Normala Manap

Mala has been practicing Iyengar yoga since 1988, and teaching since 2000. Mala started her yoga journey when she was 28 years old when a knee injury which she sustained due to a childhood car accident resurfaced and she started limping again as she was after the accident. Terrified, she searched for a sustainable solution beyond drugs and found the panacea in Iyengar yoga in 1998 and never looked back. Within 3 weeks she was able to walk properly again. She started teaching in 2000, out of the desire to share the amazing resource that a yoga practise offers. As part of her learning pursuit, Mala has trained with the Iyengar family namely Geeta Iyengar and Prashant Iyengar, as well as attended workshops and retreats with senior teachers including Ramanand Patel, Rodney Yee, Shandor Remete, Jawahar Bangera and others. Her main teacher and mentor is Peter Thomson, a founding member of the Australian BKS Iyengar Yoga Association.

Mala is a gerontologist (specialist in ageing) by profession having spent more than three decades in the field of ageing and health at various levels including policy, practise and research. She is the executive director of AGE MATTERS (www.agematters.sg) - an agecare agency that she founded  with addressing gaps in the agecare landscape. AGE MATTERS is dedicated to addressing needs of our elders both directly and through changes in practise and policy. The spheres of yoga, health and ageing are deeply intertwined enabling Mala to deal effectively with many health and wellness issues that students might present.