Theoni Papoutsis is a freelance yoga master with more than two decades of experience. While she does hold private yoga classes, she also has a studio at ISHTA School of Yoga & Health.

She specialises in pregnancy yoga, which is one of her remarkable features. The type of yoga she teaches is called Kundalini pregnancy yoga, and this introduces yoga poses that are beneficial to pregnant women’s physical strength. 

One reason why we selected Theoni is because of how her yoga programme is designed. Pregnancy yoga is practised to improve flexibility and tone important muscles that support during labour.

On top of that, Theoni’s classes also offer emotional and spiritual benefits to its students. We love her devotion to creating a safe space for mothers-to-be.

She’s also a qualified doula, which we think is an awesome asset.

Theoni’s students told us how the yoga instructor helped them overcome their anxieties about giving birth. She’s also highly sought after for her skills in relationship building.

Nonetheless, her programme might be a bit of a challenge for those who’ve never done even basic yoga poses. So for everyone interested in enrolling in Theoni Papoutsis’ classes, make sure to have a little background on yoga for you to adjust easier.

Also, take note that Theoni’s consultation fee is quite high at R 900, regardless of whether you’ll attend in person or through ZOOM.

Marloes Joseph is one of South Africa’s most popular yoga instructors. She’s internationally accredited in teaching several yoga styles and offers classes all around Gauteng province.

She holds yoga classes in several studios, including the Free Spirit Yoga at Modderfontein and Earth Yoga at Midrand, which are the closest studios to Johannesburg.

We chose her for her strong reputation in the community. Marloes has over 13 years of experience practising Hatha yoga, Vinyasa flow, and Tibetan Heart yoga.

Marloes completed several training courses for her specialities and is presently well-versed in modern asana practices. Moreover, she’s the country’s representative for Heart Yoga, which is a special yoga practice that focuses on mindfulness. 

We also like that there are online sessions for those who want to do yoga in the comfort of their homes. Take note, though, that their prices are the same whether you attend the class at the studio or online.

Her rates also depend on which studio you’ll attend classes in.

Free Spirit Yoga’s rates depend on the number of classes you book, the cheapest being R 700 for five classes, which seems reasonable. The studio also offers discounts to students priced at R 750 for an entire month’s worth of class passes.

Five classes at the Earth Yoga studio, which are spread out over two months, costs R 450 for kids, R 530 for students and senior citizens, and R 700 for adults. 

Take into consideration, though, that Marloes is in-demand no matter what studio you enrol in, so make sure to check schedules ahead to book a slot.

Anesu Mbizvo is a well-known yoga master that specialises in Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin, and Restorative yoga. The first reason why we selected Anesu is because of her impressive professional background.

Aside from being an internationally renowned and accredited yoga guru, Anesu is also a medical doctor by profession. She finished her medical degree in Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town in 2015.

She’s also an active mental health advocate and wellness speaker, which we think are both assets in teaching yoga.

What’s unique about this yoga instructor is she incorporates her knowledge of medicine into her yoga practice. We love that Anesu’s yoga programmes are specially designed for students with medical challenges. 

Anesu has been teaching yoga for more than five years already. She offers her programmes either through private yoga classes or at The Nest Space Yoga Studio.

She’s actually the owner and co-founder of the studio, and we’re impressed to know she built it to mould a welcoming, safe, and holistic community of yoga practitioners. On top of that, Anesu is also the studio’s lead teacher trainer.

Currently, there are nine yoga instructors under her. Nowadays, Anesu is more focused on apprenticeship and training more yoga teachers.

Thankfully, she still holds Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin, and Restorative yoga on selected days a week. Limited class slots fill up quickly, though, so you might want to check her calendar for available classes.

Hanni Daymond is another yoga instructor who holds her classes at the ISHTA School of Yoga & Health. What sets her apart from other instructors is she’s a meditation and children’s yoga expert.

She’s very passionate about teaching children and introducing what yoga is to them. We admire her values and how she advocates for each child’s self-paced growth and uniqueness, which is why we included her on our list.

Hanni has been doing yoga for more than 10 years already, but just started teaching children about two years ago. 

While she is less experienced than other instructors, parents of children who enrolled in her classes are highly satisfied with the yoga classes. We’re told Hanni was very hands-on with the kids and the classes were fun.

Hanni has certifications to support her profession from several yoga institutions, including the YogaBeez International and Divine Light. In addition, she also completed some yoga trainings in India.

As a freelance yoga instructor, Hanni leads several sessions in different yoga studios in and around Johannesburg. Aside from the ISHTA School of Yoga & Health, she’s also a recurring instructor at Yoga Bears.

We noticed, though, that her class schedules seem irregular and her classes aren’t fixed on certain days per studio. Thus, booking slots might be confusing for new students.

Jessica Gaynor is a young and popular yoga instructor who founded her own small yoga studio in Johannesburg. Just three years ago, she got her qualification as a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) from All Yoga Training in Bali, Indonesia.

She focuses on restorative yoga, slow flow, and strong Vinyasa. But what sets her apart is her keen interest in Ikigai yoga, which allows students to focus on the reason for being.

Moreover, Jessica offers holistic therapy sessions that can be availed alongside yoga classes. Students find this an interesting and very helpful programme, especially for those who have mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.

Jessica has classes for groups, as well as private sessions. We also love that you can enrol in her online yoga sessions, which are often live and in sync with the face-to-face classes.

This way, everyone in the same batch can learn and progress together.

Lastly, rates for Jessica’s yoga classes are in the lower-middle range, especially considering her expertise. One month’s worth of in-person yoga classes with her costs R 900.

There are also no indicated discounts for students and pensioners, unlike usual studios.