Meet our Teachers
Sthira Yoga School welcomes students from all over the world with love and respect. Our experienced and passionate teachers impart their knowledge to give a strong foundation in theory, practice and teaching of yoga to everyone alike.
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E-RYT 500; YACEP, SYT - Director of Teacher Trainings
Sudhir Rishi is the Director of Teacher Trainings at Sthira Yoga. He has been involved in the fields of yoga, meditation, philosophy and Ayurveda for the past 30 years. He lived as a monk for eight years, dedicating himself to intense meditation practices. In the last 11 years, he has taught in more than 150 groups of 200hr yoga teacher training courses (YTTC) and 40 groups of 300hr (YTTC), in addition to pranayama & meditation courses, workshops and silent retreats in Asia and Europe. He is an ERYT-500 with more than 40,000 hours of teaching experience.
He has a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Technology in Quality and Reliability. He worked as a Total Quality Manager in a leading automobile company in India. At the age of 27, the sudden death of his mother, inspired by Buddha and other spiritual masters, he left his highly paid job, and joined the Ramakrishna Mission as a Brahmachari (celibate monk).
His quest took him to the Himalayas. Later he joined Swami Dayananda Ashram, in Rishikesh and studied Sanskrit, Vedic Chanting and Commentaries on scriptures of Advaita Vedanta. He learnt yoga from the Balananda Brahmachari tradition and Bihar School of Yoga and did his Ashtanga Yoga teacher training in Mysore. He also studied and practiced TM of Maharshi Mahesh Yogi, Vipassana, Osho’s techniques and J Krishnamurthy’s teachings.
For the last 22 years he has made his home near Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashram, South India, combining his time in the Ashram with teaching Yoga.
For Sudhir, philosophy is not a theoretical pursuit but a lifestyle. For him, philosophy reveals higher truths which need to be contemplated, verified, applied and assimilated. He has had many transformative spiritual experiences and he shares his personal experiences with his students.
He is passionate about sharing his wisdom and insights. He believes and has experienced that joy is the nature of oneself, and has no connection to anything whatsoever. This fact can be discovered by others as well! His teachings help students to understand themselves better and on a deeper level. He explains complicated concepts in a simple way.
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E-RYT 500, RPYT, YACEP - Senior Yoga Teacher
Veena Sudhir has been involved in the fields of meditation and Ayurveda for nearly 35 years. By profession, she graduated in Computer Software and Library Sciences and has a masters in Applied Psychology.
By passion, she was naturally pulled into meditation, Ayurveda, Reiki and Pranic healing.
She has been associated with Sri Ramanashram, in Tiruvannamalai for around thirty years and has spent many years studying meditation and healing practices.
She is a registered ERYT 500hr teacher in Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga, Yin and Yoga Nidra and has been teaching for the last 11 years. She focuses mainly on Meditation, Ayurveda, Yin and Yoga Nidra Teacher trainings.
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E-RYT 500, Senior Yoga Teacher
Laura is a passionate and heartfelt teacher who's mission it is to help and inspire people to create a life of joy and love by finding their voice, living their true purpose and sharing their wisdom with the world through the practice of Yoga. Laura has been teaching since 2016 and has an untamed desire to teach excellent teachers and uphold the ancient lineage of Yoga through traditional practices whilst moving forward and learning together as a collective. Laura is a creative soul who loves teaching vinyasa flow, mandala and yin yoga whilst weaving in the tradition to all her classes. She is inspired by how music and language interplay and interact with our yoga practice and loves creating an experience for the individual to deep dive into so that they can become all that they are capable of being. Laura currently lives in Darwen, Lancashire with her partner Steve and adorable Labrador dogs, Bobby and Dexter and cat Audrey. Laura has a yoga studio in Darwen, runs Teacher Trainings and teaches retreats across the world.
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E-RYT 200, E-RYT 500
Andreea has a huge passion for Ashtanga Yoga since 2016. She is totally dedicated to the practice of Ashtanga Yoga.
She underwent 200 hours and 300 hour yoga teacher trainings with experienced teachers who had lots of knowledge and experience in different styles.
She is Certified by Yoga Alliance E-RYT 200, RYT500, YACEP for, Ashtanga, Hatha, Vinyasa, Yin & Restorative Yoga.
She has attended workshops and courses with David Robson si Jelena Vesic, Petri Raisanen, Lea & Tarik (Love Ashtanga Yoga Portugal), Kino MacGregor & Laruga Glasser.
She says: “Ashtanga Yoga keeps me grounded and makes me a better human in all aspects of life.
