Teachers
“Be a light unto yourself” – Buddha to his disciples
OUR YOGA TEACHERS
Meet our incredible team of yoga teachers from all over the world.
Our teaching team at Sampoorna – Yoga Teacher Training School in India work together to create a supportive and nurturing environment that enables you to find a deeper spiritual awareness. We have created a sensitive, safe and spiritual space where each individual is free to express and explore themselves without expectation or judgment.
Our teaching staff are a unique combination of Indian and International teachers, creating a fusion of cultures, experiences, teaching styles, approaches to yoga asanas, and a multicultural environment appropriate to the eclectic and international group of students we receive at our center every season. While our teachers come from a variety of cultures, countries, and disciplines, we are united in our belief that yoga is an ongoing transformative process and uphold this unique blend of East-West influence on yoga that benefit all with a deeper awareness and understanding of yoga, personally and in a global context.
All of our teachers are experienced and certified and lend their own personal style and experience to our yoga teacher training courses, while at the same time staying grounded in traditional yoga disciplines.
DEEPAK SHARMA, INDIA
E-RYT 500, SYT
Founder, Sampoorna Yoga, Goa, India
DEEPAK SHARMA
Deepak is the founder of Sampoorna Yoga, Goa and Costa Rica. He founded Sampoorna in 2008 after taking part in a 10-days Vipassana meditation retreat in Sri Goenka Tradition. He has been practicing yoga for 30 years and has been teaching actively for the last 25 years. He has graduated more than 11,000 international yoga teachers till date.
Yoga has been part of his family for many generations. Be it his grandfather, father or his mother, they all have been spiritual seekers. Yoga started to become part of his life when he was merely 12 years old. It started when his father asked him to assist him in his yoga workshops. His role was to merely organise the yoga mats and supply ‘warm & salted’ water to the participants during yogic cleansing techniques. It was through the keen observation of his father’s teaching style and people’s gratitude towards his father’s efforts that inspired him to learn more about yoga.
His father was a renowned yoga teacher in his home town in central India. Although he was in a job, he used to conduct free yoga workshops for the locals quite often. His father was so passionate about helping people through yoga that he used to literally take loans to conduct his workshops. His both parents have been spiritual seekers and have been visiting their Guru’s ashram for decades. His mother follows the path of bhakti yoga.
Deepak’s journey as a yoga student started by assisting his father in the yoga workshops his father used to conduct for the local people in the town when he was merely 12 year old. He became truly inspired with the power of yoga when he saw the value his father was adding to people’s lives through yoga.
Although he had been reading various yogic texts on yoga and spirituality since the age of 15, his journey of real yoga had not begun yet. He went on to become an engineer and worked various jobs just like many others. It was, when he was 24, when his real journey of yoga began. It was when he was in Mumbai railway station waiting for his train with four hours in hand to kill. He decided to go out to look for a movie theatre but ended up buying the most respected book on yoga ever, the Bhagavad Gita. In a non-stop reading spree of the next 26 hours he had finished the 850-page book. The book and its teachings had a profound impact on him and he was not the same person anymore.
While still in his 9 to 5 job he started to study more and more spiritual texts, visiting spiritual ashrams, attending satsangs, practicing more yoga and meditation. At the same time he also started to teach yoga to his colleagues for free to help them. When he was 30 he left his job and went to an ashram for two years to study with his guru. It was in the ashram where it was revealed to him that yoga was his path.
Apart from his father, Deepak has studied with various Gurus like Swami Sivananda, Swami Satyananda, Swami Niranjanananda, Osho, Eknaath Eswaran and J Krishnamurty and has studied hundreds of spiritual texts.
ELI AGUILAR
E-RYT 500, SYT
Founder, Sampoorna Yoga, Costa Rica
ELI AGUILAR
Eli has been passionate about exercising, teaching and healthy lifestyle most of her life, which led her to study Clinical Psychology. While seen patients and teaching workshops, she realized that in order to achieve an optimum state of well-being, a more holistic approach is required, and she went on to become a Pilates Instructor, Reiki Master and Health Coach.
