Norina Merkabah
Certified Yoga Teacher (RYT500, E-RYT200, YACEP)
I am a certified and registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance U.S. I am passionate about teaching people tools to manage their own wellbeing and about making Yoga accessible for every body.
Since Yoga has found me it transforms my life. In Yoga I find balance, structure, calmness of the mind and a holistic system for wellbeing and healing. Yoga is awareness and as such unlimited. Traditional Yoga understands this to be a life-long journey of unfolding and awakening.
I am grateful to my dedicated teachers and to the methods and techniques passed on through the Bihar School of Yoga (Satyananda lineage) in North India.
CURRENT MISSION
I teach classes in person and online. I specialise in Hatha, Yin, Yoga Nidra and Mantra and Kirtan.
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Born in Switzerland, I graduated from University with a Bachelor of Arts in Primary Education. I have working experience with children and youth with special psychological needs in Switzerland and Germany.
In New Zealand, I completed a 2 year diploma in Dance Movement Therapy and over 600 hours of Yoga Teacher Training. I immersed myself multiple times in India in meditation and Yoga from 2013 onwards. I am a Registered Yoga Teacher over 500 hours of training (RYT500) with Yoga Alliance, a global platform for the Yoga profession.
WORK EXPERIENCE
I managed Kawai Purapura Yoga School in Auckland from 2019 to 2022, being responsible for their Yoga Teacher Training programmes. I also worked in the role of the Lead Trainer on the 200 hour courses and as a guest teacher on advanced modules. During the lockdowns in New Zealand I was teaching weekly online classes for mental health and general wellbeing. I am passionate about this work.
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Traditional Hatha Yoga Teacher training with Sannyasi Pragyadhara, Auckland
Yoga Nidra & Restorative Yoga training with Swami Karma Karuna, Auckland
Traditional Hatha Yoga course with Swami Niranjanananda, Bihar School of Yoga, India
Yin Yoga Teacher training with Nikolas Robson, Yin Culture, Golden Bay
Tantrik Hatha training with Amy Bassett, Auckland
Diploma in Dance Movement Therapy, Auckland
WORK EXPERIENCE
Lead Trainer on 200 hour Yoga Teacher training programme, Kawai Purapura Yoga School, Auckland, 2019-2022
Teacher for Mantra & Kirtan on Hatha & Yin trainings with Nikolas Robson, Golden bay, 2021
Private Yoga sessions and studio classes, online & in person, 2020-present
Online Yoga & Meditation for Whakatau Mai – The Wellbeing Sessions, New Zealand, 2019-2021
Yoga Education Manager at Kawai Purapura Yoga School, Auckland, 2019-2022
Yoga For Mental Health
“I had the great pleasure of working with Norina on a project that was part of New Zealand’s psycho-social response to Covid-19. Norina was contracted to facilitate weekly Yoga Nidra or Deep Relaxation sessions as part of the Whakatau Mai programme. Her sessions were one of the most popular in the programme and Norina adapted them well for the online video conferencing format.
She also worked in seamlessly with the peer support format that framed each session, and the peer staff provided. I found her to be a person of great integrity and her values and approach were a very good fit with the lived experience principles guiding the Whakatau Mai programme. She communicated clearly, was reliable, and responsive to group participants’ needs with her trademark calm, warm demeanour.
I am happy to recommend both Norina and her yoga teaching.“
— Fiona Clapham Howard, Mental health peer support advisor, trainer, supervisor
Yoga Teacher Training
“Norina Merkabah has been an outstanding student, absorbing Yoga practices deeply and immersing herself into a Yogic lifestyle at Kawai Purapura Retreat Centre from 2018 onwards when I first met her.
It became clear that Norina is a natural and talented Trainer, speaking freely in front of the group and from a place of embodied understanding. Norina was always eager to learn and grow, personally and professionally.
On the 200 hour Yoga Teacher training programme, she soon became a much valued faculty member, contributing not only through well delivered and motivating sessions with the students but also through her dedicated personality, holding many aspects of the training together.
Her outstanding organization skills in combination with her communication skills and time management make her an indispensable force behind the scenes of the training courses.
When it comes to her teaching, she stands out by being attuned to her students’ process, by guiding by example, by being gentle yet clear in her teaching and standards. Norina lives her Yoga with integrity and authenticity. I recommend her whole-heartedly.“
— Sannyasi Pragyadhara, Senior Lead Trainer, Director Pure Yoga
YOGA PLATFORMS
The Yoga Nidra Network | Yoga Alliance | Yoga Trail
Get in touch
You can email Norina directly. Follow Sundara Yoga School on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Sundara Yoga School 