Evolve Festival

11 January 2025
1 Kinzett Tce, The Wood, Nelson 7010

Presenters

Join some of the world’s most inspirational presenters at wide range of wonderful workshops and talks covering various aspects of wellness.

From healing, sustainable business development, renewable energy, meditation, chanting, yoga, dance, sound healing,  permaculture, organic food production, foraging, nutrition, cooking, food security, and more-the workshops at Evolve Festival serve as a platform to bring inspiration and education to support you in life.

 

The ethos of Evolve is to create a space for connection, understanding and love.

 

 

Workshop Presenters

Elena Lowry

Elena is an experienced yoga teacher, dancer and personal trainer who loves to share practices that help people move and live well.
Connect with her at the_movement_connection on Instagram/FB

More Great Presenters

Angie Heavey

I am a spiritual healer, angelic reiki practitioner and intuitive massage therapist.
I run Motueka lighthouse spiritual awareness group.
My mission in life is to be of service and help everyone on their spiritual journey.
I endeavour to uplift, empower and inspire people to be their unique beautiful selves, To embrace their gifts and follow their true soul paths, Filling our world with love, light, peace, happiness, harmony and the unity of oneness.

Motueka lighthouse on Facebook

Baru Gabzdylova

My name is Baru, and I’m passionate about inspiring people to find balance and joy in their lives through the wisdom of traditional yoga and Ayurveda. Originally from the beautiful Czech Republic, I now call Nelson my home.

My journey began in India, where I studied traditional yoga and Ayurveda with renowned teachers. What started as a simple physical practice quickly became a profound life transformation. During my six-month teacher training in India in 2014 and 2015, I discovered the true depth of yoga—far beyond just the poses. It was there I learned the incredible power of breathing, meditation, and how the mind can either support or challenge us.

This experience led me deeper into Ayurveda, yoga’s sister science, where I learned how to align the body and mind for true well-being.

In my classes, I combine yoga poses, breathwork, meditation, and Ayurvedic wisdom to help you cultivate health, happiness, and balance. My approach is light-hearted, joyful, and always backed by ancient, time-tested knowledge.

I also love to share my passion for cooking colorful, delicious meals inspired by Ayurvedic principles.
Through my online and in-person courses, I offer practical tools that help you have enough energy, reduce stress, and bring more ease and joy into your everyday life.

My motto: Today is the best day ever.

na

na

Cassa Grant

Cassa Grant is a coach, trainer, and speaker.

Her techniques mix storytelling, performance coaching, and subconscious and growth mindset tools to create transformations that stick.

She has worked with companies and individuals in the areas of goal achievement, ownership, culture, communication, and leadership.

Cassa is a certified NeuroLinguistic Programming practitioner, facilitator, and life and business coach with a BA in English and MA in Geography: Environmental Planning and Resource Management.
Connect on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn @cassagrant.

https://www.cassagrant.com

Debbie Ruth Sumner

Debbie Sumner is an experienced yoga and dance teacher, bringing a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her classes. As one of the valued instructors at Kindred Studio, Debbie teaches the peaceful Candlelit Yin Yoga class on Tuesday evenings, providing a serene space for deep relaxation and restoration. In addition, she leads Slow Flow Yoga in Mapua, offering a more gentle, mindful approach to movement.
Her passion for movement extends beyond yoga—Debbie has a deep love for Middle Eastern dance, which has been a central part of her life and artistic expression. This vibrant form of dance has allowed her to explore the joy and freedom of movement in new ways, and she brings this same sense of flow and grace into her yoga practice.
She looks forward to sharing a yin practice at the Evolve festival this year to provide a relaxing experience, an opportunity to slow down and find stillness.

