TEACHERS
Nea Ferrier
Nea is the founder of Ashtanga Yoga Dubai and Nilaya House.
Authorised level 2 by Paramguru R Sharath Jois in 2010, Nea has made 12 individual trips to Mysore and was one of the first students to assist in the shala in 2010.
Teaching for the past 15 years Nea started the first Mysore programme in Nagoya Japan and taught at the Jois Yoga Shala in Sydney. She has also taught Mysore classes and workshops in Beijing, Istanbul, Jeddah, Moscow and Perth. She has been teaching in Dubai since 2013.
An avid student of yoga for close to 20 years, Nea continues her studies in the darshans of Vedanta, Tantra, Ayurveda and Veda Chanting, alongside remaining a committed practitioner and teacher of Ashtanga yoga.
Alexey Pavlyukov
In 2010 he became a student of KPJAYI and has made five individual trips to Mysore since that time, as well as attending multiple trainings, three workshops with Sharath Jois and classes with David Swenson, Richard Freeman, Lino Miele, Petri Raisanen, Eddie Stern and Mark Darby.
Alexey has been teaching Ashtanga yoga for the last eleven years, firstly at the Ashtanga Yoga Shala and Ashtanga Yoga Center in Moscow, and at Ashtanga Yoga Dubai since 2015.
Anmar Arjan
She continues to maintain her regular yoga practice at Ashtanga Yoga Dubai alongside a full-time career in the corporate world and her role as a founding partner of Nilaya House.
Zainab Hafizji
Zainab completed her 200 Hrs. YogaWorks Vinyasa teacher training in Dubai in early 2020 and has been teaching full time since then. She is an assistant teacher in the Mysore classes at Ashtanga Yoga Dubai as well as teaching Ashtanga level 1 classes and courses.
Her classes follow the traditional Sanskrit count and allow for modifications to suit the students needs. She incorporates drills to increase range of motion and mobility when required and assists her students to access the limitless potential of the human body.
Naseem Kapasi
She is thankful for indulging in the Iyengar methodology of teaching and practising because of the immense physical, mental and psychological benefits of this approach. Mindful movement whether dynamic or static is key to self awareness.
Naseem does not take herself or life too seriously which is clearly reflected in her fun and dynamic style of teaching but at the same time she is considered quite the task master.
“Be Happy” is her mantra in life and to be kind to one’s body and soul and to treat it with love and compassion.
Rangaji Ramachandran
His approach to the biomechanics of yoga has paved the way to handling health from a new perspective. This was inspired greatly by Dr Gladson Johnson, a Sports Physiotherapist from Bangalore (Attitude Prime Physio). He also uses complementary techniques from other bodywork systems to enhance the experience of yoga, all the while retaining its traditional essence.
He has spent time in an Orthopaedic Hospital under the guidance of Dr John Ebenazer in administering yoga to patients as a way of managing and improving their overall health. He believes yoga should be learnt as a subject, and not just practised as a physical form.
Aparajita Ghose
She completed her teachers’ training at Yoga Point in Nasik. She continued her yoga training and is a certified Introductory Level 1&2 Iyengar yoga teacher.
Her classes are fun and approachable, with attention to alignment, breath and maintaining mindfulness through the practice.
Britni Allen
She is also certified to teach Prenatal, Postnatal and Mommy & Baby yoga, and is currently continuing her education to become certified as a Childbirth Educator.
She has been teaching yoga in Dubai since 2014, as well as providing doula support with the aim to offer couples physical, emotional, and informational support throughout their pregnancy, labour and the birth of their baby.
She teaches her prenatal yoga classes from the perspective of a teacher, a doula and a mother. She strongly feels that the benefit of prenatal yoga, breathwork, and the support of a doula can help promote a more positive birth experience.
Paramasivam Shanmuga Vaidvu
Vadivu has been practicing Iyengar yoga since 2012 in Singapore. She was Certified in 2019 and taught at the reputable Iyengar yoga center and BKS Iyengar Yogashala, Singapore.
She regularly visits and practices at the Ramamani Iyengar yoga institute in Pune under the tutorship of Abhijata, the granddaughter of BKS Iyengar.
She has attended many workshops globally with teachers such as Bobby Clennell, James Murphy(U.S), Eyal Shirfroni(Israel), Zubin Birjoo(India) to learn and constantly upgrade her knowledge.
Ruchika Madhan
Her aim is to preserve and share the fundamentals of yogic way of life through asanas, pranayama, yoga nidra, dhyana & yoga philosophy. Her classes are firmly based on the traditional and authentic approach of Hatha Yoga incorporating pranayama, relaxation and meditation.
She is certified by The Yoga Institute Mumbai and additionally acquired her 1000+ hrs training in Rishikesh. Ruchika is also certified in Pre & Post Natal Yoga and is a woman’s health coach.
Nassima Benamane
Nassima is a Trauma-Informed registered Hatha yoga teacher (RYT500+ Hrs.) with the Yoga Alliance. She has been teaching yoga classes for three years alongside continuing her education and expanding her knowledge. She is specifically trained in Restorative yoga as well as in Relax and Renew Level one®; a training conducted by Judith Hanson Lasater.
She is currently enrolled in a 850-hour program to become a yoga therapist.
Besides teaching Nassima runs a small business of handmade yoga and meditation props that she makes herself in Dubai.
Nancy Zabaneh
Based in Dubai for over 20 years, her work spans across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Nancy was the first in the region to certify in Compassionate Inquiry, the psychotherapeutic approach developed by acclaimed physician Dr Gabor Mate that reveals what lies beneath appearance.
Formally educated at both McGill University and the London School of Economics with an MA in International Relations, Nancy trained as a diplomat, and began her career in the corporate world, before training in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), counselling skills, suicide intervention, and a range of alternative therapeutic techniques. She is a human relations mentor, humanitarian and motivational speaker.