In her pursuit for a deeper understanding of the body and its functionality, she moved from Costa Rica –her homeland- to New York to expand her studies in Pilates. Once in USA, she reconnected with her personal yoga practice that ignited a desire to come to India, not only to study how to teach yoga but also how to live a more fulfilling life.
Eli traveled to India in 2014 and joined Sampoorna Yoga as a facilitator of the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training Course. That experience was the non-return point. She felt in love with India and its culture, and she found her passion: teaching. In Sampoorna Yoga, she has taught almost all the topics of the syllabus and she is particularly passionate about functional anatomy, how different bodies express the asanas in different ways, and she is very keen on respecting everyone’s unique body and practice.
Today, she is a key member of the Sampoorna Yoga family. Along with Deepak, she has co-founded Sampoorna Yoga Costa Rica, while she continues teaching in English and Spanish courses, developing curriculum and content for new courses, managing and teaching Yin Yoga training courses, handling the online education platform, and overseeing different management responsibilities.
Yoga has changed her life, and she has made yoga her lifestyle.
PRIANCA SHHARMA
500-hr
Yoga Teacher
PRIANCA SHHARMA
Prianca’s passion has always been to express her inner self through movement. For this reason, she spent over a decade in the theatre and dance industry. Yoga came into her life when all fell apart due to the stressful environment she was surrounded by. Yoga provided the healing calmness she was looking for, and since then, Yoga became the axis of her life.
In 2013, she decided to do her first Yoga teacher training, and her journey of sharing, learning and exploring the physical, mental and spiritual body began in 2014. In her classes, she tries to keep the focus on embodiment of full practise on and off the mat.
She has trained in Vinyasa, Yin Yoga, Ashtanga, Pre and Post-natal yoga, meditation and chanting, and she has shared her knowledge and practice with students from all over the world. Prianca likes to use breath control, dance movement and other such tools to build a connection with our inner being. She believes that awareness and reflection are as essential to teaching as they are to practise.
According to her, poets start with words and painters with primary colours, and as a teacher she likes to hone the craft and then step back, allowing yoga to perform its magic.
For Prianca, the best part about teaching is having the hope that she can inspire and support her students in her little unique ways!
VISHWAJEET SINGH
E-RYT 500
Yoga Teacher
VISHWAJEET SINGH
Vishavjeet was born in a town of spirituality, Haridwar. He spent most of his teenage in Rishikesh. Vishu belongs to Gayatri Parivar (a community formed by saints and spiritual guides) that involved him in many spiritual practices from his early childhood. He was blessed to have a grandfather who himself was a great Yogi. Vishu learnt Yoga and philosophy from his grandfather in childhood. Further he continued to learn from his elder brother Jagjeet Singh (Jaggi) who is also a great Yogi and his guru. Vishu went to corners of INDIA and grasped more knowledge and applications of Yoga which helped him reach to the depths of yogic culture. Vishu has always been on a quest to understanding the very purpose of life. Yoga and Meditation has helped him find many answers he says! Finally after completion of his college studies Vishu decided to take Yoga as a full time career and he keeps on sharing all that knowledge he has acquired about life and yoga. Learning from Vishu is one of a kind experience. He believes in hand in hand teaching style. You will find him standing with you on each point of your learning journey and thereafter. You will deep dive in the world of ancient yoga and meditation techniques and their application
DR PALLAVI KAVHANE
E-RYT 500
Yoga Teacher
DR PALLAVI KAVHANE
Dr Kavhane is the director of the Maharashtriya Mandal Yoga School and Research Center at Vishwanand Yoga Institute, and a Yoga teacher at the University of Pune. She holds masters degrees in both Physical Education and Yoga, a masters diploma in Naturopathy, and has been awarded an honorary D. Litt from the University of South America.
