About iYoga Utrecht
our ideal yoga school with art and plants
We started in a small studio
iYoga was founded in 2013 by Claas Hille and Hiske van der Meulen. In 2017 we moved to a former garage building at the Amsterdamsestraatweg 227 which we converted to a light and spacious yoga school. We have 2 yoga rooms with underfloor heating, props, a rope wall, ceiling ropes and a large lobby/dressing area. And even the possibility to wash your feet before the class. Erikjan Cuperus helped us to design and build our ideal yoga school. The plants are thriving!
We love art almost as much as we love yoga and plants. In our yoga school you can find works of Utrecht based artists like Roland Sohier and Bas Lobik. If you are interested in one of these works, please contact us or the artist directly.
We believe that yoga is not only good for you, but it should also be fun. And accessible. We do our best to make yoga accessible to everyone. That’s why our studio is wheelchair accessible, we have ‘Special Needs‘ classes if regular classes don’t suit your needs, and in addition to the regular classes that pay our bills, we also offer Community Classes Community Classes on a donation basis.
Our teachers
Annabel
Anne
Carla
Claas
Dorthe
Daniela
Francesca
Hiske
Joelle
Kerry
Kristien
Leen
Masja
Nadia
Nanda
Tally
Tatiana
Tobias
Willem
Annabel
Annabel Garriga is from Barcelona and had a passion for physical work from a very young age. In 2004 she came to the Netherlands to study art. During her art education she came into contact with yoga. From enthusiasm she started the Iyengar yoga training in 2008. Now she holds the Level 2 certificate since 2013. Yoga gives Annabel pleasure. In the beginning she enjoyed the physical effects such as strength, flexibility, energy and the revitalization of her body. Then she realized that yoga also offers her a state of calm and mental serenity. She also learns through yoga to develop attention. Annabel is an open and cheerful person and as a teacher she enjoys teaching and has a lot of personal attention for her students.
Anne
Anne Hodgkinson came to the Netherlands from California to study music. She discovered yoga as a serious practice relatively late, when someone told her it would improve breathing techniques when singing. Gradually she found her way to Iyengar yoga. She is a bit tense by nature and so the peace you get from Iyengar yoga was a blessing for her, in addition to the physical benefits. With the ancient Yoga Sutra texts, yoga was also a good fit for her love of Indian culture. She appreciates how this text is still relevant today. Anne obtained a vinyasa certificate in 2012 and the Iyengar Level 1-certifcate in 2019. For her, teaching provides balance with her other work as a translator/corrector. She enjoys both the community feel at iYoga and the high level and space for humor in the classes.
Carla
Looking for balance, Carla Smit started with Iyengar Yoga in 2012. This form of movement gives her energy, strength and focus. Body and mind are reconnected. An important motivation for Carla is the challenge, playfulness and expression she experiences while practicing yoga. It is almost similar to the feeling she has when she stands behind her easel. Deepening was a logical, next step in 2016. The practice was anchored by the philosophical and anatomical lessons during the deepening course at iYoga Utrecht. There she gained experience assisting during regular classes and therapeutic classes in addition to teaching herself. That too was a logical next step. Being able to share the positive experience of yoga with others. Guided by Nanda Peek and Hiske van der Meulen, Carla obtained her Level 1 certificate in June 2019 and continues her path with Iyengar yoga.
Claas
Claas Hille is a filmmaker, journalist and yoga teacher. He has never been able to choose between these three interests. He integrates his journalistic curiosity in his lessons. Every body in his class is an object of study. As a filmmaker, he knows that there are many aspects to telling a good story. A good yoga class is like an action movie, a good tension curve and the necessary humor are indispensable.
Claas is still improving his teaching by studying with various senior teachers, and spends a month every other year studying with the Iyengars in India. He was trained at the Iyengar Yoga Instituut in Amsterdam by Clé Souren, Charles Hond and Annemieke Post, and holds the Level 2 certificate.
Dorthe
More then ten years ago Dorthe got a very valuable advice: “Your posture is not great, maybe yoga is something for you”. Despite her doubts, she entered the yoga studio. And she is still very happy about that.
What once started with one yoga class a week, has grown into a daily practice. Because she wanted more depth, the teacher training was a logical step. At first to get more insight in her own practice and Iyengaryoga, but soon she was drawn to teaching again. Dorthe is fascinated by the differentiation possibilities of the Iyengar method: ‘Every person and every body is different. That’s why I explain and demonstrate a posture in different ways. In this way I learn every class again.’ What Dorthe likes most: the body awareness that she sees growing in her students. The contact and interaction between body and mind.
After a period as a communication advisor, Dorthe is now back in education. She obtained the Level 1 certificate in 2017.
Daniela
Daniela Gfeller spends a lot of time in front of the computer as a web and graphic designer, and she finds that yoga keeps her body balanced and energized. She has been a dedicated yoga student since 2001. Daniela loves the active form of Iyengar yoga for its precision and the physical and mental benefits it offers. Her teaching style is challenging but clear and precise. In her classes, Daniela believes it is important to build a solid foundation and then gradually move to deeper levels. She helps students to develop their bodies and improve their relationship with their bodies. “I enjoy seeing the difference between how students lie in Savasana (the last relaxation pose of the class) and how they entered the class”.
