Our Team
Erika Smith Iluszko Studio Owner | Meridian Yoga Practitioner
My love for movement and spirituality was evident from an early age. I started Dance, Karate, and learning about Eastern Medicine in my childhood. After devoting and following the eight limbs of yoga for about 2 decades, I decided to do the 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in Madras, India. Since then, I have attended numerous trainings and workshops which had a huge impact on the way I teach.
My teaching style is a unique blend of all the knowledge I’ve gathered, compassion, and playfulness. My classes are inclusive, catering to practitioners of all levels, from beginners to seasoned yogis. With a focus on alignment and breath, I try to guide my students to deepen their practice, cultivate self-awareness, and develop a profound sense of mindfulness. I see nothing external to my yoga practice as I find everything in life is deeply connected and that ultimately no teacher is greater than the one within.
Lisa Waygand Yoga Teacher
My Yoga Journey started about 8 years ago by randomly trying out different classes at a gym. I always thought Yoga wasn‘t for me but there I was, finding the peace of mind I desperately needed.
What you need in life, will always find you, if you let it happen.
After years of practicing and joining retreats, I wanted to learn more about Yoga and its‘ philosophy, getting a better understanding of what I was actually doing, which led me to finish my first Hatha Yoga teacher training in 2022.
I didn’t feel ready to teach until I recently completed another 100-hour Meridian teacher training here at Manas with Erika.
Yoga had such a positive impact on my life and I simply wanted to give something back.
It taught me, that whatever happens in the outside world, I can always come back to myself.
Irene Faehndrich Qi Gong & Yoga Teacher
My yoga journey began later in life, a path that continues to surprise me with its profound calling. My diverse background spans decades of artistic expression, social work, and ultimately, the healing arts.
Born into geographical and social privilege, I grew up immersed in various sports before pursuing formal studies in Dance and Fine Arts. I enjoyed twenty fulfilling years as a professional dancer, dance pedagogue, sculptor, and performing artist, developing a deep understanding of the body as both instrument and canvas.
Jovita Susanna Horn Iyengar Yoga Teacher
One of my favorite sayings is: “With deep gratitude I say YES to life – let’s go”.
I worked for many years domestically, and internationally for companies in project management. The last 5 years I worked in the health care industry. After that I changed my direction semi-spontaneously 😊 and have been teaching yoga for several years now in group, private classes and on retreats and am a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher. I am a Shiatsu therapist and offer coaching for personal development.
Kieana Shirzadeh Yoga Teacher
My mom signed me up for my first ballet class before I turned 3 years old and took me to my first yoga class as a teenager. But it wasn’t until I moved to Vienna about 10 years ago, that “things got serious”. I did my first training in 2015 and started teaching full-time shortly after. With the years, some more teacher trainings all over the world, as well as a lot of dedication, my practice as well as my teaching style have changed and evolved a lot.
Yvonne Oswald Yoga Teacher
My yoga journey began 8 years ago, looking for a solution for my back pain. Pretty soon I noticed the positive effect a regular practice had on my body and mind, making yoga a big part of my everyday life. Yoga challenges me and at the same time it is my haven of peace.
Through my yoga teacher training, I was able to improve my own practice and discovered my passion for teaching. I work a lot with yoga beginners and love to accompany them on their own yoga journey.
Tomas Kolly Yoga Teacher
Movement has shaped my life from an early age. Growing up with a strong focus on sports and performance, an injury in my early twenties shifted my perspective from competition toward inner awareness. Yoga became a space where body and mind could reconnect in a more sustainable and intelligent way.
Subtle and somatic practices deeply influenced my path. They taught me to listen to sensation, to breath, and to the quiet intelligence of the body. These qualities continue to influence how I hold my classes today.
At Manas, I offer Yin and my signature format, Centerline.
My Yin classes create space for stillness and depth. Through long-held shapes and conscious breath, I invite students to soften habitual tension, access the connective tissues, and cultivate a steady presence.
Marie-Louise Lobmeyr Yoga teacher
As a yoga teacher, Marie-Louise aims to cultivate your connection to yourself on three levels: body, mind, and soul. In her Vinyasa Flow classes, you will engage in various aspects of yoga such as pranayama, meditation, and mantra chanting, alongside movement through asanas. Marie-Louise is deeply fascinated by the timeless wisdom of yogic philosophy, which has remained accurate and relevant throughout history, persisting into the current timeline. Her classes are held in German and English.
