Tash Brechmanis in her Yogabee studio in downtown Whanganui. Photo / Paul Brooks
Walk into Tash Brechmanis's Yogabee studio in St Hill St and there is a feeling of instant calm. It could be the decor, the music, the fragrance from the diffuser, or it could be Tash herself, but the studio is a welcoming, tranquil space. High ceilings and big windows add
the luxury of lots of natural light.
The floor is ready with yoga mats, spaced appropriately, and a stand filled with tinctures, balms and luxury products made by a local woman under the brand name Wild Tender Apothecary.
The room is upstairs at the old Commercial Club, above the Brick House, opposite the Royal Whanganui Opera House.
"I like that it's a little, hidden sanctuary in the middle of town," says Tash. She has been there three years, but started practising yoga about a decade ago.
She says she wanted something that made her feel good, that didn't feel like exercise, and when she started practising yoga, that's what she got. The benefits without the sweat.
"Once I started I discovered it was more than the physical feeling that I took and appreciated from it. We hear it's so good for your wellbeing and calming the nervous system — you're not going somewhere where it's high intensity, loud music, heart rate up ... it's more like a nice, calm way of moving and breathing, which does so much for clarity of mind. So I got attached to that."
Tash went to a few classes in Whanganui and other places around the country and practised at home with YouTube.
"I decided I wanted to learn more and really engross myself in the practice, so I went to India and did my yoga teacher training, just to further my own practice." That was in Rishikesh, where she was inspired to come back and teach others. "It's known as the yoga capital of the world. So I went over there to Rishikul Yogashala and did just over a month of training — 200 hours was my initial training."
Back home, Tash started teaching friends and family, made herself a little home studio, then, eventually, her partner, Wade, found her current premises.
Yogabee classes are perfect for those who have a day job, like Tash does (she works in IT), with a Saturday-morning hatha flow class at 9 and other classes from 6pm on Monday to Thursday with a later yoga nidra class at 7.30 on a Monday evening.
"There's no better time than now, I think, to start looking after yourself. People are busy at work and a lot are working at home now, so taking that break away from home or the office at the end of the day is such a big benefit for you. It's a little bit of time for yourself, there are no distractions and I've got you for an hour.
"Yoga is such a focus on yourself, and it's not just on the physical: you're focusing on your breathing with movement. If you came to a yoga class and just sat there, breathing, you're still doing yoga."
Everyone works at their own pace and there is no expectation. "It's your practice, it's your time," says Tash. "Come, sit and chill, or move with me."
Tash teaches hatha yoga and hatha flow, the latter being similar to a vinyasa flow, she says, with yin yoga on Thursdays.
"Yin yoga is a little bit more meditative and is a really good one if you want to tune inward a bit more. We hold the poses for a lot longer and it's not so much about strength, it's more for your flexibility. It's your body guiding you to where you need to be; we're not stretching the muscles, we're relaxing them completely and just falling into each shape."
Her classes have become a little community of people doing their own thing in a safe space. It's a place to let go of the outside world, even if just for an hour or so.
Tash welcomes everyone to Yogabee, urging them to take that step (or the stairs) to join the others in her studio. No one will be judged. "It's not a competitive sport."
You can contact Tash through her website — https://yogabee.co.nz/