Daniela is certified at Level 3 (formerly Intermediate Junior II) and continues to attend classes and workshops with many senior teachers in the Netherlands and abroad. She did the training in Amsterdam, and is currently specializing in therapeutic applications of Iyengar yoga with Stephanie Quirk.
Francesca
Francesca Thompson is originally a musician, and was somwhat reluctant to start yoga in in 2010, not expecting it ot change her life so completely. She discovered Iyengar yoga some years later, and her life took another unexpected swerve when she joined the teacher training programme in 2016, studying with Delilah King and Rembert Petrus in Amsterdam. Ze is CIYT Level 1 since 2018. Yoga is still changing her, and as well as teaching at several schools in the Netherlands, she continues to study with senior teachers, and to assist in medical classes. Francesca is extraordinarily grateful to have found a teacher and a path, and to be able to serve others through yoga.
Hiske
Iyengar yoga is so complete and innovative, and there are so many good, dedicated teachers worldwide, that Hiske van der Meulen does not expect to stop learning for the time being. She has an analytical mind, which she sharpened in her training as a linguist and her work in government. And a great interest in the physical that she developed as a fitness trainer and runner. Combined with the necessary challenges in the field of her own health, this ensures that you are challenged both physically and mentally in her classes to examine yourself.
Ze was trained in Amsterdam by Clé Souren, Charles Hond and Annemieke Post, and certified CIYT Level 3 (formerly Junior Intermediate III). When BKS Iyengar taught in Moscow she travelled there, she attended intensives with Geeta Iyengar in 2009, 2015 and 2018, and studies as often as she can at the Iyengar Institute in Pune. She has completed a 3-year training in therapeutic applications of Iyengar yoga with Stephanie Quirk, takes regular classes with Sheila Haswell and Gitte Bechsgaard, and with several other senior teachers at home and abroad.
Joelle
Joelle Tangs first intention when she started yoga in Shanghai in 2004 was to become flexible. Later, thanks to Iyengar yoga, she gets to know herself better and better on the physical, mental and spiritual level through the different layers of the body. She strongly believes that yoga can contribute to anyone’s well being. She is eager to share her knowledge, experience and insights with others. She has an eye for detail, focuses in class and, where possible, challenges you to get deeper into yourself with occasional humor in between.
She began her teacher training at the B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga Institute Amsterdam with Charles Hond, Clé Souren and Annemieke Post in 2009. After a deliberate hiatus, she resumed and completed the training with Delilah King and Rembert Petrus. Joelle has had her Level 2 certificate since 2019 and regularly follows classes and workshops at home and abroad, including at Hiske.
Kerry
When a student walks into a yoga class, Kerry Reinking believes they are searching for freedom. Maybe in the form of relief from physical pain or stress, or to explore big life questions. “I don’t believe that there is a ‘right’ reason to be practicing yoga – for whatever reason you come, I will do all I can to show how powerful of an ally Iyengar Yoga can be on your journey.”
Through his work as a portrait photographer and Iyengar Yoga teacher, Kerry knows how to balance art and technique.“ “My Job is to help my students discover their own body’s intelligence, and inspire them to build a strong and solid body and mind.” Kerry incorporates over 15 years of yoga experience to guide his students to create a positive change to their life.
Kerry teaches weekly classes at Yogaschool Amsterdam and in his home town Broek in Waterland. Kerry completed his teacher training at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in Amsterdam as well as the Iyengar Yoga therapy training. He has several years experience assisting in the Institute’s medical therapy classes. He is CIYT Level 3 (formerly Intermediate Junior 3), and goes to India for a month every other year to study with the Iyengar family.
Kristien
Kristien Van Reusel is originally from Hasselt, Belgium, but has been living in Amsterdam for quite a while now, where she runs her own yoga school. Kristien is a graduate and former teacher of the Rotterdam Dance Academy and became a certified Laban Movement Analyst in Berlin. Until the ’90′s she could be seen on national and international dance podia as modern dancer and choreographer. In those days (1990), Kristien was introduced to her first Iyengar yoga teacher, Charles Hond, by a choreographer. She took classes as preparation for rehearsals and shows.
Since 1999 Kristien is a certified Iyengar yoga teacher, trained by Annemieke Post, Charles Hond, Clé Souren, John Floris and Nanda Peek. After that, Kristien regularly visited RIMYI (Pune India) to follow classes from Geeta and Prashant Iyengar for a month, and she assisted in the therapeutic classes under the supervision of Mr. Iyengar. Kristien currently has the Level 3 certificate (formerly Intermediate Senior I) and she guides students who want to become teachers in her own Yoga school and in Maastricht. Kristien has worked for many years as a committee/board member of the Iyengar Yoga Association Netherlands and as an assessor for teacher exams.
in memoriam – Leen
Leen discovered yoga at his work as a mental health psychologist, There you could follow Iyengar yoga class as a ‘company sport’. Although that seemed rather out of his comfort zone, Leen tried it a couple of times and liked it so much that he stayed as a dedicated student ever since. And he integrated it in his daily life. Leen was certified Iyengar yoga teacher Level 1 since 2019. In addition to teaching at iYoga Utrecht, he also taught his colleagues in mental health care. In his work with clients, he liked to use physical (yoga) exercises, body-oriented interventions, relaxation exercises and mindfulness. Along with attention to breathing, this was an indispensable addition to his strongly cognitively oriented profession.