Adrian Klepe Yoga Teacher
My journey to yoga began in 2018 and since then yoga has become my anchor during happy and challenging times, teaching me the transformative power of breath and presence. While pursuing my PhD in Neuroscience, I realised that while my research focused on the “human doing,” I needed practices that honoured the “human being.”
After years of dedicated practice, I became a 200-hour hatha yoga teacher at Samadhi Studio, and have finished additional trainings in pranayama, yin, and restorative yoga. I have been teaching for a year and have co-organised a couple of mindfulness & awareness retreats, always with a focus on making these practices accessible and meaningful for all body and soul.
When I encountered NeuroMindfulness® Coach education, I immediately knew I had found my niche – it perfectly combined my scientific background with my passion for holistic well-being. In 2025, I co-founded The Mindful BAse, a Vienna-based project dedicated to building bridges with awareness and fostering connections through mindful communication. This work deepens my commitment to creating spaces where ancient wisdom meets modern community needs.
Sandra Walkenhofer Yoga Teacher
After exploring various styles of yoga, I found my home in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga back in 2013, and it has remained a steadfast part of my life ever since. While I initially embarked on my yoga journey for its physical benefits, I soon discovered its profound depth beyond the postures alone.
Yoga extends far beyond the mat, encompassing virtues such as patience, mindfulness, consistency, and discipline. It’s about pushing boundaries, embracing challenges, and occasionally stepping back to let go of the ego. The practice continually shifts our perspectives, both physically and mentally.
Jasmin Khafagi Yoga Teacher
My Yoga journey started on a retreat in Nepal. After this wonderful introduction into the world of Yoga and meditation my whole life turned around and I had no other choice but to commit myself fully to the practice and the teachings of Yoga. These teachings have helped me through various stages of life and gave me the stability I was always craving for.
What I love about Yoga is that it teaches us to walk through life with mindfulness and compassion. Through the asana and meditation practice we can discover how emotions and sensations arise and fade.
Mimi Grünwald Yoga Teacher
Dancing led me to yoga 25 years ago and I am learning everyday since. It has given me the tools to endure, focus, integrate, heal and so much more.
I am trained in Hatha, Vinyasa, Yin and Aerial Yoga and love to use the magic of breath and the frequency of music to get into the flow. Yoga can be a holistic healing system if you‘re ready to dive deep. It‘s not only light but also integrating the shadow aspects and embracing ALL aspects of self.
Yordanka Schlamberger Yoga Teacher
My name is Yordanka, and I am 33 years old, originally from Bulgaria. Yoga with its various aspects has been accompanying me through my life since I was 15 (on and off.) I started learning meditation to improve my concentration and ability to sit still, which I needed as an active chess competitor back then. What I initially started as a tool to optimize my performance turned out to be something to protect my mental health and help me deal with anxiety and depressive episodes.
Lena Moser Prenatal Yoga Teacher
My journey of discovery into yoga began nearly 10 years ago through my primary profession as an early childhood educator. Originally, I wanted to bring calm and relaxation into the children’s hectic daily lives, so I completed a children’s yoga training program. From that point on, the practice never let me go, and many more training programs followed, including my 200-hour teacher training in Barcelona.
Yoga practice and teaching have been a constant part of my life ever since and continue to evolve alongside the major changes in my life. After the birth of my first child, I immersed myself deeply in the topics of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. As a doula and prenatal yoga teacher, it has become my passion to support and accompany women during this special time.
Darya Kondrateva Yoga Teacher
For me, Yoga is an awakening through the discipline of body and mind. The senses become clearer and more vivid, and once can see the connection between everything: you and me, and others, the outer world and the inner, your body and your spirit.
It reminds me of the Russian doll, Matreshka, where one doll is inside another, and they can be unvieled one after another, endlessly. It’s the same with Yoga. You can start with the first layer – physical body- and gain access to an incredible amount of knowledge within.
My class is an intense flow, suitable for all levels of practitioners, combined with breathwork, meditation and relaxation at the end.