Dr Kavhane has won multiple awards for yoga in her career, including the highest award, the All India Yogarjuna Award in 2000 in Kolkata, where she was a student of B.K.S. Iyengar. She is a three-times winner of the World Champion Award, in Spain, Argentina and Portugal.
She has been recognised by the Sports Minister of India, Shri Sunil Dutt, for representing India and winning the gold medal at the International Yoga Symposium for three consecutive years.
Dr Kavhane is a guest lecturer in yoga at many schools, colleges, institutes and universities and she has conducted over 2,000 demonstrations all over the world. She has contributed to multiple books, articles and seminars on yoga and was a contributor to the Sports Development Conference in 2005, hosted by Shri Sunil Dutt. She is a lifetime member of the Indian Yoga Association.
DR NEELIMA NALAWADEY
500-hr
Yoga Teacher
DR NEELIMA NALAWADEY
Dr. Nalawadey has a Bachelor of Education degree in Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery, and a diploma in Panchakarma, from the University of Pune.
She is a certified yoga teacher from the Indian School of Yoga in Chennai and has been practising ayurveda, panchakarma and yoga therapy since 2010. She is currently teaching yoga therapy, yoga philosophy, tridosha and ayurvedic nutrition at the Yoga and Ayurveda Prabodhini in Pune.
In her spare time, Dr Nalawadey enjoys kathak dancing and kick-boxing.
DR VISHWAJEET CHAVAN
M.Sc in Yoga Therapy
Yoga Teacher
DR VISHWAJEET CHAVAN
Dr Chavan has been practicing yoga therapy and ayurvedic medicine at the Shree Shashwati Health Center in Kothrud, Maharashtra, for fifteen years. He has a PhD in Alternative Therapies from Pune University and has diplomas in Therapeutic Restorative Yoga, Naturopathy, and Yoga and Ayurveda.
Dr Chavan is a qualified yoga teacher, and through the Sahaja Yoga Trust, he leads Sahaja Yoga Meditation camps all over India with the mission of improving people’s spiritual health.
He is associated with many charitable organisations in India, where his work ranges from working with special-needs people in Andhashala, Marashrashtra, to destitute women and girls in Mahila Sevashram, Karnataka. Every year he assists at the Rotary International Warkari health check-up camps at different locations around India, specialising in raising awareness around conditions such as anaemia, diabetes and heart disease.
Dr Chavan’s social outreach is spread further through his work with the Punya Charitable Trust, the Pune Doctor Charitable Trust, Sanjeevan Yoga therapist Association, the Shree Yogdayani Association, Ahmendnagar Mitra Mandal, Indian Medical Association, Kothrud Doctors Association among others. He is a follower of the H. H. Shree Mataji Nirmala Deviji Sahaja Yoga Meditation Technique.
STEPHAN SHAW
E-RYT 500
Yoga Teacher
STEPHAN SHAW
Passionate about yoga, Steph has developed her own personal practice through Ashtanga Yoga and Vinyasa flow. Having come from a dance background with a degree in dance studies, she has always had a love of movement and curiosity about the physical body. Steph combines the discipline of Ashtanga yoga and the creativity of new and fun transitions into her flow classes. Focusing on building internal strength, balance and flexibility using the body’s full potential as well as combining the philosophical side of yoga into her practices. She uses the functional anatomical approach to help her students develop deeper understanding of yoga asana and delve more into their own body awareness.
Steph’s journey with yoga began 8 years ago through health and fitness. After seeing and feeling the benefits of yoga practice in her own body and mind, she dedicated herself to learning more and completed her first YTTC in Liverpool over 10 months in 2014. It was during this time that a curiosity for India was ignited along with a desire to travel. She has trained in Ashtanga, Vinyasa flow, Yin, pranayama & meditation.
