Irina Varshavsky

I started practising yoga in 2020 and discovered Ashtanga quite by chance—all thanks to a piercing! At the time, I was swimming regularly, but I had to take a break while my new piercing healed. I spotted an ad for a studio near my home in Israel and decided to try yoga for a while. That temporary change became a lasting commitment—hopefully a lifelong one.

One of my biggest influences was San, an Ashtanga teacher and the founder of the studio where I practised for four years. In 2026, I completed my teacher training at Yoga Europe School in Cyprus and began teaching in August. I also have two years of intensive Kundalini Yoga practice behind me, and I draw on that experience in my Ashtanga Vinyasa classes.

My classes welcome different levels of experience, with poses and transitions adapted to each person’s abilities. But Ashtanga isn’t just about stretching and flexibility—it builds strength, too. Even in a gentler class, expect to work up a sweat.

I want people to leave my classes feeling they’ve worked their whole body: strengthened their muscles, stretched, breathed deeply and released built-up tension.

In July 2025, I moved to Cyprus with my husband and our two teenage children. Before that, I spent almost 30 years in Israel, where I finished school, served in the army, earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and built a successful career in HR and recruitment in the tech industry. After many years, though, I experienced burnout and decided to take a different path: teaching yoga and sharing the magic and transformation this practice has brought into my own life.

I’ll admit it—I’m passionate about Ashtanga. The set sequence of poses and transitions, movement guided by Ujjayi breath, and attention to the body and how we feel within are what make it so special to me. By returning to the same poses, you gradually discover new possibilities in your body. It’s like carefully shaping a key that unlocks everything your body is capable of.