The Sundalah Story
by Jasmine Healy-Pagán
When I returned to Australia with my husband and our two daughters in 2006, it was difficult to find an open-hearted ‘life loving’ community in Townsville. During this time I also discovered that the majority of people I met, believed that yoga was a religion or a pastime for flexible people! As a student and teacher of yoga, this saddened me because this misunderstanding was preventing people from experiencing the vast range of benefits yoga provides.
Why Yoga?
Yoga means: ‘to yoke or to unify’ and implies the creation of balance within oneself, and the interconnected relationship with life. The intrinsic journey of yoga allows us to ‘re-set’ energetically so we can feel more balanced, calm, centred, and clear. Yoga is a multi-dimensional inclusive system which offers support to all. This is what I love the most about yoga. Yoga is for everyone!
To help more people understand how yoga supports all aspects of a healthy lifestyle, I reached out to local yoga teachers to come together and help more people discover a yoga option and teacher that best serves their individual needs. My hope is that our example also encourages others to foster similar relationships and connections which expands kindness and positive connections locally and beyond. Back in 2006, Townsville needed a non-competitive, wellness-based CommUNITY! I had a vision of what this would look like, but what would I call it?
How Sundalah Got It's Name...
This new business I was creating came about because there was a need for more heart orientated connection in our town.
Townsville needed a non-competitive, big picture, wellness-based CommUNITY!
I had a vision of what this would look like, but what would I call it?
Months of ideas bouncing in my mind brought me back to some key words and meanings … mandalas, circles, unity, North Queensland weather, (having returned 11 years in North East USA) and the broader understanding of yoga!
So ‘mandala’ was the seed.
I have always loved mandalas, not just because of their beauty (especially in nature) but also because of the meaning they share.
The insightful wisdom of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, also shares my love for mandalas…
“I saw that everything, all paths I had been following, all steps I had taken, were leading back to a single point – namely, to the mid-point. It became increasingly plain to me that the mandala is the centre. It is the exponent of all paths. It is the path to the centre, to individuation. I knew that in finding the mandala as an expression of the self I had attained what was for me the ultimate.” ~ C.G.Jung
I also love how the word ‘mandala’ rolls smoothly over the tongue! 🙂
Ok … so what next? ~ The sun!
Our sun shines so brightly here, but more importantly, how can we help more people shine their unique inner light?
Yoga is a system of self-study that teaches us how to live life from the truth in our hearts.
This is how the name ‘Sun-dala’ was born.
So, where did the “h” come from? Well, ‘Sundala’ was already taken on the business registry so … ahhhh ~ let’s go with Sundalah!!
And there you have it! Sundalah became the name of Townsville’s new Health, Wisdom & Inspiration CommUNITY in August 2008.
Next was the creation of a community event to share and celebrate the radiance of life. This day would bring people together through connections in health, happiness and conscious living. This event was called Sundalah Sunday.
In 2010, we added another community event which aligned with The International Day of Peace. This event is called Global Mala, is offered in many parts of the world and shares 108 saluations &/or period of unified meditation. Our Global Mala events in Townsville were offered first as a sunset event, and then changed to a sunrise event on The Strand for many years. These special gatherings also included live drumming, delicious soul food & live music.
Sundalah Events continued thanks to the volunteer support and endless energy of our community of friends and my wonderful family. All operational costs came from ticket sales and all profits were donated. The earlier event profits were donated to Save The Children – Townsville Programs, and from 2011, all profits were donated to Yoga Tools For Schools Inc. from 2012 – 2018.
To help promote our events and the wonderful wellness businesses in our region, I created the Sundalah CommUNITY Mini-Mag in 2013, in partnership with Lynne at LMM Design Envision.
Sharing large events continued until our 10th Birthday in 2018! This was a BIG commUNITY celebration year which included a sensational 70s Live Music Birthday Party under the stars at Seagulls Resort and then our 13th and final Sundalah Sunday finale event to close an incredible decade of large local events! Sundalah Events raised over $30,000 for local organisations from 2008 to 2018.