Steph has spent the last 5 years in India gaining teaching experience through YTTC. She is passionate about continuing to develop her own practice and is always looking for new and exciting ways to learn. The best part of teaching for Steph, is witnessing students grow and learn through living a yogic life. She hopes to inspire her students with the passion and love she creates through her classes
JENNY HÖßLER
E-RYT 500
Yoga Teacher
JENNY HÖßLER
I grew up with the yoga philosophy, as my mum is a yoga teacher and taught me spiritual wisdom, almost without me being really aware of it. Around the age of 20 I recognized that my way of thinking and living – so to say my consciousness – is spiritually printed. I felt naturally connected to the yogic knowledge.
Before I realized my passion for yoga, a big part of my life was sports and action of all kinds. After school I became a sports and gymnastic teacher by certification. I taught several kinds of aerobic – and health classes for 12 years and as a personal trainer, I collected a lot of experience. It was joyful and fun, but after 12 years I had no choice but to realize, that my body was overworked and imbalanced. I came to the point where my body and soul could not handle the constant challenge and stress. In 2008 this lack of awareness for my own limits brought me to “Body balance,” a training program of Les Mills combined with Yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi elements.
Learning and teaching this program nurtured my body and soul and inspired me to learn more about the yogic way. I had the deep wish to redefine my life with the serenity, ease, and strength that balances and nourishes instead of exhausts.
I joined several kinds of yoga classes and learned more about the sources of yoga, which awakened my dream to become a yoga teacher. In March 2011 this dream became a reality: I completed a yoga teacher training consisting of Ashtanga/Vinyasa style in Goa, India. This education was first of all a journey by myself, through myself, to myself. All of which brought me closer to my purpose in life: teaching yoga, which I’ve done from then on, in Germany, India and Kenya!
As I had the desire to deepen my knowledge of the healing energy of yoga, I decided to do the “Elemental Yoga Therapy,” teacher training in October 2012 in Goa, India.
The magic of „mother india“ made me stay there 8 years longer. With time and more experience I thought in several Teacher Trainings, became passionate about Acro Yoga and did my TTC Level 1 and 2 with Jason Newmer in 2016 and 2017.
I love to incoperate all different aspects of Yoga in my Classes, deep spiritual talks, Pranayama, Mediation, as well as soft and strong Asanas combined in a nice flow.
Yoga brings the restless mind to the present moment. Here and now. Step by step. Deeper and deeper. I love the yoga tune: it equalizes body, mind, and soul, it’s such a great gift to pass it on to the world.
INGA VENCLAVICIUTE
E-RYT 500
Yoga Teacher
INGA VENCLAVICIUTE
No stranger to mental health challenges – from insomnia to anxiety and panic attacks – Inga has been inspired to explore how yoga and mindfulness can help us all become kinder to ourselves and become better friends with our body, mind and heart.
Trained in Ashtanga and Vinyasa Flow, her passion truly lies with the creative aspects of Vinyasa Flow; playful sequences, diverse movement and the power of syncing it with the breath. Carefully designed to balance strength and flexibility, her classes are challenging and sweaty, but with an emphasis on the harder challenge – can we stay kind and mindful while doing it?
Following her 200 hours training in Sampoorna Yoga, she went onto train with Jason Crandell programs, qualified in Mindfulness Meditation, became a certified CBT practitioner and has recently trained as a Mental Health First Aider. She lives and teaches full-time in London.
Before embarking on this teaching journey, she studied Financial Economics and worked in Digital Advertising.
KAREN MARSH, ENGLAND
E-RYT 500
Yoga Teacher
KAREN MARSH
Karen started yoga over thirteen years ago after a suggestion from a friend to heal a chronic back pain, due to a fast and physically emanding lifestyle. The physical benefits and challenge were the first attraction, but with more practice in many different styles of yoga, she began to notice positive and naturally occurring changes in her whole being and lifestyle; and fell madly in love with yoga.
Karen completed her 200hr & 300hr Hatha yoga teacher training at the Sivananda Ashram in Neyyar Dam, Yin yoga 40hr training in London with Norman Blair and 300hr Vinyasa yoga teacher training at Sampoorna. After such a beautiful transformative experience at Sampoorna, Karen returned to learn and share more as a karma yogi.
