Rachel Zinman Yoga

Rachel Zinman Yoga https://www.rachelzinmanyoga.com
Online Yoga Ashram Membership, Yoga Workshops, Yoga Mentoring

Rachel Zinman and John Weddepohl offer इष्टम् ISHTAM, specialising in orthodox knowledge, whether it is the knowledge of yoga (yoga vidya) or knowledge of the Self (atma vidya), इष्टम् ISHTAM uses a little known teaching methodology to ensure understanding ancient wisdom is easy. Buried in secrecy by teachers who discouraged sharing it, इष्टम् ISHTAM’s unique teaching method helps students break open the secret meaning of yoga hidden in the शास्त्र sastra (scriptures). Taught by Krishna and Adi Shankara, two of India’s greatest teachers in the upanishadic tradition, the method of teaching forms part of the means of knowledge (called प्रमाण pramana), to uplift humanity and resolve the problem of human suffering. Besides orthodox knowledge, इष्टम् ISHTAM also combines the best in modern yoga. Not about how many postures you do, success in yoga comes in maintaining a regular home practice. As a teacher or student of yoga you may struggle to maintain your practice due to time or injuries. Rachel and John the core teachers ofइष्टम् ISHTAM share इष्ट माला ISHTA-Mala** - a practice for life. A vinyasa krama, Mala fits everyday individual needs, abilities and time frames and is gaining a following as a complete practice. Together John and Rachel share इष्टम् ISHTAM at festivals, teacher trainings and workshops around the world. Theyl live in Byron Bay, Australia and run yoga teacher trainings and workshops year round. They also share their love of music in Kirtan as often as possible.

इष्टम् ISHTAM consists of - इष्ट विद्या ISHTA Vidya (Supreme Self-Knowledge) - इष्ट योग ISHTA Yoga (Maha Yoga) - इष्ट क्रिय ISHTA Kriya (Kriya Siddha Meditation) and - इष्ट माला ISHTA-MALA** (a practice for life).

19/11/2025

Offer up your wild storms ⛈️ and uncertainties and I will melt it like butter in my heart.. ♥️ join me for a deep dive into Krishna tomorrow 2-3.30 pm in studio or online . Link in bio

18/11/2025

Who you are is unlimited! That is the message of Krishna. Krishna reminds us we are our own best friend. Despite the roles we play .. we are never the role. We are the one playing the role .. I have just two workshops left in New York at where we dive deep into the deities. You can join me online or in person. Thursday November 20 2-3.30 pm

10/11/2025

Goddess Durga is the mother of the universe and believed to be the power behind the work of creation, preservation, and destruction of the world. She is seen as pure power. SHAKTI- energy
Join me online or in studio yoga for this empowering class to understand how all obstacles to ones power begin with remembering the nature of oneSelf. Link in my bio to join the class or DM me for more details.

Mini break to shelter island
02/11/2025

Mini break to shelter island

29/10/2025

Lakshmi is the source of our abundance! She is beauty,grace and all things nurturing in our lives! Learn more with me in person or online tomorrow from 2-3.30 pm NYC time. If you’d like to join online go to the link in my bio and you’ll see your Timezone displayed. This is going to be a fun class!!

28/10/2025

I was having a heart-to-heart with my Dad the other day, and he asked me, “Rachel, what do you worry about? Do you worry about the world?”
I had to stop and think for a moment.
When I think about the world and the situation right now, everywhere, in all places, I notice that rather than getting caught up in all the horrific circumstances we are facing: the suffering of so many people, the dictators and despots, the huge disparity between the haves and have-nots, the struggles we face with our personal and global health, and so much more, my way of coping is to zoom out to the bigger picture.
The earth and humanity have gone through epochs of change. We’ve surmounted many obstacles and achieved many breakthroughs, and, in my view, what always uplifts us is beauty. The beauty of the natural world, the beauty in our relationships, the beauty of the creative arts, the love we feel for one another, the small acts we do every day to sustain ourselves. The way we rise above tragedy and can heal.
Beauty is the essence of the deity Lakshmi. She is the energy that brings a seed to fruition. She is a child’s smile, a hand in yours. The tears of relief, the trust we place in ourselves to know how to move forward despite the challenges.
Beauty reminds us that we are whole. Even flaws can be beautiful, like a bowl mended with gold. And beauty teaches us to keep opening. There’s always more beauty to know and experience.
Being here in New York with my Dad, who has lived a full life immersed in music, I am reminded how much of my life has been steeped in the beauty of music. Classical music, for me, dances in my mind. I see the sounds as flowing rivers, falling leaves, flower fields, it’s beauty in motion. Blending my life as a yogini with my present circumstances as daughter to an elderly father has inspired me to reflect on how the energy of Lakshmi as creativity has nurtured me through the different stages of my life, and it’s why she is my absolute favorite deity to bring to life through asana, pranayama, mudra, mantra, and meditation.
Join me both live on online for Lakshmi Love this Thursday. Link in bio

