our teachers
Clare Lovelace
Hi, I’m Clare, founder, owner and lead teacher at Soul Tribe. I grew up in the wilds of the Herefordshire countryside, barefoot and covered in mud, making friends with trees and studying the tiny worlds beneath my feet. My parents instilled in me a deep respect for nature, a love that still weaves through every part of my life.
Like many, I lost this connection for a time, caught up in the pull of conformity. But the call of the earth never left me. A year of solo travel reawakened my spirit, leading me to the East Coast of Australia, where I discovered yoga. Through breath, movement, and meditation, I realised what I had been searching for was inside me all along.
In 2018, after years of teaching full-time in Sydney, I set off on an adventure in my little van. That journey led me to Batemans Bay, where I founded Soul Tribe Studio, a thriving yoga space on Yuin Country. Since then, I’ve taught thousands of classes, facilitated over 30 retreats, and guided countless students and teachers on their own paths.
My approach to yoga goes beyond the mat—it’s about living with intention, joy, and deep connection. I believe in the magic within us all and in creating spaces where people can recognize their own brilliance.
Join me at Soul Tribe to move, breathe, and remember who you truly are.
why do you love teaching at soul tribe?
I love being a part of the soul tribe community. I’ve felt supported both as a teacher and a student from day 1 and have met so many people I can call friends. As a teacher, I love being able to help people connect to their bodies, learn more about their bodies and move their bodies to support longevity and healthy living.
what’s your favourite pose?
The hover - it’s my favourite because it’s a total body exercise, a strong pose which is also a transition pose between many others, training strength and stability - great for day to day function like getting onto and off the floor.
what’s a funny story about yourself?
I’m not very funny and don’t tend to put myself in situations where funny things happen to me (call me risk averse) but I recently was shown a video of me singing karaoke to “I want it that way” by the backstreet boys with my sister in law in the old malua bay club, that was pretty funny to look at and now I’m wondering whether soul tribe should start karaoke nights
- what’s your star sign?
Virgo
- what’s your favourite thing to teach at the moment
I love connecting people to their deep core, which involves a connection to breath so spending the time to talk through breath and core engagement/relaxation before we get moving is my favourite. But also, the Hydrant donkey combo - great glute burner!
Joelle holds office hours at Soul Tribe through the week. For more information about Joelle, check out her website at www.tidalphysio.com and feel free to email her for more details at info@tidalphysio.com.au or through social media @tidalphysiotherapy
Karen Hope
- why do you love teaching at soul tribe?
I adore teaching at Soul Tribe because being there always makes me feel sooooo good. Whether I am teaching or there to practice, the energy is always uplifting. The atmosphere is calm and entirely accepting. So much love around for everybody
- what’s your favourite pose?
Baddha Konasana
- what’s a funny story about yourself?
Having thought since I was young, I was very different to my mother - I’ve realised now the years have passed, I’m almost exactly the same! Which is kinda nice.
- what’s your star sign?
Sun in Taurus
Moon in Capricorn
Rising Scorpio
- where were you born
Lismore NSW
- what’s an interesting fact people don’t know about you
My spirit animal is panda bear.
There to remind me to take care of my personal space, keep my balance and feel at ease. I love that! And I’m ok with cold weather, mostly
- what’s your favourite thing to teach at the moment
Ashtanga standing sequence
Paula Simons
Hi I’m Paula from Soul Tribe and I teach the Yin and Singing bowl classes on Mondays @ 5:30pm & Thursdays @ 9:30am. I also teach the Gentle yoga class on Thursdays @ 11:30am.
I have loved yoga for a long time and enjoy how the practice makes me feel- easeful, strong and connected in all facets of mind, body, soul and spirit.
I am honoured to offer and share these practices at Soul Tribe, which is a ‘home away from home’, just walking into the studio is like receiving an unconditional loving hug. The people are amazing and inspiring, it’s a beautiful community to be part of.
When I’m not at ST you can find me working from my home, where I share holistic healing techniques such as Bowen, Reiki and Sound healings with Quartz Crystal singing bowls and tuning forks. I also offer (& can help you acquire) a Healy-an Individualised Microcurrent Frequency (IMF) device which is designed to support wellbeing through harmonisation of the Bioenergetic Field. If you’re interested in these modalities you can contact me on 0404272402
Looking forward to meeting you sometime soon
With love
Paula
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Deepika Mistry
Soul Tribe feels like home to me. Since I arrived in Batemans Bay three years ago it has represented community, friendship, love and belonging. It is an honour to teach here alongside amazing humans who live yoga too. The studio is an important place to come together and share not only yoga but stories of life and all it brings.
