TEACHERS
MEET OUR TEACHERS
Bess Prescott
Founder
Bess grew up on the ocean and then an organic farm nestled in the Blue Mountains, Australia, spending a childhood in wonderment of the earth, the sky, and all the mysterious beings that lived between. She has been practicing yoga more than half her life, beginning at age 14 when she began a daily practice with the help of a Louisa Sears video she found in her mum’s cupboard. She has been graced with years of study with incredible teachers, including Rose Baudin, Sally Kempton, Elena Brower, Carlos Pomeda, Clive Sheridan, Tara Judelle, Rod Stryker and Gwyn Williams. She is in love with the Goddess in all her forms, and shares Devi practices through meditation, mantra, pranayama, and asana. She lives in Byron Bay and is the co-owner of Creature Yoga with Tahl Rinsky. She has been teaching yoga since 2011 and is Yoga Alliance ERYT200 and RYT500 certified.
Tahl Rinsky
Founder
As a committed practitioner, teacher, and mother to 3 beautiful young children, Tahl lives and breathes the teachings of yoga throughout every aspect of her life. Born in NYC and raised in Israel, Tahl now calls the beaches of Byron Bay Australia home where she co-owns Creature Yoga with Bess Prescott and teaches Yoga regularly. Officially introduced to Ashtanga as a child by her Mom, Tahl established her own practice upon returning to New York in her late teens. In 2012, pregnant with her 3rd child, she completed a 3-year teacher training (2000 hours) with Dena Kingsberg at the Byron Shala and has been teaching yoga since. Forever a dedicated student, she has continued to study extensively and has been blessed with amazing teachers including Elena Brower, Rod Stryker, Rose Baudin, Carlos Pomeda, Clive Sheridan and Gwyn Williams. As a teacher, Tahl shares a creative and accessible breath focused Vinyasa flow influenced by ashtanga in a strong, fun and dynamic style. Her classes celebrate the raw beauty of life’s moments and the individual strengths each of us carry within. Tahl is Yoga Alliance ERYT200 and RYT500 certified.
Clare Merrifield
Growing up on the beaches of the Gold Coast, Clare discovered yoga when she was at university study Fine Art. At 23 she completed her first yoga teacher training in Ubud with Radiantly Alive, and went on to assist and mentor in Bali for 5 years on their many Teacher Trainings. Here she was fortunate to study with Emil Wendel, Simon Borg-Olivier, Edward Clark, Alanna Kaivalya and Dena Kingsberg. Between her Bali residencies Clare has been a senior teacher at Essence of Living on the Gold Coast, where she has worked with her beloved sister Michelle Merrifield for more than a decade, teaching over 15 public and private yoga classes a week. Clare has been fortunate to further her studies in India, traveling to both Mysore and Rishikesh to experience the richness of Indian philosophy and explore the origins of her teacher’s teachers. Most recently Clare completed Lance schuler’s Teacher Training in Byron Bay and is deeply inspired by the experience and abundance of teachers and students who call Byron Bay Home. Clare’s classes are influenced by her playful creative nature and are the perfect blend of dynamic movement and soul infused stillness.
Cassie Lee
A fiercely passionate and soulful teacher, Cassie’s classes are a sweaty, fun mash-up of refined alignment based vinyasa, as well as the quieter, nourishing practices of yin yoga and meditation. After many years living and teaching in Hong Kong, Cassie has returned to her home country Australia and set up home in Melbourne and Byron Bay. Cassie is an Anusara Inspired teacher and has studied with many incredible teachers, primarily Anusara founder John Friend and her main teacher and friend, Patrick Creelman, who has greatly influenced her ‘wild yet steady’ style. She has been teaching for over 10 years and during this time has also had the pleasure of studying with many other renown teachers including Sarah Powers, Rod Stryker, Doug Keller, Ana Forrest, Shiva Rae, Baron Baptiste and of course our home-grown original Duncan Peak.
Hayley Rose
Hayley has been fortunate enough to call the beautiful beaches of Byron Bay home her whole life. Growing up here she was introduced to alternative practices from a young age, exploring different aspects of yoga through her early years, she developed a dedicated asana practice in her late teens and hasn’t looked back. She continued to fall in love with yoga as she travelled the world, practicing in most continents and eventually visiting her ancestral land of India to complete her first 200hr training in Ashtanga Vinyasa in 2017. Since then, Hayley has assisted Creature’s own 200hr TT and will be completing the 500hr TT this year. Hayley’s teaching is a balance between a traditional practice and an individual style, mirroring her personality; playful, open-minded and yet supportive and calm. She remains a humble student of yoga and celebrates each opportunity to share her practice with her students.
Becca Isaacs
Originally from Canada but now living and breathing in the Byron Shire, Bec is a dedicated student, practitioner and teacher and continues to study under the guidance of her teachers Elena Brower, Maria Kirsten, Tahl Rinsky, Bess Prescott and Clive Sheridan. She has completed over 1000 hours of training and is extremely committed to her studentship and growth both on and off the mat.
Bec believes in the potency of the practice, and its ability to transform lives based on her own personal experience. Balancing tradition with functional movement, Bec’s classes focus on stability, fluidity and stillness with emphasis on breath, mindful movement and preparing for meditation. Her slow, strong and intentional style of teaching will leave you feeling empowered, connected and at ease.
Bec is one of the senior teacher trainers at the Byron Yoga Centre and currently teaches on teacher trainings in Byron Bay and Melbourne. You can find her upside down at Creature yoga as a teacher or a student nearly every day of the week.
James Hancox
James hails from the shores of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Over the years he has embraced all sorts of body movement practices from martial arts to dancing in front of the mirror but fell in love with the practice of yoga due to its ability to shift energy in both the body and the mind. James completed his 200 hour YTT here at Creature Yoga and will complete his 500 hour certificate at the end of this year. James has a very keen interest in harnessing the power of the breath and gifting people practices in which they can incorporate into their daily lives. He also holds a Bachelor of Science majoring in Geology from the University of Auckland.
Kirsten Damgaard-Nielsen
Kirsten’s classes definitely demonstrate her heart for the practice. They are a blend of fun, invigorating, alignment based vinyasa, teamed with soulful yogic philosophy and deep meditation. Her approach to teaching is similar to her approach to life, being light but grounded, dedicated, mindful and aware, understanding that personal limitations are inherent in each and every individual. With a smile and a love for teaching she encourages her students to express themselves through yoga, to value self-introspection, and to be less reactive.
Born in Holland and raised in London she is an internationally recognised Yoga Alliance E-RYT teacher and with her passion for all things yoga, she has completed trainings worldwide totalling over 2000 hours.