Teachers @ Ashtanga Yoga Berlin

Grischa opened Ashtanga Yoga Berlin in 2004.

He teaches traditional Ashtanga Vinyāsa as it was taught in Mysore by Pattabhi Jois. His main teacher is Richard Freeman from Boulder (USA). In addition, he integrates diverse influences from senior teachers such as Chuck Miller, Maty Ezraty, Nancy Gilgoff, John Scott, Dena Kingsburg, Rolf Naujokat and the Jois family.

He conveys the subtleties of the Ashtanga yoga system in a traditional but non-dogmatic way. Tradition serves the practitioner and not the other way around.

His approach to teaching Yoga is continuously refined by his studies of the ancient Yogic literature, especially Yoga Sutra which is the true key to a meaningful practice.

José is from Argentina where he absolved Hatha and Aerial Yoga Teacher Trainings. He studied with authorized Ashtanga teachers in Argentina and Ibiza. A few words from José:

"I feel very grateful towards all my teachers and to the path of yoga. There is truly a not a single aspect of my life where yoga does not have a positive effect. I have learned to become aware of my breath, my body and the activity of my mind. Through my practice I feel a vibrant connection with the world and to myself. And I develop consciousness and awareness of what is actually going on. 

This learning is an ongoing process. I know: I will always be a student - and that‘s just fine. I learned to do my own practice with patience, love and compassion - and my aim is to carry these qualities into everyday life and into my classes. Long story short: I love yoga! I want to share this passion with my students."

 "At the age of 16, I joined my mum for my first yoga class and was immediately captivated. The opportunity to quiet my thoughts, the peaceful sensation in Savasana, and the physical challenge of discovering my body in new positions – all of this kept drawing me back to the mat. During my final school years in Indonesia, yoga became a central part of my daily life and an essential tool for managing stress and finding inner balance.

In 2018, I stumbled upon an Ashtanga yoga studio in Maastricht, and Ashtanga quickly became my main practice. At the same time, I began exploring Yin Yoga, and my fascination with the depth of yoga continued to grow. 

In 2021, I completed a 200-hour Ashtanga yoga teacher training with Nydum in Spain. Since then I have participated in Grischa’s Ashtanga Intensives and now like sharing my passion for yoga with others and encourage everyone to find their own unique path on this journey."

Shiran first met yoga as a little girl, when her father took her to classes at a local community center. While the benefits of yoga were engraved in her mind, she got back to the practice only years later in search of relief from chronic illness and various sport-related injuries.

In 2012 Shiran found the Ashtanga yoga method, and after a few years into the practice she decided to dive deeper and started a two-year teacher training course (560 hours). The will to share the beauty and endless benefits accumulated from her ongoing yoga journey led Shiran to start teaching in 2017, alongside her career as a visual artist. Shiran believes yoga practice and artistic processes support and completes each other. Creativity arises when the mind is at peace and the mind can find it's peace through yoga.

Carolina began practicing asana in 2011 and teaches Mysore Style on a daily basis since 2017. She has a long background in dancing, somatic practices like BMC, Feldenkrais, Ideokinesis, (Contact) Improvisation and is a licensed homeopathic practitioner. Those approaches also sowed the seeds for her physical practices and life in general: to feel and sense more while being less focused on the outer shape or outcome. The call to try unlock the mysteries of the mind took her to Theravada Buddhism and Vipassana meditation. Today those remain her main sources of focus and inspiration, both as a practitioner and as guide for others. 

Here a few words from Carolina: “My vocation as a teacher is to embody the qualities of awareness. Awareness is innocent, curious, free from judgment, non-comparative, in perpetual change, sharp, awake, radical, fearless, all embracing and all accepting. May these qualities be available to all beings who may feel supported and in true companionship through them.”