Simon Borg-Olivier

Simon Borg-Olivier is a yoga teacher, physiotherapist and the creator of the 5-Dimensional Flow Movement System. His website describes him as internationally recognized, with over four decades of experience integrating traditional wisdom and modern science to teach people how to move, breathe and live better. He holds an MSc and a BAppSc in Physiotherapy and is a member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APAM) and a certified yoga therapist (c-IAYT). He co-founded YogaSynergy, which his site calls one of Australia's most respected yoga schools.

His path began in childhood. According to the timeline on his website, he learned advanced breath-holding techniques from his father at age 6. At 8, an Olympic athlete guided him to control and massage his internal organs through breathing. At 17 he studied tantric yoga philosophy and practice with a Tibetan lama. In 1980, shin splints from modern fitness routines led him to yoga stretches that relieved his pain, and that began his formal yoga journey. He completed Oki Yoga Teacher Training in 1981 and began teaching. He then studied with B.K.S. Iyengar in 1982, K. Pattabhi Jois in 1983 (Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga) and T.K.V. Desikachar in 1984. In 1985 he began fifteen years of intensive study with Shandor Remete, founder of Shadow Yoga.

Alongside yoga he trained in science and bodywork. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology at the University of Sydney, a Master of Science in Molecular Biology at the same university, and Shiatsu and Chinese massage certifications. He became a registered physiotherapist in 1996. He co-founded YogaSynergy in 1994. In 2000 he began studying Wing Chun Kung Fu under Grandmaster William Cheung, and in 2007 he trained with Master Zhen Hua Yang in the internal arts lineage of the Chinese Emperor's bodyguards. In 2010 he developed 5-Dimensional Flow, drawing on yoga, Qigong, internal martial arts, dance, physiotherapy and breath practices. He has taught at RMIT University and received grants for research into posture, movement and breathing. He co-authored the book Applied Anatomy and Physiology of Yoga.

Simon teaches through an online 200-hour 5-Dimensional Synergy Flow Teacher Training, delivered in live Zoom sessions with more than 50 hours of live classes. The sessions are recorded and come with a year of online access. The training weaves 5-D Flow, Yoga Synergy, breathwork, applied anatomy and teaching methodology into one system, with attention to the mechanics of kriya, asana and pranayama. His masterclasses include the Circulatory Therapy-based 12 Pumps Masterclass on how the body moves blood beyond the heart, a Knee Health Masterclass, the three-part Secrets & Science of Eating for Health, Happiness and Longevity, and a 5-Dimensional Flow Moving Meditation. Free offerings include the Joint Synergy Masterclass and a ten-minute Ankle Therapy video. The Joint Synergy Program teaches physiotherapy-based movement and breathing for the ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders and wrists, without equipment or strain.

His therapeutic emphasis comes partly from his own history. He writes that a chemical explosion in his teens damaged his lungs and mid-back, and that a gymnastics accident in his twenties crushed his C5 vertebra. Later car crashes, train accidents and a fall from a building left much of his spine fused. He says the Joint Synergy practices are the ones he still uses every day. He also describes recovering from severe knee injuries without surgery, and that recovery informs his knee teaching.

His site says he has taught in more than 50 countries and taught more than 50,000 students. He has taught at international conferences, festivals and teacher training programs across India, Bali, Europe and the Americas. His current teaching is mostly online, through Synergy Flow Collective. The work is for yoga teachers who want a deeper understanding of anatomy, breath and movement mechanics, and for committed practitioners who want to teach. It also suits movement professionals and therapists, people recovering from injury or managing stiffness, and anyone who wants to understand yoga beyond posture-based practice.