Yoga Studio Near Me: Angie’s Menopause Story (Video)

Yoga studio near me: the short answer

If you are looking for a yoga studio near me in Darwin, Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga at Woolner (near Parap) and Coolalinga (near Palmerston and Humpty Doo), and live online anywhere in Australia. If you are new, your first class is free. Below, Flametree student and Darwin singer Angie Sublime tells, in her own words, how she went looking for a yoga studio during menopause, and what changed for her. Her results are her own; everyone’s experience is different.

Iyengar yoga is the style developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. In the 20th century he did more than anyone to set down traditional Indian yoga, through his books and his teaching, and he pioneered the use of props. It is sometimes called modern classical yoga, and it’s the style we teach at Flametree.

Yoga studio near me: this story in short form

• Who: Angie Sublime, a Darwin singer, tells her own story.
• Before yoga: walking, personal training and dieting did not change her waistline, she says.
• The search: she saw Flametree’s ad, and several friends enrolled with her.
• After several months: she says she lost the waist that came with menopause.
• Also noticed: more calm, better stamina, an easier headstand and help with singing.
• What the research says: a 2024 review found yoga improved menopausal symptoms and sleep, but not hot flashes more than usual care.
• Choosing a studio: see the short checklist further down.
• Next step: your first class is free if you’re new to Flametree.

This page sits in our menopause notes. For poses and the research on menopause symptoms, see yoga poses for menopause hot flashes, and for the pelvic floor, yoga for pelvic floor.

I tried everything. Then I tried yoga. See my video.

It was a few years ago that I (Angie Sublime) first started noticing the menopausal symptoms of hot flushes and feeling more fragile and anxious similar to the experience of suffering pre-menstrual tension.

The weight gain was gradual but I gained about 12 kgs over about a five year period.

Despite being on a natural hormone replacement treatment, and doing aerobic fitness in the form of walking, the same waistline issue remained and seemed to be out of control!

I had a group of three or four friends that used to walk with me every morning. But despite the exercise, I was still putting on kilos.

Nothing else worked!

Then my group of friends decided we needed a personal trainer to work with us. So we organised personal training three mornings a week and walked an hour every other morning. However, despite the effort and exercise, there was still no change to my gradual weight gain and the personal training was definitely not fun. I found myself waking up angry at the thought of doing it.

Of course I’d tried dieting, consulting with a dietician and eating a lot less food, but that also had no impact! You can see a picture of me when I was walking and doing personal training …before I started yoga.

I eventually said to my exercise group of friends … “no offence, but I don’t like this… what do we do”?

My yoga studios near me search begins

In the past, I had ‘played’ with yoga postures using an instructional yoga video (which I now realise was coincidentally an Iyengar Yoga video, like Flametree Studio). I had tried to learn the ‘video class’ as a routine. I knew yoga was something I wanted to try again but felt I needed guidance.

I mentioned the Flametree Yoga advertisement I had seen on Facebook to my group of friends and suggested we give it a go. Several of us enrolled. I found the number of class type options and the extensive timetable was great. This meant there was no excuse for not being able to attend classes many times a week. There was at least a class time, if not many, that worked for everyone!

Video of me at a gig. Plus my yoga story!

Angie at a local Darwin gig:

Kilos gone, says Angie

Over several months, I lost all that waist that had come with menopause… without even trying.

I’m told that it is at least partly due to the fact that yoga reduces stress. Whatever the reason, it certainly has worked for me in both weight loss and stress management.

I say yoga has kept me “sane”. I notice a greater sense of calm and a lightness of mind. It’s an unexpected benefit of practising yoga. It has definitely helped me cope through recent stressful and trying times, and is a big part of why I choose to practise yoga.

I have also noticed a ‘sense of physical lightness’ that comes from my greater awareness of my ‘physical self’, of where and how ‘my’ body moves and works in space and time.

That is one woman’s account. Everyone’s body and life are different, and no yoga class is a treatment for menopause.

Many impacts, including no pain

Over the years, I have watched many of my friends suffer physical pain and limitations due to their bodies. I’m incredibly grateful that I have no pain anywhere in my body as yoga has improved my flexibility and core strength.

I have a very physical job, part of which requires me to lift heavy sound equipment. For me, lifting 30 kilo equipment is nothing… despite it being half my body weight. That’s because in my yoga practice I’m often lifting my entire body weight!

