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 teacher from the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in India (KPJAYI) 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, the UK, Southeast Asia, and the United States.
Since 2006, she has travelled regularly throughout Asia, studying and practising within the traditions of Haṭha Yoga and Iyengar Yoga, before eventually dedicating herself to the Ashtanga Yoga Mysore method, studying in a daily Mysore Shala 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 in Mysore, where she maintained a dedicated daily practice under his guidance, completed the Intermediate Series, received Authorization to teach, and later assisted him at the Sharath Yoga Centre.
Alongside her yogic studies, Simona has continued an interdisciplinary academic path that includes 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 Spain, India, New Zealand, and during the pandemic organised Italy’s first Ashtanga Week (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, meditation, 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
Mira is an Authorized Level II Ashtanga Yoga teacher from KPJAYI 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
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
ANITA TORRESAN
Anita Torresan. Guest Teacher
Anita Torresan was introduced to Yoga during childhood through her mother’s practice, developing from an early age an interest in Yoga as a discipline of awareness, self-study, and personal transformation.
During her adolescence, she began practising with Valentina Silvestri and continued to explore natural disciplines and bodywork. After completing her training as a massage therapist, she deepened her knowledge through study travels in India, Thailand, and Hawaii, exploring different traditions of massage and developing a deeper understanding of the relationship between body, mind, and inner awareness.
In 2014, she discovered Ashtanga Yoga through a workshop with Elena De Martin and was introduced to the traditional Mysore method, which has remained at the centre of her practice ever since.
Since 2015, Anita has studied regularly with Lino Miele, attending his workshops and retreats in Italy and abroad. Through his teaching, she has deepened her understanding of the traditional Ashtanga Yoga method, with particular attention to Vinyasa, breath, and the continuity of daily practice. Since 2019, she has continued her studies with Lino Miele in Kovalam, India.
Alongside her Yoga practice, Anita has pursued a long-term study of natural approaches to health and wellbeing. In 2019, she graduated from the Galileo Galilei Academy of Hygienic Sciences in Trento as a Naturopath, Iridologist, and Heilpraktiker, presenting a thesis on nutrition. Her studies also include Yoga Nidra according to the Satyananda tradition and Vipassanā meditation in the tradition of S. N. Goenka.
Her interest in the relationship between practice, health, body, mind, and lifestyle led her to Āyurveda. After beginning her studies with the AyurPsico programme of Dr. Vercellotti, she continued her education at Ayurvedic Point in Milan, where since 2022 she has been following the four-year programme to qualify as an Āyurvedic Technician.
At Shala Mandala, Anita shares the traditional Mysore method, bringing to her teaching more than two decades of personal practice and study. Her approach is grounded in continuity, attentive observation, and respect for each student’s individual path, while remaining rooted in the living tradition of Ashtanga Yoga.
Read full biography https://anitatorresan.com/about/