YouRise Yoga & Wellness

10/09/2026

Yep… I’m talking to YOU! 👋

If you’re 60+ and living in Western Queensland, I’d love to invite you to join me for Chair Yoga — online, from wherever you are.

Every second Monday at 9:30am AEST, we meet for an hour of movement, breath, connection and a chance to discover what’s possible when we meet our bodies exactly where they are.

You can join individually from home, or perhaps you’re part of a community group, Healthy Ageing group or aged care service and would like to bring people together around the screen.

These sessions are currently FREE for Western Queensland residents aged 60+ as part of a six-month Healthy Ageing Chair Yoga pilot in partnership with Ageing in the Outback and Western Qld Primary Health Network.

Our next class is Monday 14 September at 9:30am AEST.

Register here by copying the link below:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/QvwehrUkQdKks1x_2V6E_w

And if someone came to mind while reading this — a parent, neighbour, friend or community group — send this their way.

Another way in.
Progress over performance.
Meet you where you are.

I look forward to seeing you on Monday,
Peta Ann x

04/09/2026

A little bit of exciting news to share on a Friday evening. ☀️

Chair Yoga for Healthy Ageing is officially underway across Western Queensland!

Following such a wonderful response to our introductory session, I’m so excited to share that our upcoming dates are here.

In partnership with the Western Queensland Primary Health Network, through the Ageing in the Outback initiative, I’ll be delivering FREE online Chair Yoga sessions for people aged 60+ living within the Western Queensland PHN region as part of a Healthy Ageing pilot initiative.

Chair Yoga offers another way in to movement.

Using the support of a chair, we explore movement that can help support strength, flexibility, balance, mobility, relaxation and overall wellbeing — while meeting you where you are and working with the body you bring on the day.

No previous yoga experience is needed, and the practice can be adapted for a wide range of abilities and fitness levels.

🌿 Free to participate
🌿 For people aged 60+ within the Western Queensland PHN region
🌿 Join individually from home or together with a community group
🌿 Online via Zoom
🌿 Fortnightly Mondays at 9:30am

Our next session is Monday 14 September at 9:30am.

I’d also love to connect with community organisations, Healthy Ageing groups, aged care services, service providers and carers who may know people in their communities who would benefit from joining us.

If you’d like to participate, have a group that would like to join, or simply want to know more, send me a message and I’ll help you get connected. 💛

Please share this with your friends, family and communities across Western Queensland. I would love to see just how far we can reach.

30/08/2026

Are you 60+ and living within the Western Queensland PHN region?

Tomorrow at 9:30am, I’m hosting a FREE 30-minute online introduction to Chair Yoga, in partnership with the Western Queensland Primary Health Network through the Ageing in the Outback initiative.

This session is specifically for people aged 60+ living within the Western Queensland PHN region who would like to explore a gentle and accessible way to move, stretch and connect — all from the support of a chair.

📅 Monday 31 August
⏰ 9:30am
💻 Online via Zoom

If this is you, send me a DM and I’ll send you the Zoom link.

Please share with your friends, family and communities across the Western Queensland PHN region who may love to join us.

25/08/2026

It’s been eight weeks since we left Longreach.

Eight weeks since we packed up the familiar and stepped into a completely new chapter of our lives.

And this next chapter has shown me the true meaning of dreams, love, faith, patience and resilience.

I’ve only ever been the “new kid” once in my life, so joining a new community where all four of us are the new kids on the block is teaching me more than I ever could have imagined.

There have been parts that have felt really hard. But this isn’t the kind of hard that makes me want to give up and return to what’s familiar. If anything, it’s the opposite. I feel ready for the challenges. I’ve been craving the uncomfortable — the opportunity to stand firmly in what I know and put everything I’ve learnt and healed into real practice. After six years of personal growth, I’m no longer just learning these lessons; I’m living them.

And there has been so much beauty in those moments too.

Especially with my girls.

Leaving the familiar is still raw for them, and there are times when every part of me wants to take their discomfort away. But instead, I sit. I listen. I hold the space and stay beside them.

There have been tears, don’t get me wrong. But the gift of holding that space has been watching the absolute magic unfold as they work through the discomfort and come out the other side blossoming.