There’s also the physical benefit of improved stamina. I noticed over time the ease with which I am now able to do some of the yoga postures has greatly improved.

A good example of this for me is my learning of the headstand. I used to breathe heavily. I couldn’t sustain this posture for any length of time. However I am now able to sustain this position easily and with much less effort.

My friends thought it was too easy!

I find it interesting that comments from some of my work colleagues about yoga include “that it looks like you aren’t putting in any effort. It looks too easy and isn’t physically challenging enough for me”.

I challenge them to come and join in on a yoga class then. If it appears to be that easy, then anyone can do it. The truth of the matter is that anyone can in fact do it! But it is physically challenging at times, depending on the posture or style of class. And remember, if someone makes something look easy it’s usually because they are very accomplished at it!

Yoga definitely builds physical stamina…while looking like you are relaxing!

Good teachers at Flametree

The teachers at Flametree Yoga are second to none. I’ve been learning not only about the physical side of yoga but more importantly the inner game of yoga. It is about observing yourself and your attitudes on a daily basis.

Observe the sensations within your body while doing your yoga practice. They are messages to you about your physical body. Notice also the mental resistance or willingness to do certain poses, or be ‘with’ the sensations.

Don’t get involved in the drama you tell yourself about the sensations such as ‘ I can’t do this’ or ‘it’s painful’ and most importantly to be kind to yourself in your yoga practice.

I have enjoyed every class at Flametree Yoga that I have attended over the years. Every teacher has been a pleasure to be taught by.

New friends from yoga

Yoga has created a new network of friends and that has been another unexpected, wonderful outcome.

As a professional singer, I noticed many similarities between the study of music and the study of yoga. Yoga is a about a little bit every day, about the benefits of long term practice and less about instant gratification.

In fact, yoga is all about the word practice in every sense of the meaning of the word – the verb of ‘doing’ practise every day and the noun of having ‘a practice’ as part of your life…. so yoga and music are the same in this sense.

I still enjoy music lessons as there is always much to learn and music is a life-long learning journey. Yoga is the same. The discipline of attending lessons requires you to continue to practice and learn and to make sure you practise even the bits you don’t like! With music, you need to make it part of your everyday world. It is the same ethos with yoga.

Helps my singing, and my breathing, and more

Yoga also helps with singing. “Mountain pose”, one of the first yoga postures taught in the beginner classes or beginner course, is the perfect posture for singing.

Singing requires good posture such that the large muscles of the body can support the small muscles of the vocal anatomy to then be able to move freely for singing and speaking. We call it ‘anchoring the voice’. So yoga quickly helps you to improve and become aware of good posture. That’s useful for many aspect of your life and health.

I cannot say enough about the positive impact Yoga has had to my life and I say to everybody, give yoga a go.

Angie, Flametree student, Darwin. For the pose itself, see our note on Mountain Pose.

What other students have found

Other Flametree students have also told us about their results from a mix of yoga, mindfulness, stress reduction and, for some, intermittent fasting. These are their own experiences, and results vary. Their words below are exact.

M.: “I trimmed 13 of the big K’s in the first half of the year I started yoga. Yes, 13!”

G.: “Over the 12 months, there were 8 of those K’s gone… and it’s continuing to drop at a steady 200 grams a month.”

Wayan, a young mum: “Suddenly, 8 of those Kilos were gone! And I maintained it.”

Chris Lalor, Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher at Flametree, says: “…the mindfulness that I get from yoga makes it easier to control my eating.”

What does the research say about yoga in menopause?

A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis by Wang and colleagues pooled 24 randomised controlled trials with 2,028 women. Yoga was linked with improvements in menopausal symptoms overall, sleep quality, anxiety, depressive symptoms, body mass index and blood pressure. For hot flashes and quality of life, the results were not significantly different from usual care. The authors called for larger, more robust studies. You can read the abstract on PubMed.

So Angie’s story fits part of the research picture, and not all of it. It is one person’s experience, not a promise. If you have menopausal symptoms, talk to your yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and your doctor if you wish.

How do you choose a yoga studio near you?

Look for a teacher who can see you, a class pitched at your level, and a way to try before you commit. A few things we would check:

• Training: Iyengar teachers train for a minimum of three years;
• Beginner classes: at times you can actually get to;
• Props: blocks, belts and chairs so the poses suit your body;
• A first visit: come about 10 minutes early and tell the teacher it is your first class;
• Anyone can start: any age, size or fitness. Tell your teacher about any injuries.

