Announcement: Mind Body Instructor of the Year Finalists 2019

It’s that time of year when we publicly honour and celebrate the Yoga and Mind Body teachers who are making an impact in their communities.

These are teachers who are deeply present and connected, intimately know their stuff and share it with passion and delight. Collectively they have helped thousands of people to access holistic mind body practices that calm, enliven and nourish,

Introducing the Mind Body Instructor finalists for 2019

What are the awards?

The Mind Body Instructor of the Year award recognises any class style that incorporates extensive principles of mind-body philosophy, such as Yoga and Pilates.

This award is part of the Exercise Industry Awards which are run by the Exercise Association of New Zealand, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to proactively support a sustainable exercise and fitness industry in New Zealand. These awards recognise the people who are making a contribution to the health and wellness of New Zealanders through exercise and fitness.

The 2019 Awards will be held on Saturday 23rd November. The Mind Body Instructor of the Year award is sponsored by Courage My Love and the founder, Persephone Singfield, will be attending the event to present the Mind Body Award to the recipient.

Being an award winner

Being an award winner is not about being the yoga teacher or the personal trainer with the best body, it’s not about the fanciest facility nor is about the ability to make clients work until they drop. The best exercise facilities and professionals are those who show professionalism and have an ability to adapt to the changing needs of their clients, putting their results, and their safety, first. Every year the standard of winners is raised with the competition to make it to the top spots getting harder; this year is no exception with winners from the far north through to the deep south showing just what it takes to be the best in the country at what they do.

The Awards Process

The awards entry process is a thorough one, potential winners must make it through 3 stages in order to make it to the finals. Entrants must submit written information to show why they should win as well as recordings of themselves in action. All entrants must be REPs registered as registration with REPs is the recognised standard to ensure safe and effective exercise advice. These standards are benchmarked internationally to ensure global recognition meaning trainers and teachers that receive awards in NZ are up with the best across the world.

Last Year’s Winner

Jase Te Patu of M3 Mindfulness for Children and Awhi Yoga won last year – out of all the entrants he exemplified the ideal Mind Body teacher.

Here’s what the judges had to say about Jase:

“Jase embodies Maori principles and values into his yoga teaching, offering his students a rich philosophical tapestry to practice by. He is a leader in his ability to teach from the heart and guide a wide range of people deeply into mind-body connection.”

And in our opinion, that’s what yoga is really about: connecting the mind and body in a way that makes you feel amazing.