I’m watching them find their own answers. I’m watching the healing, the confidence and the growth unfold right before our eyes. And there is something incredibly powerful about realising that I don’t always need to fix what feels hard for them. Sometimes my role is simply to create a safe place for them to feel it, move through it and discover for themselves just how capable they are.

It truly has been magical to witness.

I’m experiencing a new level of parenting, partnership and friendship. Saying yes when things feel aligned, and becoming more discerning when they don’t.

I’ve also stepped into a casual role with an incredible team at Wide Bay Therapy, a privately owned Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy clinic. Being part of a team again is something I didn’t realise how deeply I had missed. I am inspired by the people around me every time I walk through that door, and somehow, amongst all the newness, I feel completely at home there.

And alongside all of this, YouRise has been quietly moving behind the scenes.

I’ve enrolled in further study and, at the beginning of next year, I’ll begin working towards becoming a fully accredited Chair Yoga Teacher — something I am incredibly excited about.

I’m also incredibly grateful to be partnering with Western Queensland Primary Health Network to bring Chair Yoga online to communities across Western Queensland through the Ageing in the Outback initiative.

Beginning next week, we’ll be meeting live online every fortnight for a free Chair Yoga class, creating an opportunity for people to move, connect and experience yoga from wherever they are.

I’ll share more very soon about how you may be able to join us. 🤍

There is still so much more to share from these past eight weeks.

But for now, this is a little hello from me, discovering that sometimes the dream asks you to be brave enough to leave what you know, and patient enough to let the next chapter become home.

I’m looking forward to being back here and sharing a little more of what comes next.

Peta Ann x

24/06/2026

Can’t get rid of me yet, taking 1 more chair yoga class this morning 9:30 Edgely Hall

24/06/2026

Life lately...

It's not until now, that the dust has settled a little that I actually feel like sharing.

And as I sit here writing this, it's been a week since our house has settled, we are (almost) comfortably settled into van life for the next little while, and in just over a week we will leave Longreach and begin the next chapter of our family's adventure. I thought I would feel more overwhelmed by this point. Selling a home, packing up a life, saying goodbye to a community that is a significant part of our story, moving across the state and stepping into a new season of work and opportunity feels like it should be overwhelming. Instead, what I feel so strongly is peace.

Not the kind of peace that comes from having everything figured out, because I certainly don't. But beneath everything sits a deep sense of trust that has been growing within me these last 6 months.

When I look back over this past year, I can see so many moments where I took a step before I knew where it would lead. Whether it was the decision to put our house on the market, applying for opportunities that felt bigger than me, creating Chair Yoga for Community, saying yes to presenting at the Care Expo, or exploring possibilities that have emerged since, each step has required me to trust something I couldn't yet see.

The only way I know how to describe it is that the path has felt divinely guided, its felt bigger than me. Like an invisible string attached to my heart and soul leading me every step of the way.

I almost feel embarrassed saying this all out loud, because I don’t want it to sound like I’m bragging. But it’s felt like all the pieces have just fallen into place, like a puzzle coming together exactly as it should. Every conversation, every connection, every opportunity and every challenge has seemed to arrive at exactly the right time, often long before I understood why it was there.

One of the phrases I share often is "be scared and do it anyway," and this season has asked me to live those words more than ever before. Fear hasn't disappeared. Nervousness hasn't disappeared. The unknown is still very much present. What has changed is my relationship with it.

I've learned that courage isn't the absence of fear. Courage is trusting yourself enough to move forward while fear sits beside you.

As we prepare to leave Longreach, I find myself filled with gratitude for everything this community has given us and for everything that is still to come. This season has stretched me, challenged me and, in many ways, revealed parts of myself I didn't know existed, even the most challenging parts. It has strengthened my faith, deepened my trust and reminded me that sometimes the most beautiful things in life are waiting on the other side of a decision that feels scary.

For now, I'm soaking up these final days, embracing the adventure of van life, appreciating the kindness and love that has surrounded our family, and trusting that the same hand that has guided us this far will continue to guide us forward.

What a gift it is to not know exactly what comes next, yet feel completely at peace with taking the next step anyway.
If you we happen to pass each other before we leave, don't be a stranger. Every hug, every smile, every word exchanged is a gift that we will treasure and keep with us forever.

