At Yoga Academy International, our faculty comes from a diverse array of backgrounds and yogic lineages. We believe in offering the best possible yoga education from seasoned experts. Our students have the opportunity to explore many different types of yoga from many different voices. We are respectful to all traditions of yoga.
Our highly qualified faculty provide an exceptionally rich curriculum. Each teacher is purposefully chosen to feed off strengths and knowledge of the others. Our faculty enables yoga teacher training students to learn a tremendous amount and integrate it fully into their own teaching styles. Students have an incredible opportunity to take in an extensive and well-rounded yoga training. We encourage our students to chose which yoga style or styles best fits their interests. Our attentive faculty are always available during trainings to encourage and facilitate learning from many yogic traditions. Each training hosts select faculty members to join the experience and create the most well-rounded trainings possible.
Yoga Academy International Faculty:
Lauren Rudick
Founder of Yoga Academy International, Lauren is a globally celebrated yoga instructor. She has been teaching yoga for over a decade and comes from a variety of lineages and traditions. Lauren has lead yoga retreats and workshops in over 2-dozen countries and continues to study with world-class instructors whenever possible. Lauren has been featured in Women’s health Magazine, YogiTimes, Optymyz and get out there to name a few as well as on countless podcasts and newspaper articles. Lauren has solid roots in Iyengar based Hatha yoga with continued studies in Vinyasa flow, Anusara, Ashtanga, Restorative, Bhakti and Yin Yoga. She is inspired by teachers who tell stories. She has studied under Seane Corn, Chris Chavez, MC Yogi, Susan Cohen, Mercy Ananda, Nancy Goodfellow and many others. Lauren is passionate about sharing yoga from an authentic and soulful point of view. She believes that yoga practice can help uncover the veils that hide us from achieving our full potential.
Lauren is E-RYT 500 & YACEP registered with Yoga Alliance.
Lauren Rudick
Hatti Williams
Hatti Williams is an Astrologer, Sound Healer, Fashionista and Yoga instructor. She completed her 200hr yoga teacher training and Yin Yoga teacher training with Yoga Academy International in Greece. Hatti then went on to study Yoga Nidra and Sound Healing where she learned more about the energetic body and Traditional Chinese Medicine Meridians.
Hatti has a gift for bringing the mystical to life through her lectures and teachings. She offers a digestible and soulful take on astrology and merges the ancient wisdom of yoga with our understanding of the celestial universe seamlessly.
Hatti Williams
Tina Bock
Hatti Williams is an Astrologer, Sound Healer, Fashionista and Yoga instructor. She completed her 200hr yoga teacher training and Yin Yoga teacher training with Yoga Academy International in Greece. Hatti then went on to study Yoga Nidra and Sound Healing where she learned more about the energetic body and Traditional Chinese Medicine Meridians.
Hatti has a gift for bringing the mystical to life through her lectures and teachings. She offers a digestible and soulful take on astrology and merges the ancient wisdom of yoga with our understanding of the celestial universe seamlessly.
Tina Bock
Will Peters
Making yoga accessible and enjoyable, regardless of who you are and how strong or flexible you are, is his priority. With a passion for all things health and wellbeing, Will’s aim is to inspire anyone and everyone to step on the mat to gain the physical and mental benefits that yoga can provide.Born in the UK, Will is a qualified and registered yoga teacher with over 250 hours of training. Will places an emphasis on alignment and safety. Outside of teaching, Will is an enthusiastic yoga student, constantly pushing his body and mind to new limits. Whether it’s learning to handstand, progressing towards the splits or practicing mindfulness exercises, Will loves to learn new things and grow. This provides continuous evolution to Will’s teaching as he brings new-found energy and knowledge from my personal practice into class.
Will Peters
Liv Townsend
Despite being ‘self-taught’ in the early days, Liv took her 200hr Yoga Teacher Training in London in 2016, an additional 200hr Rocket & Vinyasa Training in 2020 and completed her 500hr training with Jason Crandell in 2021. Liv takes a lot of inspiration for the mechanics and science of movement from other disciplines such as martial arts, gymnastics, calisthenics and resistance training. Her favourite teaching style is a combination of Vinyasa and Hatha yoga which a friend of mine so perfectly suggested it be called VinHatha! There’s not a great deal of chaturanga-updog-downdogs, but instead we challenge the body in more unique ways, manipulating our body weight to find both length and strength in the entire body.