Karen is passionate about combining and theming empowering flows, philosophy and meditation from her varied learning experience.” I hope to give students a sense of wonder and enthusiasm for the challenges of the body and mind and a desire to learn more about themselves and yoga.”
“Yoga has been so transformative for me in my whole life and being and for that I am so grateful and feel called to share it with anyone who seeks it.”
Life philosophy: be aware, be present, and face the joyful and challenging as learning and experience; there will always be both, but what you feed grows. Not every day is a good day but positivity can go a long way… it’s a practice: concentrate, practice, fall, learn, then get back up. Smile. Be persistent.
ROWENA JOHNSON, UK
E-RYT 200, RYT 500
Yoga Teacher
ROWENA JOHNSON, UK
Having always led an active life, Rowena first started practicing yoga asana in 2008 as a means for balancing out her many other physical pursuits. It was not long until the practice began to open up a deeper level of awareness of body, mind and spirit. Soon, yoga asana became Rowena’s main physical pursuit. After attending a two-week Ashtanga retreat with Harmony and Jeff Lichty in November 2013, Rowena returned to London and continued with a daily Ashtanga Primary Series practice, in addition to her already regular Jivamukti practice. These two intense and deeply spiritual practices triggered her curiosity, opening up a desire to deepen her own practice and gain a better understanding of what Patanjali referred to as the eight limbs of yoga. It was this desire that propelled her to embark on a 200-hr Ashtanga-Vinyasa training, which she completed at Sampoorna – Yoga Teacher Training School India in January 2016.
Since then, Rowena has gone on to practice and study yoga under the guidance of Sharath Jois at KPJAYI in Mysore. In 2017, Rowena went on to complete a 300-hr yoga teacher training in the Jivamukti yoga method. These enriching experiences and all of her teachers are the inspiration behind the style of yoga that Rowena teaches. Combining pranayama, vinyasa and mediation, Rowena’s classes focus on awakening the senses, bringing students in tune with their bodies to reveal the strength and grace we all have inside.
MINE TAYLAN
E-RYT 500
Yoga Teacher
MINE TAYLAN
Mine has practiced yoga and meditation for almost 20 years, and started teaching over 14 years ago. In 2007, she opened the first hot yoga studio in southern Sweden, in Malmö. Since her first official yoga teacher training she has taught 6000 hours of classes.
To emphasize the constant learning process, Mine persists in calling herself a student and her students her teachers. Mine’s experience as a teacher and studio owner, and from a range of trainings that she has led and participated in, has given her a deep understanding of a vast variety of yoga styles and of each person’s uniqueness and individual needs. It has enriched her with an excellent wealth of knowledge of yoga, alignment, therapy and anatomy which shines in each of her classes. Her compassion and her quality consistent classes makes her students leave each class feeling stronger, healthier, aware and more balanced.
“As a yoga student, teacher, teachers’ teacher and studio owner, I hope to convey that yoga practice, – on top of constituting physical and mental practice- can grow into a lifelong love relationship. It’s important to me that every person feel “safely challenged”, regardless if their main interest is teaching, practice, breathing, self-realization, mindfulness, concentration, relaxation, philosophy or anything else. I want to be able to inspire, motivate and guide my students from dream to reality, whether is spreading the philosophy of yoga, learning headstand or free yourself from physical pain.”
Before her immersion in yoga, Mine obtained a degree in Psychology and worked in the Human Resources and Recruiting fields. Today, she runs a yoga studio, holds retreats and teaches Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin, Yoga Therapy, Meditation and Pranayama. Some of teachers Mine has learnt from are Jason Crandell, Ray Long, Paul Grilley, Raghunath, Alan Wallace, Budokon University, and much more.
