Our teachers come from different countries but share a common commitment: preserving the integrity of traditional practice while making it accessible with humility, compassion, and respect for each individual student.
Shala Mandala hosts a small international faculty of resident and visiting teachers whose work reflects decades of study within the living traditions of yoga, meditation, philosophy, and contemplative education.
SIMONA NUCERA
Simona Nucera
Founder and Director of Shala Mandala, Simona Nucera is an Authorized Ashtanga Yoga teacher whose work brings together traditional yogic education, contemplative studies, design, and interdisciplinary research.
Her journey began at the age of twenty, when she was introduced to yoga by her aunt, Franca Maria Plutino. Since then, she has devoted more than two decades to the study of yoga and meditation, undertaking long periods of practice throughout India, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the United States.
Since 2012, she has practised within the traditional Mysore method under the guidance of senior teachers including Hamish Hendry, Noah Williams, Sharmila Desai, and Peter Sanson. From 2016, she became a direct student of Sri R. Sharath Jois, completing the Intermediate Series under his guidance, receiving Authorization to teach, and later assisting him in Mysore.
Alongside her yogic studies, Simona has continued an interdisciplinary academic path that includes Design, Vipassanā meditation in the tradition of S. N. Goenka, Advaita Vedānta, Tibetan Buddhism, Ayurveda, and the academic study of Ancient Civilizations at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
She has taught internationally throughout Europe, India, New Zealand, and the United States, and during the pandemic organised Italy’s first Ashtanga Confluence, bringing together senior teachers of the KPJAYI tradition while supporting charitable educational initiatives in India.
Today, Simona directs the educational vision of Shala Mandala, where she teaches daily Mysore practice, retreats, chanting, meditation, and contemplative philosophy while developing interdisciplinary cultural programmes that connect yoga with history, spirituality, and ancient civilizations.
Read full biography → https://simonanucera.com/teachers/
MIRA JOHANNA SATTELBERGER
Mira Johanna Sattelberger. Guest Teacher • Authorized Level II
is an Authorized Level II Ashtanga Yoga teacher whose journey reflects more than two decades of dedicated practice within the living tradition of Ashtanga Yoga.
Introduced to South Asian philosophy during childhood, she developed an early interest in contemplative traditions through her family. At the age of twelve she travelled to Tibet and Nepal, experiences that profoundly influenced her path and awakened a lifelong connection with Buddhist and Indian philosophy. Since 2006, she has returned regularly to India, where she continues to deepen her understanding of yoga through both study and practice.
For over ten years, Mira studied directly with Sri R. Sharath Jois at the Sharath Yoga Centre in Mysore, returning annually to practise within the traditional Mysore method. She has also studied with senior teachers including Rolf Naujokat and Sharmila Desai, while assisting Michael Schabort at Mysore Munich from 2014, an experience that refined her approach to individual guidance and hands-on teaching.
In 2017, she received Level II Authorization from Sri R. Sharath Jois. Since then, she has taught Mysore programmes, workshops, and retreats throughout Europe and Asia, while also assisting Sharath Jois in the main shala in Mysore. Since 2024, she has led the daily Mysore programme at Ashtanga Yoga Munich.
At Shala Mandala, Mira joins the international faculty as a guest teacher, sharing a teaching style rooted in precision, patience, and deep respect for the traditional lineage.
Read full biography → https://www.ashtangayogamunich.com/who-we-are
KIRSTEN BERG
Kirsten Berg. Guest Teacher • Authorized Level II
Kirsten Berg is one of the most respected senior teachers in the international Ashtanga Yoga community and among the few practitioners worldwide to have studied the Advanced Series and the original pranayama sequence directly under Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.
Originally trained in Classical Archaeology and Latin, Kirsten travelled to India in the early 1990s to deepen her studies in meditation and yoga. After practising in Rishikesh and studying with teachers including Clive Sheridan and Rudra Dev, she discovered Ashtanga Yoga in 1996 and immediately recognised it as her lifelong path.
She became a direct student of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Mysore in 1997, returning every year for extended periods of study and later receiving Authorization to teach. Kirsten remains one of the very few practitioners to have studied the Advanced Series and the original pranayama directly within the Jois lineage.
Together with Rolf Naujokat, she founded Ashtanga Yoga Koh Phangan, one of the first traditional Mysore programmes in Southeast Asia, and has spent more than three decades teaching internationally through workshops, retreats, and long-term programmes.
At Shala Mandala, she shares the depth of a lifetime dedicated to practice, offering students the rare opportunity to study with a teacher whose knowledge has been transmitted directly through one of the oldest living traditions of Ashtanga Yoga.
Alongside her work as a yoga teacher, Kirsten is also a sculptural artist whose work has been exhibited internationally, including at Burning Man.: Kirsten Berg ArtWorks
Read full biography → https://www.ashtangazone.com/aboutkirsten