Emily Whinney

Emily Whinney is a complementary health therapist with 25 years experience, incorporating sound therapy into the different modalities of her work. Emily regularly runs sound healing events in and around the Nelson area helping participants to fully relax, stimulate the nervous system to rest & digest and feel a profound sense of peace and well-being.

www.soundearth.nz

Fiona Ingram

Fiona discovered the world of astrology around eight years ago and has been studying it enthusiastically ever since. She is keen to explore Western astrology from the point of view of New Zealand and the Southern hemisphere. To that end, she produces YouTube videos and an astrology calendar, the ‘Aotearoa Sun & Moon calendar’.
Fiona values astrology as a tool to understand one’s place in the world and to make the most of the ebbs and flows of life that come with astrological transits. This workshop will take you through the stages of life as shaped by the major transits of the outer planets, including the Saturn returns, the Uranus opposition and Pluto’s aspects. Understanding how the planets influence us can help us to learn from and embrace these important times in life.

https://www.sunandmooncalendar.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@SunandMoonCalendar

Kimberley Anderson

InRhythm NZ – helping communities thrive through the transformative power of rhythm.
Kimberley has been facilitating rhythm events since 2002, She has a background in leadership, coaching and facilitation. Kimberley holds a safe & welcoming space for all rhythm makers, come and let the rhythm work its magic on your mind, body and spirit. Drums and percussion instruments provided, or bring your own if you would prefer.

Www.inrhythm.co.nz

Linda Hathoria

Linda Hathoria of Healing Embrace brings you beautiful healing activations and guidance. As a channel of light language and sound she works with many beings of light in service of your soul’s development and awakening. Linda is trained in nursing, massage, reiki, Reconnective healing, The Journey, and is a Soul Life Coach. Linda also works in the community supporting the elderly as a Holistic Care Companion. She hosts a monthly spiritual radio show at Plains Fm – Linda Light Channel.

https://healingembrace.co.nz/

Robina McCurdy

Robina is an international community development facilitator, Permaculture teacher, organic grower, pioneer-resident of 40 year-old Tui Community & Trust in Golden Bay, as well as founder of The Institute of Earthcare Education Aotearoa and its Localising Food Project. She was the co-ordinator of Victory Community Gardens (Nelson) and a consultant-educator with Project Lyttelton’s ‘Food Resilience Project.’ Since 2012, Robina has facilitated over 60 local food action workshops all around the country.

https://earthcare-education.org/

I have made several videos of local food resilience in New Zealand. Visit: www.localisingfood.com

Shanti Smith

Shanti runs Thrive Therapies from Aroha Health Spa in Golden Bay and Nelson Wellness Space. She studied in Colorado and has been practicing Naturopathy, Herbalism, Reflexology, Iridology, & Colon Hydrotherapy for 15+ years, as well as guiding clients through detox cleanses and the Microbiome Renewal Protocol. The gut is the foundation upon which we build our health. Shanti is offering guidance and tools for how to repair and reset your gut microbiome, which has beneficial ramifications for so many facets of our health and wellbeing: mental, physical and emotional. Our gut is our “second brain” and working to rebuild the beneficial microbes in our body can be transformational. Come learn how this programme of innate healing can help you to boost immunity, lose weight, reduce inflammation, decrease pain, heal or avoid injuries, increase your clarity of mind, build resilience, balance hormones, restore your energy levels, and enjoy Thriving optimal health!

http://www.thrivetherapies.co.nz

Sybille Biedert

Sybille Biedert is a bold and dynamic community weaver dedicated to personal and collective transformation, especially for women.With over 10 years in workshops, training, and festivals, she is an accredited Open Floor Movement teacher and creator of the Embodied Freedom Movement practice. Her workshops, like Embodied Intimacy and SoulHum, focus on emotional literacy and community, guiding deeper self-awareness. Trained in Possibility Management, Sybille’s approach empowers individuals to unfold their hearts. This year, as a trainer for the first Embodied Freedom Movement Spaceholder training, she’s committed to creating spaces where people can feel and come alive and build community. She uses embodiment, conscious movement, and intentional anger to fuel growth, with workshops featuring a crafted soundscape, movement, and play to foster personal agency and empowerment.

www.embodiedfreedom.co.nz