Yanoula Athanassakis

Santa Barbara native, Yanoula Athanassakis, came to yoga while completing her M.A. at the Univ. of Illinois.  Her yoga practice began as a way to relieve stress—and to escape the harsh Illinois winters—and it has deepened into the understanding of breath and body awareness.  She studied under Erich Schiffman, whose commitment to the practice she admires deeply.  Teachers Nicole Inglish and Deb Dobbin have also influenced her practice greatly.  In 1998 she began studying Tibetan Buddhism under B. Alan Wallace; the awareness and questioning that this beautiful religion encourages have easily translated to yoga.  She enrolled in the certification program at the Santa Barbara Yoga Center, and hasn’t looked back since.

Her classes focus on mindfully staying aware, and physically engaged.  She harmoniously combines elements of Ashtanga and Iyengar to create a challenging flow-based series that evolves from class to class.  Safety and enjoyment are paramount, but a little sweat won’t hurt either.