ABOUT MINDFUL GARDEN YOGA
At Mindful Garden, we believe in the power of community. Yoga is just one part of what we offer – it’s a starting point for connection, self-discovery, and growth.
Our vision is to create a space where people can come together, not just to practice yoga, but to learn, share, and explore ideas that matter to you and your community.
Whether you’re here to stretch your body, nurture your mind, or simply connect with others, Mindful Garden is a place for everyone.
Let’s grow together.
MEET THE TEAM
Rachel Fanto
studio owner
Rachel Fanto
studio owner
Frank Pineiro
Frank Pineiro
Amy Chong
Amy Chong
Christina Ahamnos
Christina Ahamnos
Tessa Tran
Tessa Tran
Sarah Coleman
Sarah Coleman
Marnie Palomares
Marnie Palomares
Lauren Falconer
Lauren Falconer
Susan Caldwell
Susan Caldwell
Lauren Aynscough
Lauren Aynscough
Summer Russell
Summer Russell
Jo Gates
Jo Gates
RACHEL FANTO
After many years of yoga practice, Rachel decided to step away from corporate life and follow her passion in becoming a yoga teacher.
Having completed Bachelor with Honours in Marine Biology in earlier years, you will often find a deep connection to nature and science threaded through Rachels classes, with an attempt to distill the essence of some of those big concepts into a single drop.
You can expect a carefully curated playlist, movement to music and a smile. Rachel believes yoga is for everyone and aims to have a class where each individual feels comfortable to come as they are and share in the connection of the group.
Rachel studied with and continues to be inspired by her teachers Idit Hefer and Maryanne Edwards. In addition, Rachel is also qualified to teach children’s yoga.
CHRISTINA AHAMNOS
Christina is a student, practitioner and teacher of yoga.
Flowing vinyasa intertwined with deep, static holds, Christina’s classes are challenging, but always leave room to explore the sweetness our practice can reveal in moments of prolonged stillness.
Uplifting and playful, she invites her students to approach their practice from a place of creative expression and curiosity.
MARNIE PALOMARES
Marnie was a professional contemporary dancer for over 17 years. Yoga has been her medicine, helping her maintain a healthy lifestyle and sustain a long career. She believes yoga is similar to dance in its syncing of breath, movement and creative flow.
Marnie teaches and practices a slow dynamic flow. With a strong focus on alignment and mindful transitions, she shares pathways and movements inspired by her dance training.
Marnie is passionate about the powerful benefits of yin yoga and teaches with a gentle approach and very considered sequencing.
What Marnie loves about yoga is how your experience is different everyday, yet the benefits are consistent in its grounding and centring qualities. She loves the ongoing discovery and connection to your ever-changing body. She enjoys shaping the practice in a way that your body/mind needs in that particular moment.
Marnie enjoys teaching because she is inspired by an individual’s journey and progression in their practice, and its potential to influence their life off the mat. She enjoys a space that brings people together to share breath, movement and positivity.
LAUREN AYNSCOUGH
Lauren has always believed movement is medicine, but found this particular movement practice to be life changing for both her physical and mental health.
Overtime this practice has given Lauren the space to develop healthier awareness and understanding of self, as well as allowing her to better show up in daily life.
Having felt these impacts so deeply and wishing she had found yoga sooner in her life, has inspired her to share these teachings.
Laurens classes are alignment focussed and are best described as gently challenging. Providing opportunity to progress or pull back if the body needs, offering experience for all bodies and levels.
FRANK PINEIRO
Frank is a tech entrepreneur who fell in love with Yoga practices and meditation over the past 10 years.
He trained 450 hrs in Hatha, Vynasa, and Yin yoga. Frank is passionate about traditional teachings and yoga philosophy, and he incorporates this into his classes. Frank has a calm presence, and his classes are grounding. Expect pranayama exercises, breath guidance, and holding poses in his classes.
When not on the mat, Frank can be found near the sea swimming, sailing, playing volleyball, or hiking.