Sharing the practice of yoga is me sharing from my heart and is one of the great loves of my life…something you may not know about me is that I am currently also studying to be an End of Life Doula, a person who supports people who are dying and their families. The process of immersing myself in this work has opened me up to confront my own emotions around death and dying and reminds me, how as a society we run away from death despite its certainty for all of us. I’m beginning to realise the need to have chats about death and dying and grief often and out in the open. My hope is that the more we do, the more we can confront the fear many us feel; the more we can change the narrative about the end of life.
I teach two weekly classes on Monday and Friday at 9.30am. I look forward to welcoming you to my classes at the studio where together we move, breath and lean into the wide open space of being still.
Namaste x
Website: https://www.satyayogasouthcoast.com.au/
IG: @satyayogasouthcoast
Eliza Milenkovic
What do you most love about teaching at Soul Tribe?
‘I love the amazing vibes I get to soak up from everyone. All the students have different styles, goals for practise and abilities and it makes it challenging and wonderful to teach and be a part of.’
What’s your favourite thing to teach right now?
‘finding the options that suit you! I’ve gone through pregnancy and injuries that have changed my style of yoga forever now I just do ME and I am trying to pass that on to my students’
‘My favourite pose in Downward Dog, I feel so strong in this shape’
Lulu Henley
Meet Lulu, a passionate and dedicated yoga teacher whose love for the practice shines through in her classes. Lulu's love for yoga began when she moved down to the South Coast of NSW in 2021. A lost girl at the time, found yoga which supported and helped guide her to discover her passion for the healing and transformative power of yoga. Lulu was in total awe when experiencing pure states of bliss, practice after practice, feeling into the healing and grounding benefits for the mind and body.
A lifelong yoga student, Lulu aims to create and facilitate a warm and welcoming space, intending to guide students through an experience to assist them in deepening their connection to themselves and the practice, through synchronisation of body, mind, and breath, cultivating a sense of grounding and inner peace. Lulu loves using optional hands-on assists to instil awareness and softness in the body, helping you deepen into poses and melt into savasana at the end of practice.
Yoga is an integral part of Lulu’s life, leaning into its support daily with meditation, movement, breath, prayer, and chanting. Lulu loves to teach vinyasa, gentle, yin and ashtanga classes. Always with an emphasis on building mind, body, spirit connection.
Jo Gates
Hi! I'm Jo. I was fortunate enough to move to this beautiful town 2 years ago with my husband and 3 kids... a true sea change from Central West NSW.
I started doing yoga at my local gym in my early 20's seeing it as a way to gain flexibility and get fit! It wasn't until my first pregnancy when I realised the true purpose of yoga! It allowed me to connect with my body & breath in such an instinctual way that supported me through all 3 of my pregnancies & births. From then on my practise has been all about connection to myself but also to those in my yoga community. Practising within this group setting really offers us something magical & I feel so grateful to be apart of this "Soul Tribe".
I absolutely love moving slow focusing on breath & alignment in a flow class, and don't mind getting a little sweaty too! You will also find me practising in the yin classes as I also love the slow pace & meditative movement. I really don't know that I could pick a favourite style...
When I'm not practising or teaching yoga I love being creative in my other business Lotus Macrame. I make jewellery using macrame techniques with crystals & semi precious stones. You will find me selling my jewellery as well as heaps of crystals at Moruya Markets every Saturday and Batemans Bay every 1st and 3rd Sunday.
I have a keen interest in nature, a little obsessed with all of my local birdlife (yes I have named quite a few), I pinch myself everyday that I am so blessed to call this beautiful place home & it is all on my doorstep!
Emily Boyd
Emily first discovered yoga in 2012 and fell in love instantly. She pursued this passion in Melbourne, attending many different studios until she completed her 200 Hr Yoga Teacher training in 2019.
She is trained in hatha, vinyasa flow, yin yoga, pre-natal yoga, meditation and pranayama.
Emily currently teaches a range of styles including flow, gentle / mellow movement, yin, restorative and yoga nidra.
