Dassanayaka Yoga / Uniting Awareness Northcote Center

This centre is beautiful and like no other one you will find <3 Channa is a very special person, a one of a kind teacher who is incredibly generous with what he gives to the space and to his students. His classes and personal healings are something very special and I recommend him with no hesitation.

Channa is exceptionally gifted. His healing session has helped me to reprogram limiting beliefs stored in my subconscious - and teach me the corresponding feelings I hesitate to feel - through my connection to a higher power or divine energy. Channa has released trauma and emotions stored in my body and mind. I also practice daily his healing yoga flow classes. Highly recommended. A life changing experience.

I met Channa in the US at a retreat in Sonoma. Dassanayaka yoga has become my spiritual home and has changed my life in so many ways. Over the past year, I have experienced classes in the US and travelled to Bali to continue the practice of returning to my true self. The guided meditations and asanas offer one a chance to dive deep into themselves for healing and rejuvenation. Truly a unique practice.

Recently moved to Melbourne and was very surprised to discover this beautiful yoga studio. Set in a suburban area, it is like stepping into a calming Sri Lankan art filled oasis. Very friendly and down to earth with a real community feel. Highly recommended.

Dassanayaka Yoga is a truly special place, nourishing to so many aspects of the being, spirit, mind and body. The studio is warm and filled with a light and calm energy, which is topped up daily by Channa and Darren's care and presence. I feel much gratitude for this wonderful healing space, which i joyously come to each week. Highly recommended.

Channa has been my guru for about five years now. This short review of D-Yoga studio is reflective of my time on and off the mat, incorporating Bhakti methods as a fortunate student of his. The yoga space is always welcoming and holding of a deep, silent and bright presence before Channa even enters the room. His fine establishment is maintained like a top ranking b&b. Those who can afford to cough up $20 entree fee per class, (once a week for me) are guided through a good hour of yoga asana structured from the Vinyasa style, conveyed with nicely spoken Buddhist philosophy for mental orientation as an effort towards greater stability and focus. His selfless style leaves attendees with no obligation to return, but we do, and his Dharmic training ensures the principals of the 'sangha' prevail rather than a cult like gathering. This yoga centre means a lot to me, my family and neighbours. Be sure to stick around, you're in for good conversation as well as a first class meal.

I had the pleasure of attending one of Channa's day long retreats. It was one of the best experiences I've had, both from a yoga and guided meditation perspective. He is exceptionally gifted, and creates a wonderful atmosphere for his students.

Truly a gem. Channa and Darren are living examples of altruism at its purest. Their efforts in maintaining a sacred space for the yogi community are apparent in every aspect of the classes, from philosophy to asana to pranayama and beyond.
Dassanayaka Yoga Centre is a very special place and an honor to be a part of.

“Unique” is the only word that describes this place, and it is truly unique in every way!

The first time I attended a yoga class in this studio, I was challenged and confronted on all levels. For a conservative Christian like me, Channa’s teachings seemed foreign and alien, to say the least, though I had been to a few other yoga studios. My journey of self-search and discovery had begun a few years earlier following my cancer treatment in 2006 and the death of a friend of cancer. I had been to a few other yoga places, retreats and had signed up and attended numerous soul coaching and self-healing courses.

It took another year, a marriage breakdown and the death of another friend for me to find the courage to come back to this place and sign up for the retreat in November 2013. I went to the retreat with no expectations! I had been on quite a few before with such high hopes only to return deeply disappointed and frustrated for not finding the answers I was seeking.

My personal encounter with the Divine came on that early morning of the first day of the retreat when Channa performed the opening ceremony rituals with a blessing and a healing prayer. There and then, I laid myself down bare and naked to the bones, surrendering fully and utterly to the Unknown that was soon to be revealed to me. God, the Universe, the Supreme Energy, whatever you call it, revealed itself to me in its utmost glory and splendor: pure, eternal, divine, universal, all-encompassing LOVE!

That was it! Thanks to Channa, I finally found what I was looking for all these years, all the answers to my questions. Better yet, I found my spiritual guru and my spiritual family! The most incredible and magnificent discovery of all was how close and interconnected this was with my Christian faith. For if you ask me, all sages and prophets said the same thing in different ways, but we failed to see that! We failed to see how interconnected we spiritually are because we relied on our minds, not our hearts and souls. That is the essence of Channa’s teaching, which is at the core of all religions and ancient wisdom!

To me, this yoga studio is my second home. It is where I come for self-reflection and contemplation. It centers me; it grounds me and helps me to get back to my roots, to my real essence, to the Source. I have made some life-long friendships with some of the most beautiful souls on Earth and for that, I am grateful. One of the greatest blessings of this place is the strong sense of community that ties us all, which testifies to Channa’s nurturing, kind, generous and loving soul.

