Rachel Zinman Yoga

Rachel Zinman Yoga https://www.rachelzinmanyoga.com
Online Yoga Ashram Membership, Yoga Workshops, Yoga Mentoring

Rachel Zinman and John Weddepohl offer इष्टम् ISHTAM, specialising in orthodox knowledge, whether it is the knowledge of yoga (yoga vidya) or knowledge of the Self (atma vidya), इष्टम् ISHTAM uses a little known teaching methodology to ensure understanding ancient wisdom is easy. Buried in secrecy by teachers who discouraged sharing it, इष्टम् ISHTAM’s unique teaching method helps students break open the secret meaning of yoga hidden in the शास्त्र sastra (scriptures). Taught by Krishna and Adi Shankara, two of India’s greatest teachers in the upanishadic tradition, the method of teaching forms part of the means of knowledge (called प्रमाण pramana), to uplift humanity and resolve the problem of human suffering. Besides orthodox knowledge, इष्टम् ISHTAM also combines the best in modern yoga. Not about how many postures you do, success in yoga comes in maintaining a regular home practice. As a teacher or student of yoga you may struggle to maintain your practice due to time or injuries. Rachel and John the core teachers ofइष्टम् ISHTAM share इष्ट माला ISHTA-Mala** - a practice for life. A vinyasa krama, Mala fits everyday individual needs, abilities and time frames and is gaining a following as a complete practice. Together John and Rachel share इष्टम् ISHTAM at festivals, teacher trainings and workshops around the world. Theyl live in Byron Bay, Australia and run yoga teacher trainings and workshops year round. They also share their love of music in Kirtan as often as possible.

इष्टम् ISHTAM consists of - इष्ट विद्या ISHTA Vidya (Supreme Self-Knowledge) - इष्ट योग ISHTA Yoga (Maha Yoga) - इष्ट क्रिय ISHTA Kriya (Kriya Siddha Meditation) and - इष्ट माला ISHTA-MALA** (a practice for life).

I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share this work and for the wonderful feedback that has come in from people w...
13/01/2026

I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share this work and for the wonderful feedback that has come in from people who’ve joined me in previous courses. Hearing how these practices have supported ease, confidence, and wellbeing in daily life continues to inspire me.
I’ll be sharing a few quotes from past participants in this carousel, as their words speak beautifully to the spirit of these classes.

Places for this upcoming course are filling quickly, so if you’ve already enquired, please book in soon — I’d love to save your spot. Numbers are limited to keep the space supportive, personal, and unhurried.

Yoga & Movement for Over 50’s
Mondays | Jan 26 – Feb 23, 2026
 8:00–9:30am
Yogalates Studio, 72 Byron St, Bangalow
$130 | 5-week course
Gentle, supported movement for flexibility, strength & wellbeing
(All levels welcome)
For bookings or questions, feel free to message me
midlifewellness yogaover50 consciousmovement supportedyoga agingwithawareness

Turning 50 and beyond invites us into a different relationship with our bodies. One that asks for listening, patience an...
08/01/2026

Turning 50 and beyond invites us into a different relationship with our bodies. One that asks for listening, patience and respect.
With so many enquiries coming in, I wanted to share that places for the Over 50s Yoga and Movement Course are filling quickly. The end of the month will arrive before we know it, and spaces are limited so the group stays intimate and supportive.
This 5-week course, meeting Mondays 8–9:30 am, is a chance to practise in community with like minded friends, where your body and its unique needs are the priority.
No rushing.
No expectations.
Injuries and individual needs are welcome.
Rest is encouraged, alongside gentle ways of building strength and resilience.
If you’re longing for a space that allows and supports you to move, breathe and be exactly as you are, this course is for you.
We begin Monday January 26 at the Yogalates Studio in Bangalow.
DM me for details or to reserve your spot.
byronbayyoga

I’m so looking forward to welcoming you into this nourishing Yoga & Movement course created especially for older bodies....
03/01/2026

I’m so looking forward to welcoming you into this nourishing Yoga & Movement course created especially for older bodies.

We’ll move slowly and thoughtfully, grounding and listening deeply, weaving somatic movement to build resilience, ease and trust in the body. Alongside this, we’ll explore deeper practices including sound, gesture, meditation and breathwork — all offered in a supportive, spacious way.

If your body is asking for something slower, more nourishing and deeply caring, this course is for you. Come give yourself a total reset for the new year, reconnect with your body, and be held in a warm, welcoming space.

And to deepen the sense of connection, we can meet for a juice or a cuppa afterwards at a local café, taking time to build community and share together 💛

I’d love to share this journey with you.


nourishyourself movementmedicine
resilience mindbodyconnection communitycare
bangalow northernriversyoga wellbeingjourney

It’s been a year of family… happy new year to all !
02/01/2026

It’s been a year of family… happy new year to all !

Happy holidays everyone !
25/12/2025

Happy holidays everyone !

