Kamalaya Yoga Synergy Retreats - Teachers

Dorien Israel

In 1984, at the age of 37, Dorien was in a serious car accident that resulted in a near death experience that presented her with the gift of being able to channel direct guidance. Over the following years this information became the basis for her three books: Unbound, Tao Passages and The Way to the One I Am.

Dorien began to live what she channelled and found it to be profoundly authentic and practical. Growing naturally out of readers' responses, she developed transformational sessions and workshops. In 1987 she moved to Asia, where for the next five years she continued to lead workshops as well as deepen her spiritual practices of yoga (kundalini and ashtanga), chi gong, and meditation.

When Dorien returned to America in 1993 she experienced alienation from the excesses of Western culture, resulting in clinical depression, and what she calls her "Prozac days". Out of this suffering emerged her irrepressible longing to know Truth.

In 1997, after a lifetime of material success and spiritual searching, she moved to Koh Samui to align her inner vision and values with her outer way of life. She left a thirty-two year marriage and the material trappings that accompany the life of a diplomat's wife, and rented a primitive bungalow. For the next four years, Dorien journeyed inward, remaining in relative stillness, silence and solitude to see if God truly existed.

She found that without the usual distractions of the outer world her conditioned self began to slowly settle, revealing naturally her true self - in her words - "who I Am". This is what Dorien shares with others in her workshops and sessions. At almost 60 years old, her body has taken to the exquisite practice of Ashtanga yoga, and the gratitude she feels each morning approaching the mat is her metaphor for every other aspect of a blessed life.

Carole Warren

Passionate about inspiring people to connect with what they love to do, and to make true changes in their lifestyle, Carole combines her professional and personal experience of practices from Eastern and Western traditions, bringing much more depth to the standard life coaching techniques. After a major back injury, yoga and other practices helped to heal her back fully without resorting to surgery. Certified with the US Yoga Alliance, Carole teaches and practices Ashtanga yoga in accordance with this ancient lineage. With the yoga practice as a foundation, Carole enjoys supporting people to integrate positive changes in their lifestyle to live more fully with their true purpose.

In Carole's own words: "Before my back injury I had resonated with Ashtanga yoga the most, however during my recovery I practiced a gentle restorative yoga, so when I started Ashtanga again I was naturally cautious. Interestingly on a physical level, the Ashtanga yoga practice was the most effective for restoring the health of my spine. Initially the Ashtanga yoga practice can appear to be more physically based, however, as I committed to the practice, I found the transformation within to be more profound than the many other techniques I had studied, practiced and taught! In short, I worked through many fears, emotions and had major personal breakthroughs both on and off the yoga mat. The combination of surrender, patience, commitment and focus along with something quite unexplainable has touched me in a much deeper place within than anything else in my life so far. I am inherently grateful to this ancient practice and honoured to be able to share what little I can with others."

Khun Sanya

Khun Sanya is Kamalaya's Fitness Specialist and Trainer. His specialty in yoga is Ashtanga Vinyasa and Hatha. With a background in Sports Science and a range of energy practices and therapies including tai chi, qi gong, pilates, and watsu, he is also an accomplished athlete in Thai boxing and canoeing. Khun Sanya also offers specialized training in stretching, weight training, fit ball, aquatic exercises.

Khun Faeng

Is a dedicated Thai wellness therapist and instructor. Her life's journey has taken her to renowned centres of learning, including the Bihar School of Yoga and Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in India, and Diamond Mountain University, Arizona. At Kamalaya she offers cranio-sacral therapy, reiki, and sound therapy, in addition to teaching Yoga and other vital energy practices. Her specialty is Kundalini Yoga, meditation, and Spirit Dance, a fusion of movement, music and breathwork designed to release tension within all levels of the being, and most importantly to connect with spirit in a free and fun way.

Lorraine Taylor

Lorraine's unique yoga style and depth of experience draws from a lifetime of studying the body through dance, gymnastics and yoga. Training intensively in gymnastics and dance from the age of 3, she competed internationally, went on to teach and then finally retired at the age of 16.

Over the last 15 years, she has studied yoga and eastern philosophies around the world, mostly throughout ashrams in India and yoga centres in the UK, Thailand and Australia. During this time, amongst other disciplines, she studied Yoga Nidra at the famous Satyananda ashram and spent time in the Himalayas practising Buddhist meditation. After completing her yoga training in India in the year 2000, she returned to Thailand to undertake further study and the role of manager of the Wellness Centre at The Sanctuary Health Resort, running detoxifying and cleansing programs combined with yoga.

After having her first baby, she realized that her body now wanted to do less physically challenging yoga as the demands of motherhood left her somewhat exhausted! She began to put the best of what she had learnt to create her own more gentle style. After recently completing a teacher's intensive with Shiva Rea, she was so inspired by the graceful energy of the practice that she is now starting to study deeper with her. Lorraine teaches vinyasa flow, meditation and yoga nidra.