VERA BETTIOL
RYT 500
Yoga Teacher
VERA BETTIOL
Vera began practicing yoga while living in San Diego, California in 2010. It was love at first sight, and after her first yoga class she never looked back. As soon as she entered the yoga room, she knew she was home, the home of her heart. Since then, she had taken various trainings and workshops around the world. Nowadays, Vera is a 500-hours certified yoga teacher. She did her first 200-hour training with CorePower Yoga and then completed her 300-hour yoga teacher training at Sampoorna – Yoga Teacher Training School in India. She is also a certified aerial yoga and yin yoga teacher. She mostly practice and teaches vinyasa, yin and aerial yoga.
Vera encourages her students to build greater self-awareness and peace through their yoga practice, empowering them to release, to let go and to discover themselves, in a safe comfortable ambiance. She strives to inspire her students to foster an interest in slowing down, paying attention to the subtle things, and remembering their innate ability to heal themselves. She places emphasis in breathing, safety, postural alignment while practicing in a loving-playful atmosphere. Vera believes that through yoga we can create the change we need and bring peace and joy to ourselves and others. She feels blessed and grateful to be able to share her love for Yoga with others.
Along with her yoga journey, Vera loves to travel and has visited many countries over the years. Born and raised in Italy, has lived for more than 11 years in California, USA. Before dedicating her journey to yoga, Vera worked in the field of communications and marketing. She also has a master and a doctoral degree in Business Administration.
ATHENA CHRISTODOULOU
E-RYT 500
Yoga Teacher
ATHENA CHRISTODOULOU
Athena trained as a classical and contemporary dancer in 1992 continuing her professional dancing and teaching career until her forties. She ran her own ballet school and contemporary dance company in Cyprus for 10 years and a yoga studio for 5 years. She came across an Ashtanga yoga class while traveling through New Zealand in 1998 and was hooked! It was so refreshing to have the discipline that she knew her whole life from classical ballet training but at the same time without the competition and pressures of the dance world. She continued developing her self practice until she decided to take a yoga teacher training with David Swenson in 2004. She has practiced and taught since then, always continuing to learn and to explore the different qualities that Ashtanga brought out in herself and in her students.
In the last 10 years she has taken many workshops in Vinyasa and Ashtanga Yoga which has helped her develop her own style of teaching. She has a great interest in the anatomical side of yoga and has a great eye for alignment. She took a 200hrs Yin Yoga Teacher Training in 2018 and completed her 300hrs Teacher Training in Vinyasa with Sampoorna – Yoga Teacher Training School in Goa in February 2019. Her classes are challenging but always with a fun element as she believes that even though she takes her work seriously a sense of humour is always necessary! She never stops learning and feels that the more you know, the more you realize the less you know!
She has also just completed a two year course in Clinical Canine Massage Therapy. This way she can fulfill her other passion which is helping dogs lead happier lives. At the moment she lives in Edinburgh with her partner and their 2 dogs and 2 cats.
KIRAN DEVI
RYT 500
Yoga Teacher
KIRAN DEVI
Kiran fell in love with yoga as soon as she stepped on the mat more than 10 years ago, and hasn’t looked back (unless doing a backbend!). Years of practice led Kiran to embark on the journey to become a qualified teacher. She is a 500-hour trained Vinyasa teacher. And has done several additional courses which include Yin Yoga training, among others.
She ran her own studio in Birmingham, UK sharing her passion and knowledge with her students. She emphasises correct alignments and gives top priority to intensity and safety.
Yoga, for her, is a regular discipline and not just an exercise routine. She loves the spiritual benefits of yoga. Through movement, she creates this inner space, a sense of freedom and happiness to the soul.
Director & Senior Teacher of Sampoorna Yoga speaking about his experience with Sampoorna Yoga, India.
Our ex-sampoorna yoga teacher training students speaking about their experience with Sampoorna Yoga, India.
Our teachers and ex-sampoorna yoga teacher training students speaking about their experience with Sampoorna Yoga, India.
START YOUR TEACHER TRAINING JOURNEY!
Sampoorna Yoga’s Teacher Training Courses are registered with Yoga Alliance USA. When you graduate from our school you will be eligible to register with them as a RYT, Registered Yoga Teacher, in your respective categories.