Our teachers & facilitators

Birute Kaminskaite - Yoga Stretch & Hatha Yoga & LYS Marketing

​With a passion for an active and healthy lifestyle, Birute discovered yoga more than a decade ago and fell in love almost instantly with the discipline. While traveling and living in different parts of the world, she realized that meeting all the psychological needs is so much more important than focusing on physical appearance.

After years of exploring various styles of yoga as a dedicated student, Birute completed her formal teacher's training and received RYTT 200 Hour Hatha Yoga Certificate in Nepal.
Her classes are relaxed explorations of the presence and ownself with traditional Hatha yoga principles. She chooses different asanas so the practitioners would cultivate awareness, mindfulness, concentration, and relaxation. Birute firmly believes that yoga is for EVERYONE, no matter what age, shape, or gender they are. She considers it a privilege to be guiding other practitioners through their own journeys.
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As much as she loves yoga, she is also fond of running, photography, spending time in nature, learning & discovering new cultures.

Deepa Bidd - Forrest Yoga, Pre/Post Natal Yoga 

Deepa is a certified 300hr Forrest Yoga Teacher, an Advanced Clinical and Remedial Massage Therapist, Aromatherapist and Reflexologist. She is currently completing a 500hr advanced teacher training with Tiffany Cruikshank of Yoga Medicine. As well as working privately, Deepa has worked for the NHS as a complementary therapist in oncology care.

Deepa has worked with a range of people from all walks of life: new mums, people with cancer and terminal illness, people who have suffered physical and emotional trauma. She has trained with leading practitioners and trainers in their fields including the JING Institute of Advanced Clinical Massage, Tony Porter (Advanced Reflexology Techniques), Mauricio Kruchik (Maternity & Pregnancy Reflexology) and Ana Forrest, the founder of Forrest Yoga. Deepa's experience and ongoing training has helped to develop an intuitive sense for locating restrictions in the body where, often, there is an emotional aspect attached. Her sessions focus on improving body awareness and creating more space and freedom in the body.

In November 2016, Deepa assisted a 200hr Foundation Yoga Teacher Training and in early 2017, Deepa completed a 10-day Vipassana meditation course. Having experienced the benefits of yoga and meditation, Deepa wishes to continue her work towards empowering individuals through their own practice. 

More info: www.deepaliving.com

Johanna Hellinger - Hatha Flow Yoga, Yin/Yang Yoga, Laughter Yoga

Johanna is a passionate yogi and surfer. She is a registered and experienced RYT 500 Yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance, a certified Thai Yoga massage therapist and Laughter Yoga leader. 

After quitting her Marketing job in Austria and travelling around the world Johanna started experimenting with different yoga styles and methods. In 2015 her travels brought her to India where she completed her first yoga teacher training with Trimurti Yoga school in the Himalayan mountain province of Dharamsala focusing on Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga and Yin Yoga. Back in Lisbon she started teaching at Little yoga space Lisboa whilst training as a Thai Yoga Massage practitioner with Hadadi School of Thai Massage. In 2018 Johanna did further training in Goa, focusing on the Philosophy of 5 Elements from Ayurvedic & Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective.

Johanna loves being out in nature and in touch with the elements; be it surfing in the ocean, walking her dog in the park or hiking in the mountains. She likes to meditate, laugh and to meet people from different places all over the world. Yoga is the ultimate form of balance for Johanna, bringing focus, peace and harmony into every part of her daily life by practising and sharing.

From spring to summer Johanna organises outdoor Yoga classes with Rooftop Yoga Lisboa and hosts Yoga & Surf events. She also leads Laughter Yoga sessions and Yoga workshops at Little Yoga space.

More Info: www.yoganalisboa.com
facebook: www.facebook.com/yoganalisboa/
Instagram: yogana_love_this

Hanna Brodersen - sound healer and Reiki Practitioner

Hanna is a Lisbon based singer, composer, vocal coach and sound healer and Reiki Practitioner from Berlin. Since the release of her debut album, she has toured as a solo artist and with bands through Europe. During her many years of teaching experience as vocal coach and musician, she learned about the healing potential of music and developed a unique form of transformational Sound Baths and Voice & Sound Healing Sessions which include guided meditations, the healing sounds of crystal singing bowls, chants, vocals and other instruments.

