Resume

Eleftheria Lagoudaki

Eleftheria Lagoudaki was born in Athens and grew up in Piraeus.In 1998 she graduated with honors from the Greek National School of Dance. She continued her studies on dance/choreography in New York on a scholarship by her school (1999-2000). There she got to know Ashtanga Yoga and became a devoted practitioner.

In 2001 she took part in an intesive teacher training program of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga by Radha Warrell who, along with Derek Ireland, was responsible for the introduction of Ashtanga to Europe in the mid 80's. In 2001-2002 Eleftheria successfully taught Ashtanga in various venues in Athens. In September 2002 she founded Ashtanga Yoga Athens 2002, the first Shala in Athens to exclusively teach the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga method. 

She has attended seminars by the founder of the method Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, the lineage holder R. Sharath Jois and other great teachers. She got to make her first visit to K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, India in 2014. She has been returning to Mysore as often as possible so she can study next to R. Sharath Jois.
In 2016 Eleftheria was awarded by lineage holder R. Sharath Jois the “Authorization”, the official teaching license through which the precise transmission of the method is insured.
Eleftheria since 2001 returned every year for at least two weeks to the teachers who planted the seeds of traditional Ashtanga for her, Radha Warrell and Pierre Seghir, until they stopped teaching in 2018.
As a dancer, Eleftheria took part in “Medea” by “Edafos Dance Theatre” / Dimitris Papaioannou (Greece, France, Portugal, Cyprus, 1998), “Analia” (Athens, 2001) and danced and choreographed as a founding member of “CosmosDanceCo” (New York, 2000). She has presented her work as a choreographer in Greece, Amsterdam and New York.
She taught music and dance education and movement/dance in DEPA of Kalamata (1998-99 and 2001-02).
She took part in the “Melina” program aimed at teaching dance in primary education.
She did Ashtanga Yoga warmups for “Griffon” dance company and for Dimitris Papaioannou’s company for the productions “Medea 2” (2008), “Nowhere” (2009), “INSIDE” (2011) and “The Great Tamer” (2017). She was a performer in Dimitris Papaioannou’s  work “INSIDE” (2011) and got on the stage for the last time for the production “À Louer” by the Belgian dance theater company “Peeping Tom” (Athens Festival, 2012).
She has obtained Reiki levels I + II (2000) and has a degree in Ayurvedic Science (NHS 2002-2004). She has attended intensive Body-Mind-Centering seminars that have a big effect on her teaching.
She is an amateur saxophone player, has attended stage lighting and costuming workshops and also took creative writing courses (she sometimes writes).

Since 2001, Eleftheria has devoted herself on practicing, teaching and spreading Ashtanga Yoga the way it was taught by K. Pattabhi Jois and continues to be taught by R. Sharath Jois. Since then she has been teaching and instructing Mysore classes every day with great responsibility, taking into consideration every individual student’s temperament and helping each one to discover one’s own potential. Eleftheria is responsible for introducing this method to hundreds of people. She finds great joy in working with the practitioners towards a pleasant, safe and steady practice, freeing Ashtanga from dogmatic and rigid beliefs that can be a hindrance to experiencing the multifaceted benefits of this wonderful method. Her instructing during classes is at the same time precise, well researched and pleasant.
She has given workshops in several cities in Greece and has organized exceptional retreats in Greece and abroad. She has also hosted in her school successful workshops by Radha Warrell and Pierre Seghir (2004, 2007, 2008, 2010), Hamish Hendry (2007), Danny Paradise (2012), Kia Naddermier (2013), Matthew Sweeney (2013), Eddie Stern (2014, 2016, 2018), David Swenson (2015), Ty Landrum (2017) and has participated also in workshops with Nancy Gilgoff, David Gariggues and Angela Jamison.  

Eleftheria holds a certificate of Deep Listening from the official lineage of Pauline Oliveros. Her Deep Listening practice starts slowly interwaves with her yoga practices and studies. 

The last years she finds refuge, inspiration and strength in the precious ecosystem of Sharmila Desai.

She lives with Dimitris and is the mother of two boys, a dog and probably a cat.