I had been teaching yoga to all age groups in schools for many years, but there wasn’t an understanding of the physical, mental, emotional and social benefits yoga provides teachers, students and the education system. When I discussed this with others, hands went up to help create an organisation that delivered yoga-based wellbeing programs in schools.
I took a leap of faith and announced that all proceeds from our next Sundalah Events would fund the development of a new yoga project for schools.
In 2011, a team of wellbeing warriors formed Yoga Tools For Schools Inc. (YTFS) – Australia’s first Not-For-Profit yoga in education organisation
I wrote the YTFS Pilot Program in 2012 and a progressive series of five PD Trainings over the following five years. YTFS supported hundreds of educators and students throughout QLD until 2018.
YTFS transitioned to Shed 3 in 2019 for a new development phase. Unfortunately YTFS discontinued when the Shed 3 organisation closed in 2023.
Decade Two...
Our second Sundalah CommUNITY decade began in 2019 after an epic 10th Birthday year of celebrations!
It was time for a break to restore my energy after a HUGE first decade organising 25 large community events, creating and steering the direction of Yoga Tools For Schools Inc., and teaching yoga to all ages in many settings.
After a few months I began to feel where our Sundalah Ship would sail in the years ahead and THIS year we delivered a two-week Wellness Festival to celebrate 15 years of sharing CommUNITY health, wisdom & inspiration in our great town!
Sundalah Directory & Memberships
Our Wellness Directory is where you can discover a wide range of Health, Wisdom & Inspirational options to support self and others.
Inclusiveness and affordability is the Sundalah way and is why you can also become a member from less than $2 per week!
Learn more about our Connect Membership or list your Business on our CommUNITY Directory
Sundalah Socials
We are all each other’s teachers, and our incredible Directory holds an endless abundance of health, wisdom & inspiration.
Join us at our Meet & Mingle events or Cuppa Connects and vibe with some healthy lifestyle friends!
Check out our Events Page and receive Meet & Mingle updates in our monthly newsletter!
We hope to see you soon!
Sundalah House opened in 2010 and has been a special community hub for gatherings, workshops, meditation circles, private yoga, cuppa connects, celebrations and lots of lovely catch-up chats!
This unique and special space in Belgian Gardens is always evolving and welcomes community minded souls who wish to collaborate and expand Health, Wisdom & Inspiration in our town!
In 2019 we re-branded our Sundalah Mini Mag to become the Sundalah CommUNITY Magazine which also includes a Directory Listing in the middle of each annual magazine.
This partnership of Sundalah and LMM Design Envision has produced 10 annual magazine collaborations which showcases a wide range of healthy lifestyle articles and inspiration.
Youth RESET is a certified social enterprise empowering future generations with the ability to navigate life’s challenges.
The RESET Wellbeing Framework of specific body-breath-mind strategies (aka yoga) are proven to enhance the physical, mental-emotional, and social health of youth and adults.
As digital continues to consume our world, programs like RESET are needed more than ever to alleviate overwhelm, anxiety, insomnia, support emotional healing, and the healthy development of young brains.
If our next generation are to be equip for tomorrow’s world, we must first teach them how to manage their inner world.
Wisdoms Within
This self-study exploration series was created after sharing a decade of bi-weekly mediation circles at Sundalah House. During 2018, I felt it was time to consolidate some of the teachings we had shared as a practice companion for seekers and lovers of self-study.
This Wisdoms Within writing process began in January 2019. I allowed two years for this intuitive seed to slowly emerge and grow. During this process, I was joined by a tribe of very special open-minded meditation friends who shared their kind energy and meaningful conversations. These conversations helped shape the contents of the Wisdoms Within program booklet called Reflective Notes. This booklet is a tapestry of teachings I have grown to love through my studies and life experiences since the 1990s. This offering is scheduled to return in 2025.
Discover more about Wisdoms Within on our Programs page.
Sundalah Socials
or ‘Sangha – a Sanskrit word which means ‘to bring together’ and refers to a community of friends gathering to share positive connections in meaningful and supportive ways.
Learn more on our Events page and join us!