In my very first class with Alan Finger something magical happened. In Savasana, he chanted a mantra, the very same one ...
30/09/2025

In my very first class with Alan Finger something magical happened. In Savasana, he chanted a mantra, the very same one I had often sung in my women’s circle back in Byron Bay. I couldn’t believe it; here I was in New York City, and out of the blue, he chose that mantra to close the class.
We had adopted Tara as our mother goddess because she represented both compassion and transition. We were young mothers at the time, navigating our relationships and affirming what it meant to be empowered women in what often felt like tumultuous times.
No one ever really can tell you how hard it is to juggle motherhood, partnership and work life… but I digress. When we chanted to Tara, I felt something stir in me. My heart expanded and it gave me the strength to move through life’s constant fluctuations with more ease and grace. At the time I didn’t know much about Tara, but I didn’t need to. Chanting her mantra was enough.
When I heard Alan chant the same mantra in that first class, I knew it was a sign. I was exactly where I was meant to be. My curiosity was peaked. Who was Tara and why when I called her was I led to Ishta Yoga? As time went on and various roadblocks emerged Alan suggested I call on her as my touchstone. Her name meant star, She was a guiding light for when I lost my way..

Tara was just one deity I dived deep into on my personal yoga journey. Many different deities and their stories, mantras, yantras, mudras, and meditations have supported me along the way. Knowing for myself the transformational power of learning about the deities inspired me to share this work globally. And now I’ll be offering it at ISHTA Yoga, where it all began. The first workshop, devoted to Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity, begins this Thursday, October 2nd. You can drop in for one class or book in for the series. I hope to meet you there.
Join the workshop via link in my bio or visit

Over years of personal practice, study, and investigation, I learned that working with the deities can be a powerful tou...
11/09/2025

Over years of personal practice, study, and investigation, I learned that working with the deities can be a powerful touchstone to remember oneself and an intention-setting practice. When we propitiate to the deity, we are reminded of those qualities in ourselves. We don’t become the deity—we are that already! The abundance we seek in Lakshmi is the abundance we are. The courage we hope for in Hanuman is the courage we are.
On a relative level, the deities look after the infrastructure of creation. They are the invisible forces that grow, sustain, and eventually dissolve something as delicate as a flower. We see the deities at work all around us, and yet they remain nameless, formless. In India, these forces have been named Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Giving these qualities a name means we can also ask them to help us in the relative world. In Ta**ra, the deities are “worshipped” for good crops, offspring, and so on.
Ta**ra came out of an agrarian society. In our modern world, science and technology—how to grow the best crops and what’s needed for that—have ensured that we have food, water, shelter, and more.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t work with subtle forces in our lives to support our wellbeing. We all benefit from faith—faith that more than what we can see with the senses is at play in our lives. The ultimate force at play in anyone’s life is not outside you, it is you. You are your own wish-fulfilling tree.
Yoga practice slows us down enough to be open. Open to knowing more and wanting more than the status quo. Working with deities relaxes the mind, gives us a focus, and inspires us to enquire. That’s what I love most about diving deep into the deities—their stories and their practices are the first steps onto the pathless path of the Self.
Starting October 2, I’ll be offering a 7-week workshop series at Ishta Yoga in NYC on Thursdays from 2–3:30 pm: Diving Deep into the Deities. This is my first in-person class series at Ishta Yoga since 2005. John and I will also be offering a Kirtan on October 9 at the studio.
To find out more and to register, go to the link in my bio

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1 Johnson Street
Byron Bay, NSW
2481

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Join us for Yoga & Self Knowledge online learning courses

What Do We Teach ? इष्टम् ISHTAM A living yogic tradition designed to support you in experiencing, a limitless joyful life where knowing yourself changes the world.

What’s of greatest value in your life? Is yoga your passion? Or is it more than that? Are you a yoga teacher wondering… what next? What if you could have all the answers and more…

Our yoga classes, workshops, retreats and trainings are designed to lead you step by step to the total understanding of Your Self. We use KNOWLEDGE as the foundation, the springboard and the journey itself. Our work is joyful, soulful, compassionate and meets you right where your at.

Anybody can join us.