That is why I keep practicing and I very much enjoy teaching.“
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E-RYT 500, Senior Yoga Teacher
As a former ballet dancer, she knows what it means to be disciplined, but she only discovered unconditional love for herself through her now 10-year yoga practice. On her travels, she has been inspiring and teaching people from all over the world for years, leading yoga teacher trainings and retreats in Europe and India.
In addition to a clear focus on anatomical foundations, she places great emphasis on intelligent sequencing in creating her classes. Whether it's a fiery Vinyasa class, creative brain-drill flows, or soul-soothing Yin sessions, her classes are guaranteed to leave you with a sense of well-being.
Close your eyes, open your heart. Join in and dare to take the leap into the unknown. You're just one yoga class away from feeling how wonderful you are!
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E-RYT 500 - Senior Yoga Teacher
Originally from USA, settled in Albania. Rachel is coming from a background of 20 years of ballet and contemporary dance training, Rachel has always been interested in working with the body and the amazing capacity our bodies have. Rachel has been practicing yoga for 14 years and has taught over 5000+ hours of yoga classes and teacher trainings. Originally from the U.S.A., she has been a lead teacher in over 30 yoga teacher training courses world-wide and in recent years split her time teaching yoga between India and Albania.
Rachel is the co-founder, owner, and main teacher at Tirana Yoga studio in Tirana, Albania. She also spent 6 years as Lead Teacher and Course Director of Teacher Trainings in India. Teaching on both 200-hour and advanced 300-hour yoga courses, she taught Vinyasa Flow, Yin, and Restorative yoga classes, as well as applied anatomy, teaching methodology, alignment and adjustments, in addition to organizing the teaching team and course content. She currently teaches on 200-hour and 300-hour courses mainly in Europe—in the Balkans and Mediterranean region. Rachel is also a certified Thai Massage Therapist.
Rachel’s teaching style is a blend of her own experience—drawing not only from the physical practice of yoga in both its Eastern and Western forms, but also from traditional yoga philosophy and meditation techniques in order to develop an integrative, creative, fluid class that is energizing, engaging, and inspiring for all. She is a firm believer that yoga is for everyone—meeting people on their path where they are, in order to help them move forward with awareness, mindfulness, and heightened consciousness.
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E-RYT 500 - Senior Yoga Teacher
Vinod Kumar, a seasoned yoga teacher with over 8 years of teaching expertise in Hatha, Ashtanga, and Yin yoga. Holding a master's degree in Human Anatomy, Vinod seamlessly integrates a profound understanding of the human body into his teachings, providing students with a holistic and informed approach to yoga practice.
Having dedicated years to refining the art of yoga, Vinod is passionate about guiding individuals on their transformative journey. His classes are designed to cater to all levels, fostering physical strength, flexibility, and inner balance. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced practitioner, Vinod's nurturing guidance and deep knowledge create an inclusive and enriching learning environment.
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E-RYT 500, Senior Yoga Teacher
Zoe was first drawn to the practice of yoga over 14 years ago and immediately noticed the profound effects it had on her mind, body, and spirit. She since went on to explore Yoga’s broad landscape of various other styles such as Vinyasa, Yin, mobility training, trauma training and some yoga therapy modules. Around 10 years ago, she opened her own studio in Manchester, UK along with her retreat company.
In Zoe’s classes you can expect fluid functional movement combined with strength, mobility, and intelligent sequencing. Her purpose is to encourage students to understand the WHY behind particular movement patterns and the function of their own bodies, so that they can move with more intention and integrity. Making Yoga more accessible for each individual body. Zoe’s passion is learning and educating.
Her belief is …
“If you think you know everything, you’re not leaving yourself open to learn. Every great teacher is a great learner. Never become too much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise.”
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E-RYT 200 - Yoga Teacher
Tessa found yoga when her physical and mental health was in overdrive. Her menstrual cycle stopped and went away for 4 years. Tessa had to learn how to minimise both her mental and physical stress, coming to the movement and practice of yoga to calm her mind.
Tessa has worked as a physiotherapist in New Zealand for 4 years. She loves teaching people about their bodies, educating them and enhancing their awareness of their own body’s needs. Tessa trained at Sthira Yoga, completing her 200Hr Vinyasa/Ashtanga certificate.
Tessa loves connecting her physiotherapy practice and knowledge of the human body with yoga. She hopes to bring a new level of body awareness to both teachers and students, how their bodies function and how to improve their movement patterns for a better quality of life.
Yoga Teacher Training Courses
Start your yoga teaching journey in Goa, India, with Sthira Yoga Teacher Training courses. Allow your passion to become your purpose and gain a Yoga Teacher Training certificate recognised by Yoga Alliance.