Timetable all classes. Email is the best way to contact me :)
Yoga with Elise is what happens when a classical tradition meets the Kāpiti Coast. From her home at Ōtaki Beach, teacher Elise Curnow shares Krishnamacharyan Viniyoga — a breath-centred, individualised approach passed down through T. Krishnamacharya and his son T. K. V. Desikachar. Her group classes run in Ōtaki and Waikanae, with one-to-one yoga therapy consultations available for those wanting a practice tailored precisely to them.
Elise is clear that what she teaches is not a modern style of yoga but classical yoga, transmitted through one of the most influential teaching lineages of the last century. T. Krishnamacharya, the South Indian teacher who lived to over one hundred, taught the people who carried yoga to the world — B. K. S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois and Indra Devi among them — and insisted that yoga's tools be adapted to each individual's needs and abilities. Anyone who can breathe can do yoga, he claimed, and that principle shapes everything at Yoga with Elise: each pose originates from the breath, and each student is given the tools to judge and adapt their own practice.
Elise's grounding in the lineage runs deep. She completed 750 hours of teacher training for certification with the Krishnamacharya Healing and Yoga Foundation (KHYF), now Viniyoga International, training in the main with Ruth Diggins as part of the Tahi sangha — the first group to complete this training in Aotearoa. She has studied yoga therapy with Kausthub Desikachar, Krishnamacharya's grandson, and vedic chant with Sacha Kronfeld, and undertakes ongoing training to retain her certification. Teaching since 2011, she describes herself as a fully qualified teacher and forever student.
Each class moves through the classical tools of yoga: āsana — movement explicitly linked with the breath — prānāyāma breathing techniques, healing sound in the form of mantra chanting, and a closing relaxation or guided meditation. Underpinning it all is the Pañcamaya model, which works with the five layers of the self: mind, body, breath/energy, emotion and wisdom.
The stated aim is practical rather than performative: more comfort in the body, a more focused and conscious state of mind, and a place of stability and clarity from which to make life's choices. Elise notes the practice can help people be present in body, breath and mind, navigate stress and anxiety, assist with sleep, and improve relationships with oneself and others.
Classes are not run as beginners' courses, but newcomers are not shut out. People new to yoga, or returning after time away, are brought in in a supported and accessible way, making the classes suitable for practitioners of all levels.
The Ōtaki group meets on Tuesday mornings, 9.30–10.45 a.m., through the term — currently full, with a waiting list for upcoming terms and for new block courses planned for Spring, possibly on Friday or Saturday mornings depending on securing a venue. The Waikanae class, at Waikanae Community Centre on Wednesday mornings (9.30–10.45 a.m.), is accepting new students, occasionally relocating to Waikanae Beach hall with advance notice.
Joining is deliberately low-pressure. New attendees are offered their first class as an experiential class, and payment for the term is only made in the second week, once the class feels appropriate. Term dates, fees and bookings are handled directly by Elise — email is the best way to reach her, with a contact form and phone number on the website.
For individual attention, Elise offers yoga therapy consultations in a one-to-one setting, drawing on her studies with Kausthub Desikachar and Ruth Diggins. Her website also carries a small shop of yoga mats and books on yoga and Ayurveda; orders are placed through the contact form, confirmed by email with payment details, and delivered by courier within New Zealand, generally within a week or two.
Whether you're a complete beginner, returning to practice, or a long-time practitioner curious about the Krishnamacharya lineage, Yoga with Elise offers a patient, personal doorway into it. Namaste, ngā mihi.