Grounded in science. Built from lived experience.

Science informs how Ini teaches. Lived experience shapes why. The result is movement and mindfulness that is rigorous, adaptable and genuinely useful – for people navigating chronic illness, fatigue, stress or health uncertainty, and for anyone who wants a practice grounded in how bodies and minds actually work.

Work with Me

This is for you if…

You are living with chronic illness, pain, fatigue or injury.

You are navigating stress, burnout, anxiety or a period of life that feels hard to manage.

You are healthy and active, but want something more personal and sustainable than a generic class.

You want evidence-informed tools – not vague wellness language, generic yoga clichés or performative calm.

You are done being told to simply listen to your body by someone who has never had to.

You want to move, breathe and work with your mind in ways that are useful in real life.

Steady Ground

Ini’s teaching is built around one clear idea: you may not be able to control everything your body does, or everything life throws at you – but you can build practical tools that help you respond with more steadiness, choice and confidence.

The Steady Ground programme brings together movement, mindfulness, breath, journaling and everyday coping skills. It is not about doing more for the sake of doing more. It is about learning what supports you, steadies you and helps you feel more capable in your own life.

Steady the nervous system

Learn breath, grounding and body-awareness practices that help you settle stress, recognise overwhelm and return to the present moment.

Work with the mind

Develop practical mindfulness skills to notice thoughts, interrupt worry patterns, respond rather than react, and relate to your inner experience with more clarity and choice.

Move with the body you have today

Use yoga, functional mobility and gentle strength work to improve movement, build confidence and support your body – without forcing it into a fixed template or someone else’s idea of progress.

Reclaim what you can control

Use journaling, reflection, pacing and small daily practices to focus on what you can influence -– especially when life feels uncertain or your body feels unpredictable.

Build your personal practice

Create practices that adapt with you – for strong days, tired days, stressful days and everything in between.

Ways to work together

Ini offers small-group and one-to-one movement and mindfulness sessions in Southland New Zealand and online.

Yoga classes

Vinyasa yoga and gentle yoga & mobility classes held on Wednesday evenings in Orepuki, Southland. Accessible, adaptable and grounded in the Steady Ground toolkit approach.

Mindfulness classes

Practical mindfulness sessions at Southern Coast Lodge, Pahia. Learn how the mind works, how stress affects the body, and how to work with both – with tools you can use long after the session ends.

One-to-one sessions

Personalised yoga, mobility and mindfulness sessions built around your body, health, goals and life. Available in person or online, and supported by customised video, audio or written practical materials.

Retreats and workshops

Immersive and intimate movement and mindfulness experiences at Southern Coast Lodge on the southern coast of New Zealand’s South Island. A chance to step away, go deeper and return with a practice that is genuinely yours.

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About Ini

Ini Gunn holds a PhD in cell and molecular biology and spent many years working in scientific research laboratories, researching cancer, virology and other public health issues. That scientific background shapes everything about the way she teaches – how she thinks about the body, stress, the nervous system, and what the evidence actually says about movement and mindfulness.

Her teaching is also shaped by her own experience of unpredictable energy and shifting capacity. She understands what it means to need a practice that can adapt — not one that demands you show up as your best self.

Ini’s mindfulness teaching is grounded in the evidence-based tradition of Jon Kabat-Zinn, developed through completing the MBSR programme, attenting intensive mindfulness retreats and facilitator trainign through Mindfulness Works, supported by extensive independent study of the research. Her movement teaching combines vinyasa yoga, yin yoga, accessible gentle and chair yoga, and Functional Range Conditioning principles.

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What people say

I attended Ini’s yoga classes regularly and highly recommend her as an instructor! The workouts were challenging and relaxing at the same time. Ini addressed my specific body issues and the postures improved those issues immensely. I noticed increased flexibility, strength and felt a lot straighter in my whole body.
After each session I felt a great sense of accomplishment and I felt very relaxed. [Elfi M.]

Ini has made a HUGE contribution to a small South Island town. She has not only truly encouraged the majority of the less than fit folk into yoga and thinking about better food choices, but has included some members of our community who have compromised physical needs into being able to do exercise to improve their individual mobility. She is one of our most valued. Members in our small community and we are so fortunate that she is here. She truly has made a difference to our physical and mental well-being as well as being an absolutely beautiful person. [Carmel B.]

Ini totally made me feel safe and at ease on the Yoga mat, often giving one-to-one support and encouragement, just when it was needed. She targets her individual clients with unique adaptations to her program, depending on the individual. I can’t recommend Ini as a yoga tutor enough xxx [Andrea S.]

Start where you are

You do not need to be flexible. You do not need to be able to sit calmly for hours. you do not need to have a perfect routine or know exactly what you need.

You can start with the body you have today, the mind you have today, and the life you are living now.

Get in touch and tell me a little about what you are struggling with or what you are looking for. We can take it from here.

Contact Ini

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