OUR HISTORY
Ramon began teaching Yoga in 1996 at the Portland yacht club building then soon moved into a room at the local Bayview College.
Ramon dreamed of having his own yoga studio for many years and in 2009 bought a block of land, in Portland, with his wife Catherine. The land was developed and a yoga studio built. In May 2014 they began to run classes at their very own new yoga studio, Sankalpa Mandir.
The official official opening was on July 12th 2014. Swami Shishyananda Saraswati opened the studio with kirtan (chanting) and a fire ceremony followed by chai and cake much to the delight of all who attended.
Sankalpa Mandir offers a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The studio has a disabled & abled toilet, kitchen, office & the yoga room is fully equipped with a ropes wall an an array of yoga props (inset pics of props being used)
Some of our students have been with us since our first classes and we welcome new students to experience the joys of yoga.
OUR TEACHERS
Ramon Francis
Ramon Francis began a regular yoga practice in 1993 and soon became interested in teaching yoga. He asked his teacher, Lorrie Bell, if she would teach him to be a yoga teacher. After three years of attending weekly yoga classes in Warrnambool (one hour’s drive from Portland where Ramón lives) and establishing a daily practice, Lorrie began his teacher training. This training lasted 3 years. In 1997 a great spiritual teacher, Denise Crundall, suggested to Ramón that if yoga was to be his journey he best spend some time with a yoga master. Denise suggested he study with BKS Iyengar, so Ramón wrote a letter to the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute and received a reply three years later saying he could come to Pune, Maharashtra, India to attend classes at RIMYI. So in 2000 Ramón went to spend a month at RIMYI.
Ramon has been teaching regular classes since 1996.
Catherine Francis
Catherine Francis first came to yoga at the age of 18 at university although it was in her mid 30’s that she also became a student of Lorrie Bell. Catherine began teaching yoga classes to support Ramón when he was away on camps with his outdoor adventure business, South West Adventures. Catherine has been teaching classes since 1996 so is an experienced yoga teacher and is currently undertaking her final training to formally complete her yoga teaching qualification.
Tovi Kitt
We are thrilled to announce a new Yoga teacher at Sankalpa Mandir – Tovi Kitt
Join us in welcoming Tovi to our yoga family.
Tovi started her yoga journey at Sankalpa Mandir many years ago in her teenage years as a student. After many years of practice she completed her Teacher Training Course in the beautiful Krishna Village in Northern NSW in 2021, and is now further studying the practice of yoga.
While new to teaching, she is immensely excited about sharing the beautiful and transformative practice with you and hopes to serve you in your own journey.
Tovi will be guiding you through a Vinyasa class, marrying breath with movement and also have a focus on pranayama and meditation. She’s looking forward to connecting with you, on and off the mat!
Tovi is teaching Mondays 6:00-7:00pm Cost-$20 per class.
LOCATION
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Sankalpa Mandir is located at 46 Francis St Portland Vic 3305.
The yoga studio offers off street parking and all classes are conducted at the above address unless otherwise stated.
Portland is a small coastal community in the south west of victoria (population approx. 10,000) 70km from the south Australian border. Portland is surrounded by stunning natural scenery, majestic sea cliffs, beautiful beaches & rivers. There are numerous parks & reserves including Lower Glenelg National Park, Cobboboonee Forest Park, Mount Richmond National Park, Discovery Bay Coastal Park & Bats Ridge Flora & Fauna Reserve. Through all of this stunning scenery winds the, world class 250kms Great South West Walk.
Portland has a large sheltered harbor, which is often visited by whales. To get regular updates on when and where whales are subscribe to Portland Whale Mail (link). There is a large Australasian Gannet colony and also a coastal seal colony.