Bianca Machliss BSc BAppSc (Physiotherapy) is a director of Yoga Synergy, one of Australia’s largest and oldest yoga schools. Bianca has taught yoga since 1989. She is a registered physiotherapist, research scientist and ACHPER graduate. Bianca has organised and taught workshops on yoga, applied anatomy and physiology of yoga and yogic nutrition throughout the world since 1990.
Bianca initially learnt yoga from Andrew Nethery and Simon Borg-Olivier. She studied intensively in Australia with Natanaga Zhander (Shandor Remete). She also studied with Sri BKS Iyengar, Sri K Pattabhi Jois and Clive Sheridan.
Bianca first began yoga in the 1980’s, while studying for a Bachelor of Science at the University of Sydney. Before beginning yoga, Bianca had been a passionate athlete since her youth. Her interest in yoga was stimulated by her university studies in human psychology and biology and her trips to India. Bianca taught yoga to school children in India and she was subsequently invited to perform yoga dance in an Indian circus. She later performed on many occasions with Simon Borg-Olivier at festivals and conferences throughout the world.
After completing her BSc, Bianca worked at the University of Sydney as a research scientist in biology, while co-directing Yoga Synergy. After many trips to India to study Yoga, Bianca was inspired to return to Sydney University from 1994 to 1997 to attend a full-time Physiotherapy degree. Bianca became a physiotherapist to further her knowledge of the human body and western medical science in order to enhance her yoga teaching.
As a physiotherapist and yoga therapy teacher Bianca has helped thousands of individuals to heal from musculoskeletal problems such as knee and shoulder dislocations, chronic lower back pain, sprained wrists and ankles, broken bones and neck injuries. Bianca has also successfully used her understanding of traditional hatha yoga and exercise-based physiotherapy to help many people with medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, heart attack, stroke, infertility and epilepsy.
Bianca has become an expert in prenatal and postnatal yoga. She was recently featured as the main teacher and lecturer in the recently released and very popular Prenatal YogaSynergy DVD, which was filmed before the birth of her first child Lorenzo.
Bianca has personally trained more than 50 yoga teachers in individual intensive three year apprenticeship programmes at Yoga Synergy over the last 12 years. Bianca is highly acknowledged for her ability to teach the essence of physical adjustments and verbal instruction to yoga teachers. Many of the teachers Bianca trained now run successful Yoga Schools around the world.
Bianca has produced five three-hour DVDs in which she teaches the finer points of yoga and instructs beginner to advanced YogaSynergy sequences. She has also contributed chapters on yoga to several technical books including ‘An Introduction to Complementary Medicine’ (2005) Edited by Terry Robson and ‘Integrative Medicine Perspectives’ (2007) Edited by Professor Marc Cohen. Bianca has a regular column for questions on yoga anatomy and physiology in ‘Australian Yoga Life Magazine’ and regularly contributes articles to magazines such ‘Well Being’, ‘Australian Natural Health’ and ‘The Art of Healing’. Bianca’s postures have also been featured in Christina Brown’s bestselling book ‘The Yoga Bible’ (2004) and James Houston’s book ‘One’ (2005).
Bianca is also guest lecturer in the course ‘Integrative Applied Eastern Anatomy and Physiology’. This course, which she helped develop with Simon Borg-Olivier, uses this book (Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga) as its main text book, and is part of two degrees in the School of Health Sciences at RMIT University (Melbourne).
Bianca regularly teaches about 10 classes per week, as well as participating in special workshops. She is responsible for the administration and organization of the two main YogaSynergy school’s daily running as well as the YogaSynergy Teacher Training Program. She lives in Sydney with her partner Juliano and their young son Lorenzo.
