SIMONA NUCERA
I am Simona Nucera, an authorized Ashtanga Yoga and meditation teacher. My work integrates classical yogic transmission, contemplative disciplines, and sustainability-oriented design research. My teaching is firmly rooted in the Mysore method and shaped by over two decades of continuous study across the UK, India, Asia, and the United States.
I was introduced to yoga at the age of twenty by my auntie Franca Maria Plutino, and my path deepened through formative encounters with traditional teachers and extended periods of study in India, including long-term stays in Varanasi and Mysore. Since 2012, I have dedicated myself fully to the Ashtanga method, studying with certified teachers Hamish Hendry, Noah Williams, Sharmila Desai, and Peter Sanson on their daily mysore program. From 2016 onward, I studied under the guidance of my principal teacher and Guru, Sri R. Sharath Jois, completing the Intermediate Series fully under his guidance. In 2018–2019, I received Level I Authorization to teach from him and assisted him in Mysore, deepening my understanding of the traditional hands-on adjustments.
I have taught internationally in Italy, Spain, the United States, India, and New Zealand. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I organized the first Italian Ashtanga Confluence with senior teachers from KPJAYI in Italy and supported online charity events, including workshops for women in India and educational initiatives for children.
Today, I am dedicated to daily teaching and crafting retreats that blend Ashtanga yoga, meditation, chanting, and non-dual philosophy with authentic local culture and spirituality. My goal is to offer a transformative experience for those seeking to deepen their practice and connection to themselves and the world around them. My approach is further enriched by studies in Goenka Vipassanā, Advaita Vedānta, and Tibetan Buddhism. I am currently pursuing academic research at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, where I integrate historical and philosophical inquiry with my ongoing yogic training.
For more info visit https://simonanucera.com/teachers/
MIRA JOHANNA SATTELBERGER
My name is Mira. I was first introduced to South Asian philosophy as a child by my parents, and my first experiences with asanas were through simple, playful movements. When I was twelve, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit Tibet and Nepal. These experiences left a lasting impression on me and deeply influenced my path, while regular visits to India since 2006 have deepened my connection to yoga. I have been practising constantly for over 20 years and have finally found a great passion in the Ashtanga Yoga method. I am very grateful to have been able to study with my teacher Shri R. Sharath Jois for over 10 years now. Shri R. Sharath Jois is a teacher, practitioner and lineage holder (Paramaguru) of Ashtanga Yoga in the tradition of his grandfather Shri K. Pattabhi Jois. He is the director of the Sharath Yoga Centre in Mysore, India, where I travel every year to deepen my studies.
Apart from Mysore, I have also had the honour of learning from other advanced practitioners such as Rolf Naujokat and Sharmila Desai in Goa.
In 2014 I started assisting Michael Schabort, the founder of Mysore Munich (now Ashtanga Spirit Munich). In December 2017 I received the blessing of Shri R. Sharath Jois to share the method of Ashtanga Yoga (Authorised Level II). Since then I have been trying to share what I have learnt myself in different places, substituting Mysore programmes in Koh Phangan, Mallorca, Italy and Munich. I have also had the honour of assisting Shri R. Sharath Jois several times in the main shala at the SYC in Mysore. From 1st June 2024 I teach daily at Ashtanga yoga Munich.
For more info visit https://www.ashtangayogamunich.com/who-we-are
KIRSTEN BERG
Kirsten is a long-time ashtanga practitioner and teacher and was a direct student of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, studying at the KP Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute every year, with Pattabhi Jois’ blessings and Authorization to teach ashtanga. She received completed the first ‘teacher training’ given by the Institute, has held Level 2 authorization since 2002. Kirsten was fortunate to be one of few ashtangis to study Advanced (A) and pranayama directly with Sri K Pattabhi Jois, and has permission to teach what she learned from him.
After finishing a degree in Classical Archaeology/Latin, Kirsten started exploring yoga asana and deepening meditation studies in India in 1993. A month-long immersion at the Tushita Center in Dharamsala also inspired her to work with the Tibetan Buddhist community in India and Berkeley, California for a few years.
Inspired to find a yoga system that truly ‘spoke’ to her, and having been invited to join a contemporary dance and theater group, she moved to India in 1996 with a one-way ticket . She spent several months in Rishikesh studying with yogi Clive Sheridan, and Iyengar technique with Rudra Dev at the Iyengar Yoga Study Center.
In 1996, she had her first ashtanga class and immediately sensed this was her right practice. She studied intensively with Rolf Naujokat and in 1997 became Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’ student in Mysore, where she studied 3-6 months every year until his death.
Kirsten received Sri KP Jois’ blessing/authorization to teach in 1999, and is one of few students in the world to study the Advanced ‘A’ series directly under his, and Sharath’s, guidance. She was also one of the last students to study the original (separate) ashtanga pranayama sequence directly from Jois. Kirsten and Rolf moved to Southeast Asia (Ubud, Bali and Koh Phangan) from Goa in 1999; They started “Ashtanga Yoga Koh Phangan”, the first ashtanga program in South Thailand in 2001.
In 2005, Kirsten brought Mitchell Gold to join as a co-teacher for 14 years. They now offer classes in different parts of the world.
Kirsten is also a sculptural artist who contributes her art annually at Burning Man.
click here to view: Kirsten Berg ArtWorks
More infos here https://www.ashtangazone.com/aboutkirsten