“My vision is to relate to the whole aspect of life. I like to support and educate the understanding of the physical, mental and emotional body. I like to provide opportunities of reaching balance and your full potential.”
Introducing your Dance Therapist & Christchurch Yoga Teacher
My name is Doreen Lehmann. I am from Germany, but, after travelling the world, I have made New Zealand my home in 2001. My journey as a Christchurch yoga teacher began in 2004 when I started my studies with the International Yoga Teachers Association and qualified 2 years later. I also completed an intensive Advanced Teacher Yoga Training with Donna Farhi.
I have worked as a yoga teacher in many capacities: I have taught yoga for beginners and advanced, pregnancy, postnatal, mum & baby as well as gentle yoga at community centres and gyms. I have also been a tutor for the Teacher Training Course within International Yoga Association NZ.
My current yoga class timetable can be found here, and I also offer private yoga classes tailored to your individual needs and conditions.
During the last 10+ years, I have worked with all ages and abilities. It was when working with people facing mental challenges at the Seagar Clinic, that my yoga approach changed very much. For me, the natural progression from my work as a yoga teacher was to become a dance therapist.
In 2016, I obtained a Dance Movement Therapy Certificate from Dance Therapy NZ, which I followed up with an advanced clinical practicum in Dance Therapy. I am now a fully-qualified Dance Movement Therapist (DTAA (DMT Prof.) Reg. No. 220‐11) and, as such, have work experience with children as young as 3 years old through to mentally ill patients and clients with unbalanced minds and emotions.
In 2020, I expanded my horizon yet again by studying a postgraduate diploma in Arts Therapy at Whitecliffe College in Auckland. I found I often incorporated art making into my Dance Therapy sessions and wanted to gain a deeper understanding of Arts Therapy as an overarching concept. My studies took me on a personal journey where I found myself in a self-transformational state and my work as a Dance Movement Therapist changed into a holistic art-based therapy approach.
My work experiences with clients has led me to my website name, Alive Inside. I feel very grateful for having witnessed amazing change within people brought about through Art/Dance Therapy/Authentic Movement Therapy and also yoga. Recognising and nurturing the life inside of each of us regardless of our age or health is my aim and driving force behind my passion for my work.
What My Clients Say
I feel very privileged, having had the chance to work with people from all walks of life. Here’s what some of them said …
Doreen […] did lessen the effects of my Parkinson disease. I am 91 years old and have some issue with balance so she adapted the exercises so the I could do them while sitting. […] It was fun and I enjoyed it and always felt better afterwards.
Virginia
Dance Movement Therapy
Doreen guided me from being kinda sceptical and self-conscious to feeling comfortable and safe. Encouraged me to be brave to revisit places long forgotten, which is part of the uniqueness of Authentic Movement. It completely bypasses our minds, beliefs, thoughts and takes us where the truths are hidden, so we can heal and be whole again…
Marcela
Authetic Movement Therapy
Doreen brings a natural gentleness to our yoga class and you can’t help but feel serene. Any stresses or negativity is wiped by the gentle massage and stretch that your body is given during the class. I feel Doreen is an expert in this field because of the calmness and the knowledge she passes to us through her teachings and her being.
Janet
Yoga
At first, [the thought of Authentic Movement Therapy] was a bit scary but I soon discovered that, if I let it, my body really did know what I needed and the movements enabled me to express not only what was going on for my body but within my mind too. […] I never leave Doreen’s studio without feeling better, happier with myself and with a lovely balance between body and mind.
Eleanor
Authentic Movement Therapy
In our 1.5 hours of hatha yoga, Doreen guides each of us at our own level through the strengthening, weight-bearing and deep breathing with patience and gentle humour. We all rise from the final relaxation smiling as if waking from a pleasant dream.
June
Yoga
Home-Based Yoga Studio/Dance Therapy Space
While I do work as a yoga teacher all over Christchurch, I also have a new, purpose-built yoga studio in Woolston/Opawa. Here, I offer private yoga classes for adults and children either on an individual or small-group basis. This studio also offers me the opportunity to run individual and small-group Art/Dance Therapy sessions and Authentic Movement sessions.
Institutions I Have Worked With
As a Dance Therapist and Yoga Teacher I have worked with a range of wonderful organisations ranging from gyms through to rest homes and healthcare institutions. Here is a selection of them:
DTNZ
YMCA
My First Gym
Edith Cavell Lifecare Centre
Pioneer Leisure Centre
International Yoga Teachers Association
Yoga & Qigong School of Sumner
Seagar Clinic Christchurch
Ready to start your journey?
Would you like to discover the benefits of Art or Authentic Movement Therapy? Are you thinking about offering Dance Movement Therapy at your institution? Are you keen to join a yoga class in Christchurch? I’m looking forward to take you on a journey of self-discovery.