Liv Townsend
Nancy Goodfellow
Yoga director and co-owner of Pranamar Villas and Yoga Retreat in Costa Rica, Nancy is extremely well known for her inspiring and creative daily classes, workshops,and retreats, with students both locally and internationally. Her twenty years of committed practice, thousands of hours of trainings, and continual curiosity towards life’s most mysterious aspects are all part of why she has so many devoted students. She began her Yogic studies in the Ashtanga Vinyasa tradition under the guidance of her first teachers, Dominic Corigliano, Tim Miller and Pattabhi Jois. Nancy has completed over 500 hours of Yoga Alliance teacher trainings and began teaching in 1998. Nancy dedicated many years of study to the Anusara method with its amazing principles of alignment, Tantric philosophy and Bhakti filled practice. She completed over 500 hours of certified Anusara teachings and traditional non-dualistic Tantra studies.
Nancy Goodfellow
Charlotte Mason
Chef Charlotte Mason hails from Boston where she used work in high end restaurant kitchens and then later opened up her own catering company. Burnt out and needing a break, Charlotte went on a surf vacation to Nicaragua and 3 weeks later moved cross continents and has been there ever since. Charlotte’s love of sourcing locally, creating exceptional plant-based dishes and combining flavours makes her food loved by everyone. Charlotte is passionate about health and wellness and is also a certified yoga instructor. Giving back not only with flavours, Charlotte frequently teaches yoga classes in Spanish for local women and helps empower local women to follow their dreams and speak their minds. In joining Yoga Academy International, Charlotte has added so much to the experience by creating comfort and family feelings found only when gathering around a table to share delicious meals together. When not on Yoga Academy International’s trainings, Charlotte creates gourmet pop up dinners around Nicaragua and chefs at yoga retreats around the world.
Charlotte Mason
Spyridon Vathis
Spyros is not a yoga teacher and yes, that is his real name. Spyros comes from Greece and has recently discovered mindfulness and meditation. Spyros is beginning his journey of yoga, practicing often with the Yoga Academy International students and meditating daily on his own. He took Yoga Academy International’s chakra-vinyasa course for personal growth and interest as well as attends many of our classes and lectures. Spyros is our media guy. He hangs around because we love him. He is part of the Yoga Academy International faculty and family. Spyros is like everybody’s little brother. He provides us with comedic relief, feedback, support and speaks 5 languages helping everyone feel listened to and heard.
Spyridon Vathis
Teresa Edmilao
Teresa has been practicing massage therapy since 2006. She has a 3000hr diploma in Massage Therapy from the West Coast College of Massage Therapy in Vancouver, BC. Teresa has a passion for helping people connect with their bodies. She lives by example, inspiring people to lead an active and healthy lifestyle. Teresa spent 7 years practicing massage therapy in Canada to people from all walks of life; students, athletes, desk workers, labourers, youth, elderly, dancers, and accident victims. Teresa is also a fire dancer and hula hoop dancer. She has experienced numerous injuries has personally been through the rehabilitation process many times. It was these experiences that have lead her to delve deeply into the study and application of anatomy and movement. Teresa offers anatomy classes at Yoga Academy International. Her teachings are thorough, meticulous but fun, drawing on every day life experience to help yogis understand their bodies better.
Teresa Edmilao
Sanne Hoffman
Sanne is a ray of sunshine! Before joining the Yoga Academy International team, Sanne was a neuropsychologist in Holland. On her path, she felt that her chosen field was not quite the right fit. So Sanne set off on a journey through Central America to get to know herself better. Along the way she met her partner Toby in Panama. Together they worked and traveled through Central America eventually finding their way to Maderas Beach, Nicaragua. They loved the spot so much that they decided to move there and eventually got jobs managing a boutique hotel. Wanting to expand her offerings at the hotel, Sanne took Yoga Academy International’s 200hr teacher training in 2018. She then furthered her studies in the Chakra-Vinyasa Training and went back to Europe to take Thai Yoga Massage training. Sanne is currently studying to be a life-coach in order to add to her offerings. Sanne is compassionate, loving and kind. She is an example of how to live yoga ethics while still being true to who you are. Sanne offers YAI students endless encouragement and love as well as unwavering support on their journeys. She can always be counted on for a listening ear, a compassionate friend, a glowing smile or a warm hug when you need it most.