As a yoga teacher, he connected his experience as a counselor with the teaching of asanas to achieve a state of calm, balanced mind and a stable and strong body. Leen was creative in his yoga practice and as a teacher. He had an eye for detail and liked to do everything with a touch of dry humor. In his spare time he had singing lessons and you could often find him in, on or near the water, on the coast, in a lively city or in a gallery or museum with contemporary art.
Leen passed away on November 12, 2022. We miss him.
Masja
Masja Tuinman started yoga in 2005. Even though it was heavier than she expected, and very confronting at times, she got addicted to the light, energetic and relaxed feeling after the class and soon the yoga studio was her home away from home. Yoga doesn’t only bring her better physical health but also insight, acceptance and mental strength. Presence, in the broadest sense of the word. From the beginning she explored different style and teachers. A beautiful journey, and eventually she could make a conscious choice of the insightful, clear and precise style of B.K.S. Iyengar.
Masja has been teaching since 2013. Training with Hiske van der Meulen was a logical next step on her yoga path. She considers studying with (international) teachers but also teaching and assisting the Special Needs classes a privilege. She is CIYT Level 1 since 2017.
Nadia
Nadia got interested in yoga after reading Siddharta back when she was a teenager, but it’s not until 2011 that she tried her first yoga class, and quickly became addicted to the practice. She moved to Utrecht for her PhD in 2012, and a class with Hiske van der Meulen convinced her she had found the right place for her practice to grow. She loves the (almost scientific) precision of the Iyengar method, and inversions, of course. She started teaching in 2015 and has been certified at Level 1 since 2017. She enjoys teaching fun yet challenging classes, with an attention to details which will bring you deep inside your own body.
Nadia regularly attends classes and workshops with senior teachers to keep on growing as a teacher and practitioner, is passionate about the healing power of yoga and aims to be accredited to teach therapeutic yoga in a couple of years.
Nanda
Nanda Peek has about 4 decades of experience as an Iyengar Yoga teacher. She is certified at Level 3 level (formerly Intermediate Senior III) and is therefore one of the Netherlands’ most experienced teachers. Nanda belongs to the small group of Iyengar yoga teachers, who through the years have experienced the infamous `Intensives` with Mr. Iyengar, and is still inspired by them. She is co-founder of the Iyengar Yoga Institute and the Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training Course in Amsterdam, where she trained and taught many teachers until 2002.
Besides her dedication to Iyengar Yoga, she also studied Zen Buddhism, Jnana Yoga and psychology and worked as an NMI coach mediator. Since 2012 she is active again as an Iyengar teacher ‘putting herself in the skin of’ every student, beginner or advanced. In addition Nanda is qualified and gifted in giving the so-called medical or therapeutic Iyengar yoga sessions, in which the treatment of complaints is the main focus.
Tally
Tally Eldor started practicing yoga out of curiosity: you don’t know what you’re missing until you try… and she’s been trying ever since, every day. She loves the precision and detail of the Iyengar method, and believes that everyone can benefit from it. When she wanted to share her experiences with friends and family, she discovered a new angle to her practice: teaching others. With her background in finance, her analytical and problem-solving skills come in handy in her daily practice and teaching. She combined her passion for yoga and travel and took classes and workshops in several countries. She now lives in Eilat, but thanks to Corona we can still enjoy her (online) classes!
Tally followed teacher training with Berber Schönholzer in Amsterdam. In February 2014 she started training at iYoga Utrecht: she attends classes, assists in regular and ‘special needs’ classes, and she teaches. She is CIYT Level 2.
Tatiana
Tatiana Ronzhina began to practice yoga as a student. Now she has a PhD in geography and is still completely absorbed in yoga. She started teaching in Moscow in 2011.
“Both as an environmental scientist and as a yoga teacher, I try to integrate science into yoga and vice versa. It is a never-ending process of learning and teaching in the world. And I try to stick to this principle in yoga and in my life.”
Tatiana is CIYT Level 1.
Tobias
Toby does not have an Iyengar Yoga certificate, but just by his presence he makes an important contribution to the studio. Many students relax more while petting Toby than they do during their yoga class. We don’t know if that says more about Toby’s inner peace or about the classes, but his Adho Mukha Svanasana is certainly exemplary.
Willem
Willem was convinced by friends to try a yoga class about 10 years ago and after that first class from Claas, he developed a passion for yoga. From the moment he was asked to do a handstand in class it was clear to Willem that Iyengar yoga was the style of yoga that suited him best! Even now it is still the practice of inversions and arm balances that drives him to share his love of yoga with others.
Willem regularly follows classes by Nanda, Claas & Hiske as well as assists at the ‘special needs’ classes. He holds the Level 1 certificate since 2017.