attaining a Diploma in Ki Shiatsu and a Diploma in Macrobiotic Counselling.

In December 2012, I moved to the Barossa Valley with my family. After settling in, I began looking for suitable venues to teach yoga classes and opened The Centre of Ki in February 2013 and have been teaching here ever since.

Yoga qualifications:

• Ryoho Yoga Teacher Training (2007)
• Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training with Janice Clarfield (2008)
• Zenergy Kids Yoga Certificate and Advanced Course (2014)
• Zen Ki Yoga Teacher Training – Distance/Online (2015-2018)
• Ryoho Yoga Teacher Training – Online (2021)

Other qualifications:

• Diploma of Macrobiotic Counselling (Shin Sen Dojo, Sydney)
• Diploma of Ki Shiatsu (Shin Sen Dojo, Sydney)
• Bachelor of Education (Physical and Health Education) Honours

Professional Memberships

• Registered Senior Teacher, Yoga Australia
• Ryoho Yoga Association

My teachers

• Andzej Gospodarczyk
• Sensei Ken McLean
• Janie Larmour
• Loraine Rushton