About Mandorla Programs
Mandorla Programs is a sanctuary for nature-based, soul-centred development, healing, and rites of passage. Through workshops, circles, and transformational experiences, we offer sacred support and practical guidance for the meaningful thresholds of life.
Rooted in the rhythms of the earth, the wisdom of cycles, and deep connection to body, community, and the wild world, our work nurtures belonging, healthy boundaries, relational maturity, and a more conscious way of becoming.
Lisa Smith – Founder
Lisa Smith is the founder of Mandorla Programs, which has grown from her long-standing healing practice, Mandorla Shiatsu. The mandorla symbol — the sacred space formed where two circles meet — speaks to threshold, transformation, and the mystery of becoming, and sits at the heart of her work.
Lisa is passionate about nature connection, rewilding, and creating meaningful rites of passage for girls, women, and families. Becoming a mother deepened her curiosity about how best to support girls through the transition to womanhood in a culture that often lacks reverence, guidance, and grounded support. This led her to study rites of passage across cultures and through time, while shaping her own nature-based approach to healing and initiation.
Her work with Amazonian Arts gave Lisa the courage to step forward and become part of what she longed to see in the world for our maidens — more reverence, more truth, more beauty, and more meaningful guidance through the thresholds of life.
Her love of the natural world first led her to complete a degree in Environmental Science at Curtin University, majoring in Botany. She later completed a Diploma in Shiatsu and Oriental Therapies through the Australian Shiatsu College in Melbourne, alongside studies in Reiki.
With a special interest in the Five Elements, women’s mysteries, and the cycles of initiation across life, Lisa facilitates circles and programs for girls, women, mothers, and fathers. Many years of personal research, reading and learning from others has led to the development of her rites programs.
Through Mandorla Programs, she creates spaces that help people reconnect to nature, honour life’s thresholds, and move through change with greater wisdom, belonging, and care.
Claire South - Facilitator
Claire is an experienced yoga and meditation teacher who specialises in offering thoughtful, tailored practices for children, teens, adults, and seniors. She believes yoga is for every body and adapts her teaching so people of all ages, genders, and abilities can experience the benefits of mindful movement, breath, and presence.
Raised in the Perth Hills, Claire has a deep love of the natural world and the way it helps us feel more connected, grounded, and whole. Alongside her teaching, she has worked as a hiking guide and has supported teens in nature-based rites of passage experiences in the forest.
Claire holds a Bachelor of Science in Sports Science and Human Movement, has completed over 300 hours of yoga and meditation teacher training, and is also a trained life coach. Through her work under Conscious Movement, she weaves together coaching, yoga, mindfulness, and nature connection to support meaningful growth and wellbeing.