Functional Breathing & Movement Coaching

About me

I am a breathing and movement coach with over 15 years of experience. I have lived in work in South Africa, Germany, China, and the Maldives.

I am currently based in Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.

Over the years, I have come to realize the primacy of the breath in everything we do, whether that be sport, exercise, work, sleep, and even how we relate to ourselves, others, and nature. I have a keen eye for detail in my classes, and have adopted an inclusive, secular, and science-based teaching approach.

My certifications and achievements include:

• Certified Yoga Teacher (500 hours) via Yoga Fellowship South Africa.

• Certified Oxygen Advantage® Advanced Instructor

• Certified Buteyko Breathing Method Instructor via Buteyko Clinic International (CertBBM)

• Completed Advanced 6-Month Chinese Martial Arts Immersion Training in Shandong, China.

• 1st Dan Black Belt in Shotokan Karate.

• Blue Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (via Rio Grappling Club, South Africa).

In 2023, I battled cancer and sustained a near-fatal lung injury. My breathing and movement knowledge and discipline have been invaluable in my recovery process.

What I teach:

Functional Breathing

Tai Chi
& Qigong

Hatha
Yoga

As a certified Oxygen Advantage® and Buteyko Method instructor, I can help you:

Qigong is a 'healing' art that combines mindfulness, breathing, creative visualization, and easy movements. The Qigong sets that I teach include:

Rope Flow

Mindfulness
& Meditation

Sleep coaching
& NSDR

Rope Flow is a fun and energetic exercise system used by many athletes as a form of 'cross-training' to relieve stiffness and promote mobility and recovery.

It is incredibly beneficial for the spine, neck, and shoulders.

Although the basic movements are relatively easy to learn, it takes practice to progress in this practice and start including more advanced flow patterns.

Ultimately, it is a 'flow art' that promotes the 'flow state.'

Mindfulness is the quality of mind that is cultivated during meditation practice. This can also give way to 'recognition' -- a glimpse into the fundamental nature of awareness. Contrary to popular belief, meditation in not difficult to learn -- the difficult part is maintaining a consistent practice over years.

The benefits of regular meditation and mindfulness practice have been widely researched, such as:

Increasing the size of the neocortex (the brain's decision-making center).

Improving focus, memory, emotional regulation, and impulse control.

To feel your best and stay healthy, it is essential to maintain good 'sleep hygiene.' Insomnia and sleep disturbances affect nearly 1 billion people worldwide, and is directly linked to diabetes, heart disease, and premature cognitive decline.

Although some sleep issues can be difficult to identify and treat, many can be solved using simple behavioral strategies. Sleep coaching can help you identify those 'low hanging fruit' for enhancing your sleep quality, and keep you accountable for applying them every night.

NSDR (non-sleep deep rest, including Yoga Nidra) is the ultimate power nap. By practicing it daily for as little as 20 minutes, it can make a massive difference to your stress levels, focus, energy, recovery, and your ability to fall and stay asleep at night.

• Identify and improve problem areas related to your breathing (i.e., anxiety, insomnia, asthma, feeling out of breath, snoring, seasonal allergies).

• Learn effective breathing techniques for your sport or activity.

• Learn how to better control your nervous system.

• Sleep better and recover faster.

• Understand the science of breathing.
  
  
  

Regular Hatha Yoga practice promotes physical alignment, strength, flexibility, and spinal health. Being quite easy to learn and follow along with, a single session can leave you with a 'yoga high' as a combined result of mindful movement, focused intention, rhythmic breathing, deep stretching, and relaxation.

Millions of people around the world practice yoga as a means to regulate the system, build stress resilience, develop self-discipline, and find a spiritual community (known in the East as 'Satsang').

• Yang 24

• Sun 38

• Olympic 42

• Tai Chi Fan

• Ji Sword 16

• Wudang Sabre
  
  

• The Five Animals

• Wing Chun Qigong

• Zhan Zhang postures

Functional breathing reduces anxiety and promotes focus, performance, stress management, and sleep quality. Engaging in this type of training develops your relationship with your breathing, which can have lasting benefits.

Tai Chi promotes balance, mobility, joint stability, coordination, focus, memory, and ‘mind-body’ connection. Although often trained in conjunction with other Chinese martial arts, it is a wonderful movement discipline in its own right. I teach several tai chi forms, including:

Class Pricing

My fees are the same for all of my services (functional breathing / tai chi & qigong / yoga / rope flow / meditation / sleep coaching).

I am based in Hout Bay, and can travel to Llandudno, Camps Bay, Greenpoint, and Seapoint.

Contact me today arrange a free introductory class.

Classes can be arranged at your home, my home in Hout Bay, or any suitable public venue.

Available Monday to Sunday. Times to be discussed.

All class fees are to be paid upfront and are non-refundable, except under special circumstances.

1-on-1 classes
(private in-person/online)

Once-off: R500
5-class package: R2200 (save R300!)
10-class package: R4100 (save R800!)

Class packages expire after 2 months (5-class package) or 4 months (10-class package) from the date of the first class.

Small group classes
(private in-person)

R1000 per person per month, for one group class per week.

Groups must sign up together, and are limited to 3 people.

Free weekly online
Functional Breathing + Qigong
class and courses on Skool.

Join my free community on Skool, dedicated to breathing, movement, and mindfulness.

Brendan is a brilliant Qigong and Tai Chi instructor, and yoga facilitator. I would definitely recommend that you check him out. He also does private classes.

Phillip Terrae, Entrepreneur

What my students say:

I've been taking Tai Chi with Brendan for a year and it's been fantastic. He's a great teacher, creates a relaxed atmosphere and pays attention to each student. I feel better both physically and mentally thanks to his classes. I highly recommend Brendan for anyone looking to try Tai Chi.

Desiree Van Der Merwe, Teacher

More than just a great Tai Chi mentor, Brendan became a friend and a brother to me and the memories I made with him during our classes are ones I will cherish forever.

Omar Khaled, Designer

Brendan pays a lot of individual attention to his students. He assisted me with a lot of problems with form I was having and is great at motivating you without being a drill sergeant about it. After helping me with the appropriate exercises for my needs, we could observe a measurable reduction in anxiety. Brendan is a qualified and engaging instructor and I highly recommend his services.

Julian Duncan, Web Developer

Brendan helped me develop effective breathing techniques and simple movement routines that transformed how I manage stress and anxiety at work. Brendan’s calm, practical coaching gave me a slow-breathing protocol I still use whenever stress arises. The results have been clear: better focus, steadier energy, and more confident decision-making.

Francois Marais, Database Specialist

I highly recommend the functional breathing classes with Brendan! It definitely helps me be more efficient no matter what kind of physical activities I do. Not only you can perform better in the sports that you practice but also adapt it into your daily life!

Cheon Jeonghwan, Embassy Clerk

I've been doing private breathing and yoga sessions with Brendan. It has made such an impact in my life mentally and physically, relaxed and more flexible. I recommend him to family & friends.

Denise Gous, Biokineticist

Brendan was an excellent Tai Chi instructor. Patient and knowledgeable. His lessons were fun and full of insights. I highly recommend his classes to anyone.

Jonathon Huang, Flight Paramedic

I found Brendan to be a wonderful teacher who is very passionate and knowledgeable about his practice. He has an aura of calm about him, which I found immediately relaxing and reassuring. Brendan takes the time to explain how the breathing and postures relate to your physical well-being in both mind and body. Each class was well structured and paced according to the abilities of the class. I highly recommend Brendan.

Vanessa Henry, Designer