ashtanga yoga
st cugat
YASMINA ESPELOSIN
Founder and teacher
YASMINA ESPELOSIN
After taking the selectivity test, I felt unmotivated with my studies since I had been working for many years in television and missed a lot of classes.
So I decided to study dance. I had never worked on my body before and I tried hard to learn and feel accomplished and worked on. That great physical change made me increase my self-esteem and realize that, with passion and love, anything is possible. A dance teacher introduced me to yoga and I knew that the practice would accompany me for the rest of my life.
I worked for 8 years at the Aula de So music school in Sant Cugat. Directing groups, organizing shows and creating choreography. With the pride of having been a teacher of very talented children like Carmen de Leon, Nick Maylo, Martina Burón, Júlia Serrasolses or Valèria Sorolla.
While I was dedicating myself to this work, I started practicing Ashtanga Yoga with Eva Oller and Sarah Florance. Shortly later, I received solid training as an assistant and teacher thanks to the pedagogical work of Elena Figarola, director of the "Ashtanga Yoga Shala" center in Barcelona and direct disciple of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Also thanks to her husband Jordi Sardà who inspired me with his example, always dedicated to practice and teaching. After a few years of learning, Jordi fell ill and I had to replace him in classes, assuming that great responsibility. The years of learning in Elena's shala were beautiful and I will always carry them in my heart.
Covid changed the course of life and together with Pol I created our online studio that would ultimately end up being the project for our own shala.
My best training has been regular practice since I was 19 years old and daily teaching since I was 24. But I have also studied therapeutic yoga at the Tech University of Technology and obtained my official qualification (Certificat d'instrucció en yoga) through the Acredita't program of the Generalitat. Through this program, I have received comprehensive yoga training taught by Lídia Serra. I continue to train regularly with teachers who inspire me like Petri Raisanen.
I was born into a family where yoga has been a close connection since I was a child. I suppose this environment in which I grew up provided the conditions for me to eventually discover the practice of Ashtanga Yoga.
My first contact with this practice was in 2009, at the age of 21, with Paco Hita. He taught small groups at the Nagarjuna Buddhist Center in Barcelona. With love and compassion, he passed on the practice he had received in Mysore, India, from Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and other international teachers he met at the time. I can firmly say that if I still maintain this practice today, it's because of the way he taught me, and I will be eternally grateful.
I remember the feeling of well-being and the expansion of consciousness I experienced when I left those first classes.
Years later, I continued practicing with Vero Fernandez of "Ashtanga Yoga Gràcia", who continued to accompany me in my learning and to whom I am also very grateful, as well as to her assistants with whom I had the opportunity to coincide.
Over time, I felt my physical body purify and I gained mental and emotional stability.
Finally, after a period of self-practice at home, where I understood how important Ashtanga yoga is to me and what a great tool I had found in my life, I felt like going back to Mysore classes and sharing with people. That's when I arrived at "Ashtanga Yoga Sant Cugat," where I met Pol and Yasmina, with whom I was able to continue practicing, learning from them, and attending their classes. I have great respect for them and I truly value the beautiful community they created, of which I am now a part.
I understand Mysore classes as a safe space where we can reveal ourselves, our vulnerabilities and strengths, and feel supported. I truly enjoy being able to provide this support.
I would also like to mention Ricardo B. Rodríguez and Toni Romero, with whom I have acquired a more holistic vision of yoga and the practice of ashtanga. I would also like to thank all the people with whom we have been able to share this profound and transformative practice over the years, inspiring one another regardless of whether we have been practicing for a long time or recently.
For a United Yogi Community! ∞
A hug, see you at the shala!
Roc.
ROC VALLS
Teacher
SOLEDAD FERNANDEZ
Assistant
I attended an ashtanga class in 2016 almost by chance and it was love at first sight. Since then, I have been practicing in the Mysore style and although at this point we might think that I should be practicing the sixth series, the truth is that I have a tough body and it is not designed for yoga, which shows that even with not so good material you can do something good if you have the necessary perseverance and willpower.
I enjoy reading, writing, singing, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. I have been attending the teachers at this shala since September 2023. I am currently taking a Hatha Yoga course with Aleix Guiñó and Sebastián Arbondo.