02/12/2025

Nataraj is the focus for our final deity in the 7 week series I’ve been sharing at in NYC. Nataraj is the timeless dancer. He dances on the cremation ground of our thoughts and remembering him frees us from the idea we have that there are beginnings and endings in our lives. It’s been a great pleasure and honour to have been able to return to my home studio to share over the last two months. If you’d like to join me for this class you can join in person 2-3.30 pm ET or online. Just head to the link in my bio

19/11/2025

Offer up your wild storms ⛈️ and uncertainties and I will melt it like butter in my heart.. ♥️ join me for a deep dive into Krishna tomorrow 2-3.30 pm in studio or online . Link in bio

18/11/2025

Who you are is unlimited! That is the message of Krishna. Krishna reminds us we are our own best friend. Despite the roles we play .. we are never the role. We are the one playing the role .. I have just two workshops left in New York at where we dive deep into the deities. You can join me online or in person. Thursday November 20 2-3.30 pm

In my very first class with Alan Finger something magical happened. In Savasana, he chanted a mantra, the very same one ...
30/09/2025

In my very first class with Alan Finger something magical happened. In Savasana, he chanted a mantra, the very same one I had often sung in my women’s circle back in Byron Bay. I couldn’t believe it; here I was in New York City, and out of the blue, he chose that mantra to close the class.
We had adopted Tara as our mother goddess because she represented both compassion and transition. We were young mothers at the time, navigating our relationships and affirming what it meant to be empowered women in what often felt like tumultuous times.
No one ever really can tell you how hard it is to juggle motherhood, partnership and work life… but I digress. When we chanted to Tara, I felt something stir in me. My heart expanded and it gave me the strength to move through life’s constant fluctuations with more ease and grace. At the time I didn’t know much about Tara, but I didn’t need to. Chanting her mantra was enough.
When I heard Alan chant the same mantra in that first class, I knew it was a sign. I was exactly where I was meant to be. My curiosity was peaked. Who was Tara and why when I called her was I led to Ishta Yoga? As time went on and various roadblocks emerged Alan suggested I call on her as my touchstone. Her name meant star, She was a guiding light for when I lost my way..

Tara was just one deity I dived deep into on my personal yoga journey. Many different deities and their stories, mantras, yantras, mudras, and meditations have supported me along the way. Knowing for myself the transformational power of learning about the deities inspired me to share this work globally. And now I’ll be offering it at ISHTA Yoga, where it all began. The first workshop, devoted to Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity, begins this Thursday, October 2nd. You can drop in for one class or book in for the series. I hope to meet you there.
Join the workshop via link in my bio or visit

Over years of personal practice, study, and investigation, I learned that working with the deities can be a powerful tou...
11/09/2025

Over years of personal practice, study, and investigation, I learned that working with the deities can be a powerful touchstone to remember oneself and an intention-setting practice. When we propitiate to the deity, we are reminded of those qualities in ourselves. We don’t become the deity—we are that already! The abundance we seek in Lakshmi is the abundance we are. The courage we hope for in Hanuman is the courage we are.
On a relative level, the deities look after the infrastructure of creation. They are the invisible forces that grow, sustain, and eventually dissolve something as delicate as a flower. We see the deities at work all around us, and yet they remain nameless, formless. In India, these forces have been named Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Giving these qualities a name means we can also ask them to help us in the relative world. In Ta**ra, the deities are “worshipped” for good crops, offspring, and so on.
Ta**ra came out of an agrarian society. In our modern world, science and technology—how to grow the best crops and what’s needed for that—have ensured that we have food, water, shelter, and more.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t work with subtle forces in our lives to support our wellbeing. We all benefit from faith—faith that more than what we can see with the senses is at play in our lives. The ultimate force at play in anyone’s life is not outside you, it is you. You are your own wish-fulfilling tree.
Yoga practice slows us down enough to be open. Open to knowing more and wanting more than the status quo. Working with deities relaxes the mind, gives us a focus, and inspires us to enquire. That’s what I love most about diving deep into the deities—their stories and their practices are the first steps onto the pathless path of the Self.
Starting October 2, I’ll be offering a 7-week workshop series at Ishta Yoga in NYC on Thursdays from 2–3:30 pm: Diving Deep into the Deities. This is my first in-person class series at Ishta Yoga since 2005. John and I will also be offering a Kirtan on October 9 at the studio.
To find out more and to register, go to the link in my bio

Finished the day for a chilly sunset walk at Brunswick. Some changes a foot.. I’ll no longer be teaching at Lennox Yoga ...
03/07/2025

Finished the day for a chilly sunset walk at Brunswick. Some changes a foot.. I’ll no longer be teaching at Lennox Yoga so the best way to connect with me is to come to my Tuesday Yoga class online from 5-6 pm AEST. John and I head back to the USA late July to be with my amazing Dad for a while.. in the mean time I’m going to dance classes just for fun.. 🤩

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1 Johnson Street
Byron Bay, NSW
2481

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Join us for Yoga & Self Knowledge online learning courses

What Do We Teach ? इष्टम् ISHTAM A living yogic tradition designed to support you in experiencing, a limitless joyful life where knowing yourself changes the world.

What’s of greatest value in your life? Is yoga your passion? Or is it more than that? Are you a yoga teacher wondering… what next? What if you could have all the answers and more…

Our yoga classes, workshops, retreats and trainings are designed to lead you step by step to the total understanding of Your Self. We use KNOWLEDGE as the foundation, the springboard and the journey itself. Our work is joyful, soulful, compassionate and meets you right where your at.

Anybody can join us.