Teachers

Charissa

Charissa first turned to yoga as therapy for scoliosis. While she enjoys more dynamic, competitive sports, yoga has made her appreciate the need for balance, stillness and awareness of one’s boundaries for a sustainable practice and lifestyle.

Her practice is one that is strong yet light, one that always injects a sense of play (have your inversions take your frown upside-down!) This is also her approach to life, as a mirror of her practice beyond the mat.

She hopes to meet her students where they’re at in their yoga journey; through grounded sequences, mindful alignment and a good dose of heartiness in all her classes.

Colleen

My interest for hot yoga started back in 2010. My sister returned from her first hot yoga class one night and was so excited about the results that she convinced me to join her the next day! It has been a non-stop breathtaking discovery of body and transformation of the mind ever since that first experience. Practicing hot yoga helps me strengthen not only my physique but also sharpens my awareness of weaknesses and how I can overcome them. It has become a daily routine now as I believe the body and mind need to be stretched everyday.

With the opportunity to guide a class now, I am happy to share my passion with other yoga enthusiasts to discover the teacher within themselves and explore their very own unique yoga journey. Teaching also helps me to develop my love for yoga from a different perspective.

Faiz

Faiz started practicing yoga as an undergraduate to help relieve lower back pain. Almost immediately, he realized the benefits of yoga were not just physical, but mental and emotional also. Eventually the joy derived from his practice became “too fulfilling”, and Faiz decided to leave his corporate job to become a full time yoga teacher in the hope of sharing that joy with others.

Faiz hopes students approach the practice as more than just a physical endeavor, using it as a grounding force geared towards holistic development instead – the aim of the practice should be to work the body, condition the mind, and nurture the spirit. Faiz believes that yoga trains a person to be happy, and that good alignment is key to unlocking the full potential of anyone’s practice. His classes are known for their crystalline instructions, intelligent sequencing, and feel-good vibes.

June

June loves to keep active and yoga specifically has engaged her senses beyond the physical sense, keeping her body and mind grounded.

June proudly graduated from Faiz and Yihan’s YTT program. She is humbled and delighted to help Ziva spread the love and joy of yoga to anyone who joins her on the mat.

Li Shan

‘Meet yourself where you are’

Li Shan started her yoga journey back in 2012 as a ‘casual’ stretch to complement her cardio-intense activities. After relocating back to Singapore in 2016, she found herself on the mat more often (as a more meaningful alternative to retail therapy). Yoga helps her with clarity of thought and relieves stress. The practice grounds her, allowing her to approach tasks with a balanced focus and equanimity.

Trained under Yihan and Faiz, Li Shan continues to develop sequences that are designed to empower individuals to deepen their mind-body connection in a safe environment.

Louisa

Coming from a family with a history of health-related issues, Louisa found the need to be more active and fit and was first introduced to yoga in 2010. After her first class, she immediately signed for a package and practiced regularly after work. Little did she know that this would be a life-changing decision. From a sedentary routine, Louisa started exploring other sports and activities. Now, Louisa is a weekend warrior athlete who is very much active in the dragon boat and multi-sport community. She shares her yoga practice with her teammates and introduced it as part of their athlete training program.

Through regular practice, Louisa realizes that yoga is more than just a physical training, but rather, a holistic approach to life. She finally joined Ziva Yoga’s YTT program in 2021 under the mentorship of Faiz and Yihan – both amazing yoga teachers, to deepen her knowledge.

Louisa imparts the same philosophy to her students during her class. Inspired by her teachers and drawing from her own personal experience as an athlete and a corporate worker, she aims to bring out strength and calmness in her students. She hopes to make the best out of the physical benefits of yoga, but at the end of every practice, she always encourages her students to continue the practice “off the mat”.

La Ming

La Ming is committed to sharing a safe and grounded yoga practice with everyone. With his background in physiotherapy and sports science, he approaches yoga as an opportunity to enhance wellness in others. He believes that kindness flows through yoga, sparking energy among us.

La Ming has been practicing yoga since 2018 to prevent back pain and modulate everyday stress. After seeing the benefits in his everyday life, he successfully completed his yoga teacher training. Now he is ready to share his practice with you.

Melaine

When Melanie left her corporate job in 2009, she went on a search to be one of those people who love what they do. Today, Melanie is living her dreams as a multiple SEA Games medallist in the sport of wakeboarding. Her mission in life is to master the mind and body; sharing what she learns with others.

Melanie’s yoga practice started in 2011 with Bikram Yoga and it turned out to be what she needed to complement wakeboarding – assisting with body awareness, improving flexibility and helping with recovery. In 2017, she went to India to complete her Diploma in Teacher Training at the highly acclaimed Yoga Vidya Gurukul.

Drawing inspiration from her experience as a Wakeboarding instructor and Lifestyle coach, Melanie loves to encourage her students to go beyond what they think they can do. Her intention is not to make you sweat but rather to help you stay present when physically challenged.

Sha

As a person who struggled to lie flat on the floor without discomfort for many years, yoga was a balm for Sha’s poor posture and body alignment from her mid-20s.

As her practice became more consistent with Yihan’s weekly classes, the benefits of mental and emotional regulation, greater awareness and acceptance of the physical body and contentment made it clear that yoga is an essential component of wellness and wellbeing.

Having attended workshops, YTT and CET with Ziva Yoga under the tutelage and guidance of Faiz and Yihan, Sha is not only a teacher graduate of the studio, but a wholehearted fan and advocate for a yoga practice that is meaningful, effective and grounded in awareness and anatomical safety.

Sherry

Sherry started yoga with corporate classes her company organized in 2015. Soon she fell in love with it and began a regular practice at Ziva Yoga.

Sherry became deeply drawn to the benefits of yoga when she realized her neck issues and lower back pain disappeared after regular practice. Furthermore, she loves the feeling of exploring the body’s potential through asana. To her, yoga is a holistic approach to becoming healthier, stronger, softer, more flexible, and steadier from the inside out. In this way, yoga has made her a better person both physically and mentally.

With a profound appreciation of yoga, and a sincere passion for yoga teaching, Sherry wishes to share the goodness of the practice with many more people around her.

Yihan

Yihan’s very first yoga class was a full length 90 minutes Bikram class taught by the inimitable San, which she took to complement her running regime. She remembered the sense of rejuvenation despite being a hot and sweaty mess. It spurred her on to do more yoga, eventually leading her to Lynn & Sumei, her wonderful teachers who showed her how the practice can be a life-changing experience.

A firm believer in setting the foundation in yoga, Yihan often asks of her students to not rush through their practice for the sake of collecting asanas. She encourages them to put in the work without attaching the value of their practice to their abilities. She hopes students are able to acquire a keen understanding of their own practice without draining themselves unnecessarily. Yoga should nourish and enliven their lives so it becomes a sustainable and lifelong practice.