After having a baby in 2021, Emily completed a pre and post natal teacher training and is passionate about providing women with tools to empower themselves through pregnancy, birth and motherhood.
Emily is also an integrative nutrition health coach and works with women on hormonal issues such as endometriosis and PCOS.
After her own healing journey, Emily now shares how to use yoga, movement, breathing techniques and meditation as tools for embodiment, healing and transformation.
Michelle Yount
Hi, I’m Michelle and I have recently embarked on my Pilates teaching journey. I discovered the joy of Pilates while I was pregnant with my son as a great pregnancy-safe way to maintain strength - and I haven’t stopped since!
I teach Pilates for beginners but can modify to all levels of comfort and experience. So whether it's your first time in a studio or you’re a seasoned pro, come join me on the mat!
Star sign
Taurus
Where were you born:
Sacramento, California:
Interesting fact:
In 2003, I visited Australia on a student exchange program and fell in love with this beautiful country. 10 year later, after meeting my Aussie husband in New York City, I made the leap and got to call Australia my home. I am now lucky enough to live on the beautiful South Coast where I get to raise my two little boys.
Why do you love teaching:
I love being a part of Soul Tribe and the sense of community and connection it brings. Whether it’s practicing yoga (Yin and Soul Flow are my fav!) or teaching a pilates class I always feel uplifted afterwards.
Kim Hawkins
II was invited to cover some classes at Soul Tribe in March 2024 and have felt warmly welcomed by the community ever since. I’m really enjoying getting to know the teachers and members who all make Soul Tribe so special.
I teach a Gentle Yoga class each Saturday morning at 7.30. Regulars say it’s a great way to ease into the weekend. I very much appreciate the opportunity. Back in the late ‘90s, I attended some casual yoga classes. Then in 2001, I met my first Shanti Yoga teacher. That’s when yoga became more than an avenue for fitness and recreation for me: rather, it offered me a way to slow down and to connect with myself in stillness and silence. It’s been the focus of my yoga practice ever since.
I did my teacher training in 2004-5 under Shanti Gowans (founder of what’s now the Health Institute Australasia), then I embraced every opportunity I could to lead classes over the next few years in Brisbane, Northern Rivers and Sydney, teaching mostly in the big fitness chains and some community-hall gigs. I love introducing people to the Shanti Yoga body of work and the big gyms offered lots of opportunities for this. For a few years, I focussed on 1-on- 1 yoga therapy sessions in my home in Melbourne. Having sometimes taught in cold, noisy and shared spaces, it’s such a luxury to teach in the Soul Tribe studio space: I adore the props room and the dimmer switches, and I love that we can directly control the room temperature
In class, I offer a supportive space in which participants can slow down. I infuse the experience with stillness, reverence, grounding, breath awareness and mindful movement. I encourage effort-without-struggle and compassion - for oneself and others. I embrace repetition across classes, with a view to fostering ritual, insight and self-discipline, while adding interest, options and progression along the way. Much of the asana work is done while lying on your mat. Very much the yoga student, I love the diversity of teachers at Soul Tribe and the range of classes, workshops, training opportunities and events that Clare makes available. I feel very blessed and deeply grateful
Kylie James
Hi I’m Kylie.
I have the privilege of teaching Soul Flow at Soul Tribe on Monday and Wednesday nights at 7pm. Come practice with me!
A little bit about me…
My Sun is in Aries, Moon in Leo and Rising in Pisces.
I was born in Wollongong, but have lived in Batemans Bay most of my life. I’ve travelled around Australia, but have not yet ventured overseas.
Something you may not know about me is that I recently purchased a harmonium and have begun learning some of the Sanskrit mantras. I hope to bring these into my classes soon
I love teaching at Soul Tribe for several reasons…
The culture. Clare has created such a welcoming, supportive space. A place where people can come as they are, free from judgement. I feel supported, safe and free to be vulnerably me
The staff. They are all passionate about yoga, accepting and genuine. They truly care about the practice and have become like family to me. They have taught me so much about myself and all things yoga. I’m looking forward to continuing learning from them all
The community. I feel so blessed to be a part of this amazing community of kind, compassionate and generous souls. I’ve attended so many fun and interesting events, and made so many friend along the way. Friendships that I’ll cherish forever!