For more information, visit: https://www.hannalene.com/voicemindsoul​

Hannah Staunton - Yoga Therapist

Hannah is an 820 hour Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapist. She has trained in yoga styles such as Anusara, Yin and Hatha before going on to study a two year Yoga Therapy Diploma with The Minded Institute and recently completing Yoga Therapy for Perinatal Mental Health and Pregnancy Yoga with Birthlight and The Minded Institute. She work both individually and with small groups of people using yoga therapy techniques to support the physiological, emotional and neurological presentations of specific conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, chronic pain, and women’s health.

Hannah also works with groups of women to facilitate deep rest, self-connection, self-expression and embodiment using techniques such as nervous system regulation, sound and voice activation, embodied movement, sensory exploration and inquiry.

More information: ​https://www.hannahstaunton.com/
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Katrin Heuser - Somatic therapeutic Yoga & LYS director

Yoga teacher and bodyworker, Katrin has always been interested in the body and movement. After many years of dance, her Scoliosis lead her to Pilates and finally to Yoga and Thai Massage, which then became her path in life. For her it’s about the never ending discovery of body and mind, to deepen the awareness and to release all tension and stagnation. Only then, the journey towards healing and transformation can begin, the capacity and power of resilience of the body can grow, and more space for positive life energy and joy can develop. She holds a 500h Level 4 NVQ Yoga Teaching qualification, trained in Manual Lymph Drainage and has studied extensively in Thai Yoga Massage and Osteothai, including a Master Osteothai qualification, over the past years. She used to run a Yoga Festival in London and launched an online anti-stress breathing programme. Since 2015 Katrin lives in Lisbon and co-runs Little Yoga Space, where she teaches and gives Osteothai treatments, and is the director of Hadadi School of Thai Yoga Massage, offering foundation and advanced training courses worldwide. 

More information: www.hadadithaimassage.com/

Kirsten Wilkinson - Vinyasa Yoga

Kirsten (Kaye) Wilkinson, MA, TCTSY-F, E-RYT, RCYT, Mind/Body Practitioner, SEP Student Cohort, IAYT Candidate, Qi-Gong Certificate Student, R-DMT Candidate, PhD Student Psychology/Somatic Therapy, Meridian University
 
Kirsten is the Founder and Executive Director of Legacy Motion, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organisation committed to sustaining the ongoing preservation and documentation of endangered ancient dance forms, as well as promoting resiliency, empowerment, trauma resolution, psychosocial coexistence, community and peace building through restorative, movement based practices. Through interrelated projects Legacy Motion dedicates itself to evaluating, creating and implementing high quality sustainable programs based on experience and collaborations in the field.
 
Her professional dance career spans over 10 years during which she performed with such companies as The San Francisco Ballet, David Dorfman and Heidelberg Ballet.  She has held positions at The Library of Congress, Dance Heritage Coalition, and various adjunct professorships at American University Cairo, University of Oregon, University of Hawaii and many more. 
 
After much physical trauma sustained in a car accident, she has found sanctuary in her yoga practice and teaching.  She is a certified Hot Yoga and 200YTT yoga instructor with thousands of hours teaching moving bodies.  Kirsten’s training comes from a broad background including Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Nidra, Alexander Technique, LabanNotation, Dance Therapy, TCTSY, and Mind/Body Therapy.  
 
She is also the Founder of Healing Motion, a place where you can discover your innate wisdom, restore yourself, and transcend to holistic wellbeing through private sessions, community events, and free offerings. 

www.legacymotion.org / www.healing-motion.org

Lucy Bryan-Smith - Slow Flow Yoga

Having originally trained in Hatha/Ashtanga, Lucy now practices and teaches in a much more embodied way, allowing space to drop out of the mind and into the body. She uses a combination of Yoga Asana, somatic movement and breathwork to rebalance and calm the nervous system. These have been the practices that have been most profound in her own personal practice. Lucy's style is soft, fluid and often breath led. There's no strict alignment, just you and your body, however, it needs to be in that moment.

