About Me
❋
About Me ❋
I’m Marian (aka Maz), the founder of Cuoro Yoga.
I was born in Johannesburg, and although we only moved to Cape Town when I was a teenager, the city had been pulling at me for years before that. We visited family there every year, and every single time I felt the same tug. A sense that this was somewhere I belonged. That feeling has never really left me, and it's why Cape Town is where I take people on retreat today.
My journey into yoga began long before I stepped onto the mat as a teacher. For over twenty years, I worked in the fast-paced world of hospitality, leading teams and shaping people through Learning & Development. It was a career filled with energy, but I also witnessed the toll that stress, burnout, and constant pressure can take on both individuals and teams. I saw it in the people around me, and in time I felt it in myself.
Then Covid arrived, and like so many people, my life shifted. For the first time in two decades everything slowed down enough for me to reassess where I was going. It was during that time that I met my husband, and my priorities changed completely. I came out of it knowing I wanted to spend my days differently - closer to people, and doing something that felt genuinely useful.
Yoga became my way of finding balance. What started as a personal practice soon evolved into something I wanted to share - not as a luxury, but as an accessible and practical tool for everyday life. I decided to follow my heart and completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training, specialising in vinyasa flow with a focus on breath, balance, and mindful movement.
❋ Behind The Name ❋
Cuoro Yoga was created to bring breath, balance, and clarity into everyday life. No incense, no pressure, no pretzel-like poses; just grounded, intelligent movement that helps people feel stronger, calmer, and more connected, both to themselves and to others. At its heart, yoga is a practice of self-discovery.
The name “Cuoro” holds three things that matter to me.
Cuore - the Italian for heart. Where all of this started, and where I still think the real work happens.
Curiosity - because nobody arrives on a mat with it all worked out. You turn up wondering what might shift. That wondering is the practice.
Core - not the abs kind, though that comes too. The steady centre you build by showing up, again and again, until one day you notice things don't knock you over the way they used to.
At Cuoro Yoga, I invite people to arrive exactly as they are and explore what it means to feel grounded, balanced, and fully themselves.
Cuoro Yoga is the blend of my two worlds: the insight I've gained from decades in leadership and people development, and the transformative practice of yoga. It's about meeting people exactly where they are and offering practices that bring strength, clarity, and calm into every part of life.
❋ How I teach ❋
My teaching style is down-to-earth and inclusive. You won't find incense clouds or complicated postures for the sake of performance. Instead, my classes are about creating space: space to breathe, to reconnect, and to feel more grounded and present. Whether I'm guiding a one-to-one session, leading a group class, or supporting a workplace team, my goal is the same: to help people show up as their best selves, both on and off the mat.
I've always felt a sense of service towards people. A want to have a positive impact, however small, on someone's day. Hospitality gave me one way of doing that. Yoga has given me a better one.
Yoga has been the anchor that's helped me rediscover who I am, beyond titles, pressures, and expectations. It's taught me that we don't have to strive for perfection; we simply need to show up, breathe, and allow ourselves to be present.
My hope is that through Cuoro Yoga, you'll find the same space to reconnect with yourself, to feel lighter, and to carry that sense of balance into your world.
