40+ years teaching experience

Simon Borg-Olivier

Physiotherapist & Yoga Teacher

Simon Borg-Olivier MSc, BAppSc (Physiotherapy) is a physiotherapist, research scientist, university lecturer and internationally recognised yoga teacher with more than 50 years of personal practice and over 40 years of teaching experience. He is co-director of Yoga Synergy, one of Australia's longest-established yoga schools, and the co-author of Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga.

Simon's approach brings together traditional yoga with modern understandings of anatomy, physiology, neuroscience and movement. His teaching has been shaped by decades of study and practice in Hatha Yoga, physiotherapy, molecular biology, qigong and internal martial arts. His primary focus is helping people develop a pain-free, functional body while cultivating healthy circulation, efficient breathing, mental clarity and a calm nervous system.

Simon was introduced to yogic breathing at the age of six by his father, George Borg-Olivier, who taught him breath-control practices while swimming underwater. Through a family friendship with Rhodesian Olympic swimmer Basil Brown, he was also introduced at an early age to practices related to pranayama and the traditional bandhas.

As a young man, Simon was introduced to aspects of Tibetan Tantric philosophy and practice. He later began an intensive period of study with Natanaga Zhander (Shandor Remete), who became one of his most influential teachers and with whom he studied for almost two decades. Simon has also studied directly with some of the most influential Indian yoga masters of the modern era, including B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois and T.K.V. Desikachar.

For many years Simon has also studied internal martial arts, qigong and related practices with Master Zhen Hua Yang. These studies have significantly influenced his understanding of natural movement, internal power, circulation, breathing and the relationship between physical movement and mental state.

Academically, Simon has completed studies in human biology, a research-based Master of Science in molecular biology, and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Physiotherapy. He has taught anatomy, physiology, movement and related health sciences at university level and has spent decades integrating traditional practices with contemporary scientific and therapeutic understanding.

Together with Bianca Machliss, Simon developed the Yoga Synergy method, an approach designed to make traditional yoga safe, accessible and effective for modern bodies. His more recent work, 5-Dimensional Synergy Flow, further integrates principles from yoga, qigong, internal martial arts, physiotherapy, somatics and natural functional movement.

Central to Simon's teaching is the principle of cultivating what he describes as "good energy and loving information": encouraging healthy circulation and the movement of energy through the body while maintaining a calm, connected and meditative state. Rather than forcing postures or breathing patterns, he encourages practitioners to move actively and intelligently, breathe naturally, reduce unnecessary tension and develop strength, mobility and internal awareness without pain.

Simon has taught workshops, teacher trainings, retreats and conferences throughout Australia and internationally for several decades. His teaching aims to preserve the depth of traditional yoga while making its principles understandable and practically relevant to contemporary bodies and modern life.