TESSA TRAN
After practicing yoga for 10 years, Tessa had the opportunity to travel to India and immerse herself in yoga studies. This ignited her love for Hatha yoga, for its slow and deliberate practice to strengthen and soften. The practice of pranayama and meditation gave her insight to the power each individual has to access their own inner reservoir of energy with the lasting insight of ‘doing less to gain more’: in both mind and body.
As a holistic psychotherapist, her classes are guided by the charm of what feels most alive in the moment – transmuting her own personal experience as well as the collective world experience with yoga, Jungian mythology and Taoist philosophy.
Expect a slow build up of Hatha style movement to a vinyasa dance of body-mind-spirit connection, accessing your own inner work and unique wisdom.
LAUREN FALCONER
Lauren first came to the practice of yoga whilst studying at Drama School in London. She began teaching in 2005 after completing an Adv Diploma of Health and Yoga under the guidance of Mark Breadner and has continued to study with many masterful teachers.
Lauren brings knowledge and wisdom into her classes from many different areas of study, including her work in nervous system regulation, somatic therapy and emotional processing. Her classes provide a nourishing space for students to reorient back to themselves and practice in a way that best serves individual needs and rhythms. She creates a safe and welcoming environment and encourages students to practice with honesty, compassion and presence.
Lauren is also a Doula, Ayurvedic postpartum care specialist and certified Neuro Emotional practitioner. She has primarily taught Vinyasa Flow, Prenatal Yoga, Feminine Womb Yoga, Yin Yoga and Meditation.
SUMMER RUSSELL
Summer is passionate about creating a space for your time on the mat to be one where you truly can connect back to yourself, where it is not focused on how it looks but how it feels.
Weaving in ancient philosophy in a modern way for you to take off the mat back into your daily life.
A focus on breath and alignment to get you back into your body and tuned into yourself.
AMY CHONG
Amy’s love for yoga began from the moment she first stepped foot into a studio. Blown away by the utter peacefulness she felt in her first savasana, she quickly noticed how this carried off the mat too.
On the path to becoming a psychologist, Amy loves how creativity and playfulness in movement can cultivate meaningful self-inquiry and a deeper connection to the self.
Amy takes a fun and light-hearted approach to yoga with playful sequencing, where you can expect to push your boundaries.
SARAH COLEMAN
Sarah loves to teach a simplistic flow that gets you out of your head and into your body, allowing you to feel into all the layers within.
Sarah’s inspiration for life with her family is guided by yoga. This practice trickles down to her children and community, making it a passion to teach the antidote to modern life that is yoga.
Her favourite yoga pose? Any twist for a rinse, detox and refresh ~ especially supine twists to feel put back together and grounded.
SUSAN CALDWELL
Susan started practising yoga as a child in Scotland with her Dad, who was an avid Hatha Yogi.
She returned to the practice 18 years ago in Melbourne as a antidote for her stressful career in fashion and very quickly fell in love with the practice, it felt like coming home, becoming comfortable in her own skin, building both strength and softness at the same time.
Her learning and curiosity continue to grow, and she has completed more than 1,000HR of trainings. Her love of yoga stems from the transformation which takes place – not just within the body, but within the mind and within your very being & she loves witnessing this transformation within her students.
Her aim is for classes to be welcoming to all, moving with curiosity, moving mindfully with the breath, building strength and flexibility, whilst finding your inner calm.
JO GATES
A beautiful friend guided Jo to her first yoga class in the early 2000s, a much-needed moment of space and balance in the haze of new motherhood. She instantly fell in love with the practice – drawn not only to its physicality from her gymnastics background but to the deep peace and nourishment it offered.
Her fascination soon led her to teacher training in 2006, a natural progression from her earlier career as a physiotherapist. Jo has been teaching and studying ever since, completing her 500-hour training with Yoga Arts in Bali in 2013. She is a Senior Teacher with Yoga Australia, as well as an ERYT500 and YACEP with Yoga Alliance.
A lifelong student, Jo has learned from many inspiring teachers and is passionate about sharing the wisdom, joy and transformative power of yoga. Her classes are dynamic, creative and grounded in the flow of breath – inviting students to soften expectations, explore possibility, and find presence in each moment.
