Michael Barnes

He is registered with Yoga Australia and Yoga Alliance.

Twenty years ago, yoga found Mick when he least expected it. After years of pushing his limits, chronic pain had set in and his body had seized. A chance agreement with a remedial therapist took him to three classes a week. At first he disliked it. It hurt, he felt inflexible and out of place. He kept showing up. Around a year in, something shifted. The practice not only began to free his body, it offered a clear way to live with more ease and to step out of the grip of thoughts and emotions. Gratitude took root and commitment followed.

Mick went on to study the eight-limb path with teachers including Sharon Gannon, David Life, Greger Maehle, David Garrigues and Anja Kuehnel. With more than a thousand hours of training, he has learned how to bring traditional methods into modern life in a way that feels inclusive and safe for every body.

For the past 18 years, he has owned and run The Yoga Factory in Sydney, teaching daily classes and training new teachers. His style is clear, grounded and down to earth. He meets you where you are, and helps you build strength, focus and trust in your own practice.

At Ulpotha, Mick shares deep knowledge of the body along with practical yogic wisdom. Morning classes build a solid foundation in bandha, drishti, and breath. Over the weeks you will progress at your pace, with variations for all levels. Afternoon sessions include steady asana, kriyas, pranayama and simple meditation. Expect to finish each day calm, clear and quietly stronger.

You will leave Ulpotha rested, relaxed, resilient and with a much deeper understanding of yoga.

What you will experience with Mick:

• Clear instruction that makes practice feel accessible
• Strong foundations in bandha, drishti and breath
• Inclusive options for every level and body
• Kriyas, pranayama and meditation to steady the mind.

More about Michael

Mick Barnes stumbled across yoga in Sydney Australia some 20 years ago. He was not looking for yoga, it found him. In chronic pain due to a life-time of living on the edge, at 42 his body had seized up. After a chance meeting with a remedial masseuse, Mick entered into a hand-shake agreement with the therapist to attend yoga three times a week. In return the masseuse would work on his injuries twice a week for free.

At first, Mick did not like yoga at all. It hurt! He wasn't flexible and felt he was very, very bad at it. But he persevered, making painstakingly slow progress and feeling like a fish out of water. But then, at around the 12-month mark, everything changed. He suddenly grasped the true concept of yoga and realised that it would not only fix his body, but would also help him understand how to live life better and cease to be a slave to his thoughts and emotions. He threw himself into the practice. "You have to! You can't flirt with yoga. It's indescribable to say what yoga has given me but suffice to say I am grateful."

Mick soon realised that he had found his life's purpose: to share this wonderful ancient path to modern day truth seekers. Following the lineage of 8 Limb Yoga, Mick then studied with many great teachers including Sharon Gannon, David Life, Jivamukti yoga, Greger Maehle, David Garrigues, Anja Kuehnel. And in doing over 1000 hours of training he worked out how to fuse the traditional practices with the modern day to make the practice inclusive and safe for all.

For the last 18 years, Mick has owned and run a yoga school in Sydney Australia (The Yoga Factory) offering classes as well as training many teachers.

At Ulpotha Mick will share his deep knowledge of the body as well as his insightful understanding of yogic wisdom and practice in his inclusive and down to earth style. Mick's yoga is always accessible to all ages, levels of experience and physical ability.

Morning classes will be building foundations and bringing awareness to the importance of bandha, drishti, and breath. From these fundamentals, you will progress over the weeks to new challenges with variations to suit all. Afternoon classes will include some asana work and kriyas, pranayama, and meditation.

You will leave Ulpotha rested, relaxed, strong, and with a vastly deeper knowledge of yoga.

"Mick is the best yoga teacher I have had in 40 years" Igor Dandik, BSports Med