After doing more than ten years of African and contemporary dance, Rossana Galanzi started practicing Ashtanga yoga with Lino Miele in September of 1994 during a retreat in Greece. Upon returning to Rome, she continued her practice with Lino Miele and Tina Pizzimenti, while following Lino to many of his workshops abroad (Finland, Sweden, and India). In 1999, she began her apprenticeship as Lino's assistant, continuing to attend his workshops around the world. Lino, Tina, and Rossana, along with a few other dedicated students, founded "La Scuola di Astanga Yoga di Roma" in 2000. Rossana met Sri K. Pattabhi Jois for the first time in Helsinki during his 2001 European tour. She went to Mysore with Lino four years later to practice with Pattabhi Jois at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute. In November 2005, Rossana accompanied Lino on his trips to Canada and the United States as his assistant. From 2002 to 2008, she substituted a few months per year for the main teacher at the Ashtanga Yoga School of Copenhagen, also founded by Lino. Rossana currently teaches full-time at the school in Rome. In December 2009, Lino honored Rossana with a certificate verifying her more than 12 years of apprenticeship with him.

Web site: www.ayri.it

Sergio Rossetti was a martial arts teacher when his wife, Maria Paola, encouraged him to accompany her to an Ashtanga yoga demonstration. This was how he met Lino Miele. He was completely taken by Lino's smooth transitions from one asana to another using only the breath and decided to take his first yoga class ever in 1996. Although he had never thought of doing yoga, he was now fascinated by the vinyasa system and continued to take classes with Lino Miele and Tina Pizzimenti. Three years later, Sergio started his apprenticeship under Lino, assisting Lino in the evenings when he was teaching in Rome and also at Lino's retreats in Italy. Since 2000, Sergio has been Lino's assistant not only in Italy but also in Kovalam, India, where he assists every year. Sergio met Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in Helsinki in 2001 during his tour and then again in 2005, when he went to practice with him in Mysore. Sergio teaches at the Ashtanga Yoga School in Rome and is one of its founders. In December 2009, Lino honored Sergio with a certificate verifying his more than 12 years of apprenticeship with him.

Web site: www.ayri.it

Inspired by her sister's enthusiasm for Ashtanga yoga, Maria Paola Stefani took her first yoga lesson in 1995 with the Italian maestro Lino Miele. For four years, she was a regular student in Lino Miele and Tina Pizzimenti's classes. In 1999, she began her apprenticeship with Lino at his encouragement. She assisted him during his workshops and retreats in Italy as well as in Kovalam, India, thereby acquiring a deeper understanding of the practice and knowledge of how to teach. Maria Paola left her job and started to teach Ashtanga yoga full time when the Ashtanga Yoga School in Rome opened in 2000. She is one of the founders of the school and teaches there every day. In addition, she continues as Lino's assistant, highly appreciated by fellow assistants and students. Maria Paola met Sri K. Pattabhi Jois twice, in Helsinki (2001) and in Mysore (2005) where she experienced his teaching in his own shala. In December 2009, Lino honored Maria Paola with a certificate verifying her more than 12 years of apprenticeship with him.

Web site: www.ayri.it

In the beginning of 1999, Pinuccia Buscaglia decided to sign up for an Ashtanga yoga course to regain balance in her hectic life as a manager. Six months later, she met Lino Miele in one of his workshops, and little by little, her life started to change. During 2001, she began assisting in Ashtanga classes. In September the same year, she met Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his family in Helsinki and had the privilege of spending some unforgettable afternoons with them after the workshop. By the end of 2002, Pinuccia quit her job and dedicated her entire time to the study of Ashtanga yoga. She assisted Lino in Kovalam during his workshop and went with him to Mysore to experience self-practice with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in 2004. After a number of years under Lino's apprenticeship and assisting him in Italy and abroad, Pinuccia felt prepared to teach and started conducting her own Ashtanga classes in Milano. In 2008 Lino sent her to teach in the Astanga Yoga School of Helsinki. In association with some of Lino's long-term assistants, she is one of the founders of the Astanga Yoga School in Milano, where she teaches daily. She is presently studying the advanced A series with Lino.

Website: www.astangamilano.it

When Sandra Mazzucchelli was introduced to Ashtanga yoga in 1998, she was already at a mature age. Meeting her teacher, Lino Miele, was of significant importance. She embraced without hesitation the discipline of Ashtanga yoga and felt a strong sensation of energy and well-being emerging from doing the Ashtanga practice. This was a turning point in her life. After a few years, she began her apprenticeship under Lino, participating and assisting him in workshops in Europe and India. Encouraged by her maestro, she started teaching in Milano with Pinuccia Buscaglia in 2004. A year later, she traveled with Lino to Mysore to practice with his guru, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. In 2009, her dream finally came true: in association with three other long-term students of Lino, she founded the Ashtanga Yoga School in Milano. Sandra teaches in the school daily, but also finds time to study with her maestro Lino Miele in retreats and workshops in and outside of Italy. She is currently learning the intermediate series.

Website: www.astangamilano.it

Andrea Martinez made her acquaintance with hatha yoga at the age of fifteen and stayed on that path for several years more. However, it was meeting her teacher, Lino Miele, on her first trip to India in 1998, that her life and style of teaching took a dramatic turn. With her experience and knowledge from hatha yoga, she immediately committed herself completely to the study of Ashtanga yoga.Passionate about the Ashtanga yoga system from the start, she went back to study with Lino Miele in Kovalam three other seasons, and upon each return to Buenos Aires she worked hard to build up the Ashtanga yoga community there. Furthermore, she attended workshops with Eddie Stern (New York City) and Matthew Vollmer (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).In 2008, Andrea hosted Lino Miele's first workshop in Buenos Aires. A year later, she opened the Ashtanga Yoga School of Buenos Aires under Lino's directorship. Andrea continues her apprenticeship under Lino Miele, assisting him during his second tour in South America, and then at retreats in Ca' le Suore (Italy) and in Kovalam (India).

Website: www.ashtangaba.com.ar

Simona Braccini - Cervia (RA) - Italy

Website: www.facebook.com/astangacervia