Residential Teachers

Sonja Appel, our Director

Sonja (E-RYT 200)  founding Director, moved from London to India 7 years ago and is certified by the British School of Yoga in Hatha & Meditation & is also a certified Vibrant Living Teacher in Hatha Flow. Sonja has studied intensely mainly in India and London and believes that keeping up her own eight limbed practice (see 'about us' page) helps to impart her knowledge better and more succinctly. She has pioneered her own brand of yoga called 'Sushumna' which is a carefully worked out vinyasa flow that allows us to do asanas as a meditation & in the process, unleashing our kundalini shakti (see "vision" page). The flow is spontaneous and she mixes up the asanas in interesting ways, with the help of inspiring music, always ending with a deep relaxing meditation. As in Ashtanga - drishti, bandhas, ujjayi breath & vinyasa is always employed.

Her spiritual Guru is Sadhguru from the Isha Foundation outside Coimboirtore, Tamil Nadu. Sonja does not believe in organised religion or dogma.

Spending time and doing courses with Sadhguru has helped Sonja to understand her 'calling' much better. She believes that we can never stop learning how to be sound, well adjusted people, with our soul, mind and body, forever striving for perfect & equal unison. Continuous study of yogic texts and yoga philosophy, is essential to living a peaceful and harmonious life with our environment and people around us.

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT SONJA GO TO THE ABOUT US PAGE

Les Smith

Les is a qualified and experienced Shiatsu expert and originally trained in the Iyengar yoga system, along the way cultivating a passion for the vinyasa and astanga yoga approaches under the guidance of many experienced yoga teachers, such as Shri K Pattabhi Jois and Shri Sheshadri, Mysore.

Les was the co-founder of an astanga yoga studio in Norwich, England for many years, and he also taught Astanga yoga to Norwich City Football Club.

Les has also taught in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand and conducts retreats all over the world with many of his students returning year after year.

Les has always had a passion for the physical body and workings of the mind. Prior to yoga, Les had a background in sports and body building. His Shiatsu therapy training initially changed the way he thought about health and disease. In addition, Les has had a solid daily Bhuddist meditation practice for many years which has given him a good understanding into how the mind works. He thus brings both the physical and meditative aspects of yoga to his classes.

Over more than 12 years Les has being doing yoga intensely and he finds Iyengar yoga to be the most mature and complete form of asana and pranayama practice. It is applicable to all people, all ages and those that do all styles of yoga practice. Iyengar yoga is not stressful on the body, and it is extremely useful in treating disease, injuries, misalignment and imbalance of the body.

Les has an impeccable knowledge of the body and it's movement, and he teaches yoga with both humour and passion. He now teaches a multifaceted approach unique to him, blending the art of asana practice with the science of the mechanics of movement and anatomy. Les is also joining us this season for the teacher trainings.

Web - http://www.bendyles.net

Ivan Melikadze

Ivan's path to world of yoga began 7 years ago at the Moscow Ashtnaga Vinyasa Yoga Center. Before this time, Ivan was a typical computer freak, weighed 100kg and round-shouldered. He started yoga practice because of health issues which started to appear.  It was tough and challenging in the beginning, taking into account Ivan was 32 and had not done any physical exercise since a teenager. As it often happens with yoga, Ivan was inspired by the spiritual depth and he slowly moved deeper and deeper into the realms of yoga soon realizing the purpose of his life. Ivan left a manager's position in large computer company and moved to China where he started to teach. Ivan teaches in several yoga studios in Beijing and is here with us for the season. He believes yoga can cardinally change one's life and give one the opportunity to reveal their spiritual being.
Iyengar style of alignments and Andrey Lappa's universal approach has a dramatic impact on Ivan’s teaching style. “For me yoga class is not just postures and alignments but rather exchanging energy”.  Ivan also teaches yoga therapy, yoga philosophy and chanting.

Sharanya Narayanan

Sharanya will be conducting workshops and privates in Pilates, Yogalates and Dance throughout the whole season. She has a BA in Political Science and is an Aerial Acrobat and Contemporary Dancer who also teaches yoga, movement arts and martial arts.

Her journey with movement began 10 years ago. Sharanya trained in Indian Classical Dance (Kalakshetra style) with Minal Prabhu. At the sme time she studied aerial ‘rope’ gymnastics, or ‘Mallakhamb’ at the Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts’, Kerala. This enabled her to compete at the district & state levels, representing Mumbai & Maharashtra in both Gymnastics as well as Mallakhamb from 1998-2003. Having spent 4 years doing so, she found that her body was restless and needed to find newer challenges….......