Sabine Wagner Yoga Teacher
Raised close to nature and with an affinity for movement, I did orienteering and ju jutsu for years before I stepped on a yoga mat for the first time during an internship in India in 2011. There, my yoga journey started with the Sivananda sequence. In the following years, I kept practicing and tried various styles from Ashtanga to Yin, eventually completing my first teacher training in 2020. I have been offering classes ever since. At the same time, I have always remained a student and keep learning more – in yoga classes, trainings, and from participants of my classes.
Aurelia Brida Yoga Teacher
My first encounter with yoga was in 2017, while living in France and Denmark. While my surroundings changed, I found refuge and trust in my body, mostly through strength training. Later my teacher Janni introduced me to gentler ways, where yoga not only trains muscles, but softens the heart and mind. And that’s what I share now. In my teaching, I want to create and give space for your authentic expression. Time to relax your eyes, listen to your senses and intuition. I love simplicity, that’s why you won’t find complex poses in my classes. Instead: a clear repetitive structure to lean into and find freedom in.
Julio Eduardo Sanchez Avellan Yoga Teacher
I’m originally from Nicaragua, and my yoga journey began while I was living in Taiwan, where I spent ten years of my life. What started as simple curiosity slowly grew into a deep passion. Not only for the physical practice, but also for the Taoist philosophy that shaped so much of the culture around me. Its teachings on softness, balance, and natural flow continue to guide the way I move, breathe, and teach.
In my classes, I blend dynamic mobility, flexibility training, and strength work with long, grounding holds. I love exploring how strength and softness support each other, and I bring those elements into every practice. For me, yoga is a space to reconnect with the body, to move with curiosity instead of judgment, and to find ease in both effort and stillness while all learn from each other.
Barbara Gföllner Yoga Teacher
I first came into contact with yoga when I moved to Vienna for my studies more than ten years ago. As a student, I learned to appreciate yoga due to its physical benefits and calming effects that took me out of my head and back into my body. I stayed with both studying (pursuing a PhD) and yoga: yoga always provided the necessary balance between body and mind as it guides me deeper into more subtle layers of the self (the koshas) and away from heady work. I value studying as much as teaching. Taking my yoga practice further, I decided to immerse myself more in the study of yoga philosophy and tradition and did my Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh, India, in 2018.
Cedric Pfeiffer Yoga Teacher
Yoga, for me, is the fundamental experience of coming into intimate contact with life. It’s about cultivating openness, awareness, and clarity to enjoy this experiment with the universe.
My work as a holistic health coach, which I began in Germany, helps me start right at that point. There my approach is deeply rooted in the integration of mind, body, and spirit. I blend nutrition, fitness, and mental development—particularly inner child work—to create a wholesome approach to well-being. I am dedicated to helping others discover their true potential, connect with their inner selves, and lead lives of authenticity and purpose.
Sneha Brandtner Yoga Teacher
My yoga journey began ten years ago, a transformative path that has profoundly changed my understanding of physical and mental wellness. Since discovering yoga, I’ve learned to listen deeply to my body and integrate mindfulness into my daily life, a practice that culminated in completing my yoga teacher training in Vienna during 2021. Through numerous workshops and continuous learning, I’ve developed a teaching approach that emphasizes individual needs, creating a supportive environment where students can explore their unique potential.
Angelika Mantlik Yoga Teacher
Bruno Chichizola Yoga Teacher
Bruno’s yoga teaching is deeply shaped by his years of fieldwork with indigenous communities in rural Peru, where reciprocity and more-than-human perspectives redefined his understanding of connection. After his PhD, a turbulent period led him to volunteer at Suryalila Retreat Centre in Spain—initially for 3 months, but he stayed 3 years, contributing to land regeneration and deepening his practice.
Through this hands-on work and contemplative living, Bruno realized the parallels between non-duality in yoga and indigenous wisdom. His classes draw from these traditions, inviting students to experience yoga as a practice of presence, reciprocity, and gentle self-discovery.
Find us here:
Address:
Franz-Josefs-Kai 41/17 | Vienna, Austria, 1010
Opening Hours
Mon – Sun: 07:00 – 22:00 | Open all year!
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