Lucy initially came to yoga feeling unfulfilled. She was also looking for something to help calm the anxiety and stress she was facing at the time. Over her years of practice, she has gained tools to help her manage her energies and anxieties and has found an access to an inner peace and quiet (this of course, needs consistent maintenance and is why it’s called a 'Practice').

Martina Anguelova - Kids Yoga

Martina settled into the world of children’s wellbeing in 2015, first stop being food and cookery; then the journey continued by adding yoga and mindfulness. She understands the difference between teaching and caring for children, having worked in both spheres. Simultaneously drawing on the similarities between the two to offer a loving yet encouraging learning environment where yoga, meditation, imagination, creativity and curiosity meet diversity, structure and mutual respect. It’s children’s inherent sense of wonder and creativity and their capacity to love and connect that inspire her to stay enthusiastic, to grow in patience and believe in the magic that surrounds us all.
 
She is certified by Rainbow Kids Yoga and continues her own development by regularly attending training, workshops and seminars by inspirational teachers and leaders in the fields of yoga, wellness and personal development. In addition, she is a Second-Degree Usui Reiki Practitioner, a Yoga Nidra Facilitator, an EFT (Tapping) Practitioner and has achieved an Advanced Diploma of Astrological Studies. Martina holds First Aid Training, Level 1 Safeguarding Qualification, full liability insurance and is CRB (Criminal Records Bureau UK) approved and accredited by the International Practitioners of Holistic Medicine.
A poet, a sea lover, an earth protector and a crystal collector! A kirtan devotee and a Vata Pitta, always chasing blue skies and hot suns around the world! A forever student of Yoga and now excited to share her magic with you as your honoured teacher.
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Find her on www.yogatimeyay.com and Instagram @yoga_time_yay

Nicolas Bal - Breathwork

Nicolas is a certified breathwork facilitator (Core Healing Breathwork - 125h). He combines his experience as a DJ and extensive knowledge of music to create a unique breathwork journey. He is passionate about non-ordinary states of consciousness and continuously learning about various holistic practices and psychedelic therapy, harm reduction & integration.

More information: www.mudmossmagic.com

Peggy Ziehr - Pilates

Peggy started dance at the age of seven, but only later in life it was contemporary dance that opened her curiosity and understanding for her personal capacities and ways of moving. This eventually led her to teaching Pilates and Yoga. The combination of Pilates and Yoga helps to gain awareness and strength, and consequently also leads to changing habits. Peggy’s classes holistically strengthen the body and the mind and at the same time she encourages a sense of ease so that you are working with your body and not against it. Her respect for the diversity of human bodies continues to grow with every class she teaches and she keeps on following the path of offering individual support for individual beings. Everybody is different, so also every body is different.

More information: www.peggyziehr.de
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Susanne Mayer - Pilates

From early on Susanne had a passion for moving and especially for dance. Originally from Munich she moved to London to study Contemporary Dance. She graduated with a BA in Theatre Dance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London and a MA in Dance Studies from Freie University in Berlin. She has worked as a performer, choreographer and dance teacher in the UK and Germany.
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Having experienced the benefits of the Pilates method during her professional training, Susanne decided to become a Pilates instructor. She did her teacher training at BASI Pilates in Munich in 2010. Whilst living in Berlin, she gave regular classes in various studios. Further training included workshops in Fascia Pilates and Pilates for Women’s Health. 
She is also interested in other forms of physical expression and exercise including: Feldenkrais, Klein Technique, the Axis Syllabus/Fascia Training and Yoga. 
Susanne has been living in Lisbon since 2017. 

Susanne is a certified BASI Pilates Mat Work Teacher and gives regular Pilates classes since 2010. She works as a Dance Artist, performs and practices dramaturgy, holding a Bachelor in Theatre Dance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London and a Master in Dance Studies from Freie Universität Berlin. Since 2017 she lives in Lisbon. 

More Information: https://www.facebook.com/emmovimentolisboa/

Vanessa Naumann - Soundbaths

Vanessa is a Sound and Breathwork Therapist working with low-frequency sound vibrations and the breath as tools to help you navigate through change, release stress, and overcome trauma. Releasing what we hold in our body, is the foundation to heal, and expand our awareness, creativity, and resilience to live a healthy, fulfilling life.

More information: www.decodewithsound.com