So Sharanya decided to immerse herself completely into movement arts and Yoga. Sharanya then spent a few intense years practicing and performing various forms of Indian & Western movement arts, including the traditional ‘Bharatanatyam’ & ‘Kathak’ dance forms as well as Ballet. 

Sharanya expanded her knowledge by training in Hatha and Pilates with Claire Coleman, discovering as well the ancient Indian martial art form ‘Kalaripayattu’ from Kerala.

Guest Faculty

Leonid Gartenstein

Leonid’s journey with yoga started more than 35 years ago. He is unable to compare or oppose Yoga to any of today's systems as for its completeness, accessibility and effectiveness in achieving health & harmony in the spirit, body and mental components.

This is the science that guides him through life and he can combine it perfectly with marital responsibilities and with raising children.

He began to study yoga on his own, but at a certain point, all his disparate knowledge has been consolidated and systematized under the leadership of Vitaly A. Zubkov, who graduated from two institutes of Yoga therapy following the traditions of the enlightened master * Dhirendra Brahmachari. The practical exercises strengthened his body and made it feel healthier, but in time he realized that this is not enough. So, he took care of his spiritual development.

At the Moscow Academy of Pedagogical Sciences he studied moral psychology in an experimental laboratory. In the 80’s he was tutoring on healthy lifestyles in the central lecture hall of the knowledge society in Chisinau. In 1986 he graduated from the Pedagogical Institute, majoring in physiotherapy. In 1989 he received the first certificate with the right to teach Hatha Yoga at the “Human Ecology” all-union society, a department of Oriental health systems. He finished the annual courses for raising his qualification level, specialized in physiotherapy at the International University of Traditional Medicine of the Main Medical Office in Moscow City.

Leonid is specialized in massage and manual therapy. Since 1998, he has focused on the treatment of spine pathologies, based on the methods of Yoga therapy. In 2001-2002, he taught Yoga at Rutgers University, State of New Jersey, USA. He writes articles for magazines such as “Yoga” in Russia and “Tantra” in Latvia, is a member of five International Conferences of “Yoga journal", and has more than 8 years of seminar experience in Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, United States, Canada and India. Leonid is involved with training yoga teachers in Moscow and St. Petersburg and gives lectures for Kinesiotherapists at the Lithuanian Academy of Physical Culture.

Currently he is the President of the Yoga Association of the Republic of Moldova. While studying the causes affecting the occurrence of spine pathologies, he worked on the medical works of native and foreign authors and also analyzed unconventional information, based on ancient sources (emphasis on the traditions of the school Dhirendra Brahmachari).

Today, based on a background of theoretical knowledge and practical experience, there has been developed a system that restores the spine, which allows us to solve such complex problems, such as Schmorl's hernia without any surgical intervention, while the medical world recommends surgery as the only way to cure it. Yoga is a unique method in its approach, is unique in the world and at the same time simple and available to anyone who wishes. Not a mystery - its real knowledge and hard work. Leonid joins us for the teacher training and will provide insights into yogic philosophy, yoga therapy, anatomy and physiology (highlighting areas such as the spine).

Nana Sun

Nana is certified by Shri Sheshadri of the Mysore Mandala in Mysore, India and has an M.A. in Psychology form Moscow. She has lived and worked in China, and is a practitioner and mentor of yoga in India, China and Russia.

Nana has learnt and studied a wide range of subjects relating to Yoga and Psychology, including pranayama & meditation, endeavoring to make energy and creativity alive in her, and others around her.

Nana believes that to adapt to a modern lifestyle, much more is required in the teaching of asanas than merely being knowledgeable and experienced. Inspiration and Co-operation are needed for a high standard to gradually appear, and become a reference point, that both teachers and students can safely rely on.

Besides the choice of postures, sequencing is an Art where knowledge is essential to high quality teaching. Nana is a caring and engaging teacher who seeks to always try and adapt to what students hope to find in Yoga through these different styles: Ashtanga Vinyasa, Flow Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Hatha Vinyasa, Power Yoga, Yin Yoga, Sivananda Yoga. She has also developed her own personal approach inspired by Iyengar and Viniyoga, Shadow Yoga, Spinal health and Universal Yoga.

Nana believes clarity matters in all aspects of life i.e: in actions, emotions and thoughts and is essential but can be easily broken without a tool like Yoga to achieve unity. Nana is joining us just for the teacher trainings this year especially focusing on Hatha Yoga.

Amrit has been passionate about yoga and healing and has been practicing different lineages of yoga for more than 8 years.