About Kelly
Hi! My name is Kelly Foong and I’m so excited that you’re here and hope that we can work together - whether in-person or online. I would love to be a part of your unique yoga journey and hope to provide the support and encouragement in any capacity that you need.
📍Currently based in: Melbourne, Australia
I was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia but moved to Melbourne, Australia for high school. I then went to university in Canberra, Australia before settling back down in Melbourne, Australia. In July 2019, due to my husband’s new job, we moved to New York City with our dog, Harper. We moved home to Melbourne in August 2023 and welcomed our son, Teddy in January 2024!
In 2016, I completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training in Nicaragua with Meghan Currie to grow my practice and put myself out of my comfort zone. I am always a student and have since completed various other training, such as hands-on adjustments, yin, aerial yoga, Ashtanga and prenatal yoga. In my personal practice, I am a student of the Ashtanga intermediate series. Whilst I was in NYC, I was an Ashtanga assistant and teacher at Ashtanga Open Practice, and I also taught at various Y7 Studio and CorePower Yoga locations in NYC.
I was first introduced to yoga at the age of 17 by my mum. Yoga was definitely not love at first experience for me. It was not until a few years later when I decided to step on the mat again (this time out of my own volition), did my love for yoga begin to grow organically. I was feeling anxious, depressed and stressed at university and didn’t know how to manage my feelings when I remembered being told yoga was good for me and so without anything to lose, I purchased a yoga mat and started a self-practice in my dorm room. The self-exploration time on the mat slowly became a sanctuary that I sought and became a way for my mind to quiet down and to just breathe. I struggled everyday on the mat but it was funny how that struggle actually made me feel so much more present and in the moment.
I love how yoga is a moving meditation and the more you concentrate on your breath and every little transition, you stay present whilst letting your mind and body learn to accept and grow. Never in a million years would I have believed if you told me years ago that - with my introverted personality - I was going to go down the path of teaching but opportunities and life often presents itself in unexpected ways. I love teaching. Supporting others and watching a student’s practice evolve has given me so much joy and connection with people that I otherwise would not have had.
My hope is to share the practice with others in a welcoming and non-judgmental manner. Expect classes that are sneakily challenging, and focused on slow transitions so you can start to build strength and flexibility whilst learning to align as you move with your breath. As my teacher, Meghan Currie, always said: “The breath is the boss”.
I value the juxtaposition between the fluid and creative sequences of vinyasa with Ashtanga’s logic and structure and so in my classes, I try to bring aspects of both into my teaching. Hands-on adjustments are always provided with permission.
Leave expectations behind, trust the process and just come play!
Trainings
Bachelor of Law / Bachelor of Asia-Pacific Studies (Japanese) at The Australian National University (Canberra, Australia, graduated July 2015)
200-hr Teacher Training with Meghan Currie (Nicaragua, February 2016)
10-hr Intelligent Adjustments Advanced Teacher Training Program with Nicky Grimsdale at Here Yoga (Melbourne, Australia, August 2017)
50-hr Aerial Yoga Teacher Training with Kevin Bigger, Janie Prince & Kristina Cubrilo Santos at Om Factory (New York, USA, October 2019)
100-hr Ashtanga Yoga Chikitsa Teacher Training with Scott & Jamie Harig at Pure Yoga NYC (New York, USA, February 2020)
50-hr Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Bernie Clark (Online format, May 2020)
50-hr Yoga of Birth Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training with Anahata Giri (Melbourne, Australia, October 2023)