The beginners notes explain what a first class is like, and the beginner timetable shows class times, with a converter for your own time zone.

Flametree’s beginner class times

Beginner classes run in the studio at Woolner and Coolalinga, and many are also LIVE online, on Darwin time (ACST, 9.5 hours ahead of UTC). They are in the morning, evening and at weekends.

At the beginner timetable there is also a time zone converter which shows the times in your local time zone. The classes teach introductory Iyengar yoga poses, with props to help, and the timetable lists special focus options such as Gentle Yoga, Yoga For Backs and Restorative Yoga.

Yoga studios near me in Darwin: Woolner and Coolalinga, plus online

Beginner level yoga can be started at any time. In the Darwin region, Flametree’s studios are at Woolner (19B Bishop Street, about 3 km from the CBD) and Coolalinga (Shop T31, Coolalinga Central, about 15 minutes from Palmerston). Online classes are taught live from the Darwin studio.

Try a class at a Flametree studio near you

Your first class is free if you’re new to Flametree. In the studio, just come along; online, click the class time you want on the class list and we email you the link to join.

Practise this at Flametree

Flametree Yoga Studio teaches Iyengar yoga in Darwin and LIVE online, with Christine (Chris) Lalor, Senior Iyengar Yoga Teacher. Newcomers get a free first class (for the studio, you need to be an NT resident of three months or more; online, anyone new). New students, and students who have been away three months or more, can also get a half price 10 class pass with 2 extra classes free, to use online, in the studio, or both.

• New to yoga? See the beginner half price 10 class pass, for new and lapsed students.
• Already practise? See the half price 10 class pass for non-beginners, for new and lapsed students.
• Want to see class times? Open the timetable, including online classes.

Yoga studio near me: common questions

How do I find a good yoga studio near me?

Look for qualified teachers who can see you and correct your poses, beginner classes at times that suit you, and a way to try a class before you pay. Iyengar yoga teachers train for a minimum of three years, and use props so beginners can do the poses safely.

Where are Flametree’s yoga studios in Darwin?

Flametree has two studios: Woolner, at 19B Bishop Street near Parap, about 3 km from the Darwin CBD, and Coolalinga, at Shop T31, Coolalinga Central, about 15 minutes from Palmerston. Many classes are also live online.

What if there is no yoga studio near me?

You can join Flametree’s live online classes from anywhere in Australia. They are taught in real time from the Darwin studio, with a teacher who can see you and help you. Your first online class is free if you are new.

Can yoga help with weight gain during menopause?

Some women, like Angie, say it did for them. A 2024 review of 24 randomised trials with 2,028 women (Wang and colleagues) found yoga was linked with improved menopausal symptoms, sleep, anxiety, depressive symptoms and a lower body mass index. Hot flashes were not significantly different from usual care, and the authors called for larger studies. Talk to your yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and your doctor if you wish, about your own situation.

Can I do yoga if I have not exercised for years?

Yes. Flametree’s Beginner 1 classes are for any age, size or fitness level, and props like blocks, belts and chairs make the poses easier. Tell your teacher about any injuries or health conditions before class.

Can yoga help my singing voice?

Many singers find it does. Mountain pose teaches upright posture, and yoga breathing builds awareness of the breath. Angie, a professional singer, says that good posture lets the large muscles of the body support the small muscles of the voice.

Do I need to sign up before coming to a class at a Flametree studio?

No. For a studio class, just come along about 10 minutes early and tell the teacher it is your first class. For an online class, click the class time you want and we email you the link to join.

How does a new student get started at Flametree?

Your first class is free if you are new to Flametree. After that, new students and students who have been away three months or more can choose a half price 10 class pass with 2 extra classes free, to use online, in the studio, or both. The links are in the Practise this at Flametree box above.

What should I expect at my first class at a yoga studio?

At Flametree, come about 10 minutes early and tell the teacher it is your first class. Beginner classes use props such as blocks, belts and chairs, and the teacher can see you and adjust the pose. Tell your teacher about any injuries or health conditions.

Is a yoga studio better than online classes?

It depends on you. A studio lets a teacher see you in person and adjust you by hand, while live online classes suit people far from a studio or with a busy week. Flametree teaches both, and a pass covers online, in the studio, or both.