17/06/2026

Congratulations to all the entrants. So much local talent showcased at Miniritchi Gallery.

Thankful not to have been in Mayor Tony Rayners shoes judging the Studies exhibition.

Thank you Emma Read for all the hard work you’ve given to the Arts community.

10/06/2026

My Final Hurrah...

Tomorrow I have the privilege of presenting "In Your Seat" at the Central West Queensland Care Expo.

If you'd told me six months ago that a little Chair Yoga pilot would lead me here, I'm not sure I would have believed you.

What began as a simple idea quickly became something much bigger. It wasn't just about movement. It was about connection. It was about creating a space where people felt welcomed, seen, valued, and part of something. Week after week I watched friendships form, confidence grow, stories shared, laughter exchanged, and a community come together. But I also witnessed real change. People who could sit to stand more easily without assistance. Stories of better sleep. Someone proudly standing on one leg for the first time in more than 60 years. Just writing this fills me with pride, because these achievements belong to the community. They did that.

Chair Yoga for Community has changed the way I teach.

It helped me see a gap that existed in our community, not just for accessible movement, but for belonging, connection, and preventative wellbeing. Over the past six months I've poured my heart into exploring what that could look like, collecting data, listening to participants, learning from every class, and working tirelessly to create something that could genuinely make a difference.

And tomorrow I get to share that story - Your Stories 🥰

I have well and truly overcommitted myself. Final week in our home, preparing to leave, navigating final weeks of school, and saying goodbye to a community that has been such a significant chapter in our lives. It's been a lot.

I made a commitment. A commitment to this community, to the people who trusted me enough to pull up a chair and give it a go, and to seeing this project through.

The Care Expo is an opportunity to share what we've achieved together and explore how we might keep it going. Because while I may be leaving Longreach, I truly believe what we've created here doesn't have to end.

Perhaps it continues through partnerships or Community Champions.
Perhaps it continues in ways we haven't even imagined yet.

What I do know is this: It has been a genuine privilege.

If nothing comes from tomorrow, I leave Longreach knowing I gave this everything I had. There are no regrets. Only gratitude, lessons, friendships, and beautiful memories.

But if something does come from tomorrow, then I'll continue giving it my all, just from a little further away.

The Care Expo doors open at 10am.

Come and say hello, explore the incredible services available throughout our region, and if you're around at 2:00pm, join me for "In Your Seat" and experience a taste of what Chair Yoga for Community is all about.

Thank you, Longreach. 💛

04/06/2026

It’s been a real blessing collaborating with NWRH these last 6-8 months. Making beautiful connections and sharing the power of yoga with the community.
Thank you for the opportunity to work together

🧘‍♂️ Connecting & Creating in Longreach 🎨

The NWRH Carer Gateway team in Longreach recently gathered with local carers and peers for a wonderful morning of connection, relaxation, and celebration.

The day kicked off with a gentle chair yoga session, followed by a delicious barbecue lunch. It was a fantastic opportunity to discuss the power of connectedness and share information about the vital services NWRH provides to support carers across the region.

We also shared a bittersweet moment as we came together to farewell our wonderful host, Peta-Ann, as she prepares for her move down south. Thank you, Peta-Ann, for everything! 💙

To top off a beautiful morning, attendees met up with the local Indigenous Art Group to view their incredible artwork. It was an absolute privilege to catch up with long-standing former NWRH employee and deeply respected community Elder, Aunty Joyce, and see her amazing painting skills in action! 🖌️✨

Thank you to everyone who joined us and made the day so special.

02/06/2026

Longreach will once again play host to the Central West Care Expo helping communities stay connected with their local health services and support groups.

YouRise Yoga and Wellness will be at the Care Expo - learn more about them here:
www.yourise.com.au

This is a FREE event (including lunch) but we'd love to know if you're able to attend so organisers can ensure you're properly catered for - please register your attendance via the link below.

https://cwqcareexpo.zite.so/

Proudly supported by:
Outback Independent Living
Western Qld Primary Health Network
Longreach Regional Council
RAPAD
The Queensland Government
The Australian Government