When yoga enthusiasts and friends Yolande Hyde and Cate Peterson embarked on journey throughout regional Australia to connect with other yogis, they weren’t expecting to find much of a following in Mildura. However, the pair say they were blown away by the local yoga community, what Mildura yoga teachers are bringing to the lives of locals and how strong the support is. Ashlee Falvo caught up with them during their quick stay in town.
“We met through yoga circles about 10 years ago,” Yolande says.
“We’ve always supported each others’ work, we come from different yoga backgrounds but we did do some training in Japanese yoga together and that sort of cemented our friendship.”
The two friends decided to band together to embark on an adventure, setting off from Sydney and stopping in regional communities throughout the country to discover yoga communities along the way.
“We thought to ourselves, ‘well while we’re travelling around connecting with all these yoga teachers, we could interview them for a podcast’,” Cate says.
“We wanted to reach people who are not usually exposed to yoga, or don’t think they fit the ‘yoga mould’, or don’t think yoga is for them. The mission is to break down those barriers and make it more accessible for everyone.”
“From the very moment that we started to do interviews, we realised that there was something here,” Yolande added.
“Five years ago, we probably would have had no one to interview.
“Now, for example, here we are in Mildura, where you might not expect there to be a very strong yogic community and we met (local yoga teachers) Jo and Pina, and they’re such shining lights.
“It’s been like that everywhere we’ve gone; the yoga community is so strong all over the country.”
The women agree on one thing – people in regional communities are less likely to take time out for their own mental well-being than their city counterparts.
“We’re finding that it’s very much a strong work ethic out here and to have a day off is almost akin to a sin,” Yolande says.
“People are working seven days a week, and that’s unsustainable. Yoga just helps people take 60 minutes once a week for themselves, for their self-care and their own health.
“We’ve been through communities that are really affected by drought stress, farmers and farming families who are right on the edge of losing their farm that they’ve had for generations, their stock, their livelihoods; they’re really stressed and falling apart and their yoga community is assisting them to find peace and acceptance.”
However, Yolande and Cate say the yogic growth and acceptance in regional communities hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
“We’ve come across areas where the church is particularly strong, and they’ve gotten involved and offered their facilities for use for yoga, which is great,” Cate says.
“Then in one community in Lightning Ridge, the woman who was running yoga classes was given permission by the Catholic Church to use their hall, but then the community rose up and boarded her out and changed the lock.
“Eventually, they had to get the archbishop to come up and solve the issue. There is still a big misconception that yoga is tied in with anti-religious views, which is sad because really, it’s community supporting community through a similar goal or interest.
“It’s knowing that they’re safe and holding that space. It’s about a community looking after themselves physically, learning to slow down.”
Three weeks into a trip that has seen them travel from Sydney to west New South Wales, Lightning Ridge, Mount Isa, Tenant Creek, Darwin, Mildura and Griffith so far, Yolande and Cate say regional yogis do an “incredible job”.
“What they bring to their communities is incredible,” Cate says. “It’s been very mutually satisfying for us to interact with these incredible people and listen to some of their heartfelt stories.”