One of Channa’s many unique gifts is integrating yoga with meditation and poetry to help you look within and voyage into the unfathomable depths of your soul, to help you start your journey of awakening and enlightenment. Some of his memorable words that resonate with me, which I like to recite to myself when I am in a deep reflective and contemplative mode include:
“In the silence of your heart, God speaks to you. ”
“You have been standing on the balcony of your soul for so long; it is time to come inside…” and it is indeed!

So, do I recommend this place to you? Absolutely! I would highly recommend it without any hesitation.

I had the pleasure of attending one of Channa's day long retreats. It was one of the best experiences I've had, both from a yoga and guided meditation perspective. He is exceptionally gifted, and creates a wonderful atmosphere for his students.

Channa has been my guru for about five years now. This short review of D-Yoga studio is reflective of my time on and off the mat, incorporating Bhakti methods as a fortunate student of his. The yoga space is always welcoming and holding of a deep, silent and bright presence before Channa even enters the room. His fine establishment is maintained like a top ranking b&b. Those who can afford to cough up $20 entree fee per class, (once a week for me) are guided through a good hour of yoga asana structured from the Vinyasa style, conveyed with nicely spoken Buddhist philosophy for mental orientation as an effort towards greater stability and focus. His selfless style leaves attendees with no obligation to return, but we do, and his Dharmic training ensures the principals of the 'sangha' prevail rather than a cult like gathering. This yoga centre means a lot to me, my family and neighbours. Be sure to stick around, you're in for good conversation as well as a first class meal.

Dassanayaka Yoga is a truly special place, nourishing to so many aspects of the being, spirit, mind and body. The studio is warm and filled with a light and calm energy, which is topped up daily by Channa and Darren's care and presence. I feel much gratitude for this wonderful healing space, which i joyously come to each week. Highly recommended.

An experience to treasure inside all who walk through its door, is something that any lover of life, and humanity should experience. Dassanayaka yoga has changed my life. Channa is Buddha like, for that there is no question in me, and the many students he has on and off of the mat. Channa Dassanayaka is an awaken one, a teacher of pure light to this world, in every moment. He teaches the most underrated form of healing: unconditional love. His wisdom, compassion, and kindness personifies grace, and in the sacred truth of the teachings. His classes are different every time, relevant for modern life, and supported by his guides. Channa has no one-way of teaching consciousness, and is not a teacher in extremes either. Channa has gifted me with the inner strength that living inside compassionate awareness can bring. Because now I whole heartily know how to witness, and it feels like I’m feeding organic energy to my soul.
We all have ego’s, feel envy, can be abrasive at times, anxious, or emotional, so what really connected me to Channa, is that his approach is very realistic. He doesn’t teach us to get rid of these mind traits, and that through meditation and concentration we are able to be the observer to the madness in all minds, and experience that this is what it is to be human, and when we drop into the heart space, we then make decisions, and live life from who we really are first, spirit.

With almost 18 years of yoga teaching experience, I arrived one day on his doorstep, and am so humbly grateful that I finally got to meet my teacher, and spent an incredible 18 months inside of his conscious healing space, being the student. A move back to California with my family was eminent, but as I live today, I am a changed person, because of the healing, and pure community inside of Dassanayaka Yoga. Consciousness is the way for all of us, however it's up to the student to realize this, and to breathe in these teachings. We all have a chance to become more conscious inside each incarnation, and thanks to beloved teacher Channa, we all have the opportunity to do so.

The exotic backyard is something to behold too, inside any season. With Channa's sharp eye for elegance, nothing is ever overlooked, yet not over done either. Having spent this time with Channa there is a new appreciation for nature, acknowledging the birds, plants and flowers. In this very way of mindful attention I strengthen, and expand my consciousness.

The Bali retreat is something that everyone should experience, at least once in their lifetime, although from what I can gather regular students make it something that is a nonnegotiable part of their life, and return every year. And not just because of the beautiful balinese people, or the fauna and flora, but because of the deep connection, and love that Channa brings out inside of each being, helping them to come home to themselves.

This is, without a doubt, the best yoga class I have ever experienced. Before I came to Channa's classes I was under the misapprehension that yoga was just a class to stretch and become flexible, but I discovered that Yoga is so much more than that. Through these classes I have discovered a peace in myself that I have never known before, I am healthy, happy and calm and I have met the most amazing community of people. I have moved to other states and even countries since finding his classes and nothing at all compares to what he teaches. Thanks Channa

This is a very special studio. Took me a while to find a studio like this in Melbourne but so glad I did. The guided meditation with Channa is the best I have experienced.
He has taken my meditation practice to a level I didn't imagine I could achieve.