Student of Yoga and Meditation

Simona Nucera is a practitioner and authorized teacher of Ashtanga Yoga whose work integrates classical yogic transmission, contemplative disciplines, and sustainability-oriented design research. Her teaching is firmly rooted in the Mysore method and informed by over two decades of continuous study across Europe, India, Asia, and the United States within the international yoga and meditation community.

Raised in a spiritual environment connected to the Missionaries of Charity, Simona developed an early interest in classical cultures and contemplative traditions. She was introduced to yoga at the age of twenty by her aunt, Franca Maria Plutino, and has since been involved in charitable, educational, and community-based initiatives in Italy and abroad, guided by a commitment to service and human development.

In her early thirties, while working professionally between London and Milan in the fashion and design sector, she experienced a growing inner restlessness that redirected her toward a more rigorous spiritual path. A decisive encounter with Manuela Toso, long-time student of Swami Yogeshwaranand Saraswati of Yoga Niketan Parmarth Ashram (Rishikesh), marked the beginning of her disciplined engagement with traditional yogic study.

In 2006 she commenced an extended period of travel and training throughout China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and India. A formative stay at the Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashram in Tamil Nadu profoundly shaped her understanding of Advaita Vedānta and the practice of ātma-vicāra (self-inquiry). In the years that followed she undertook long-term residence in traditional āshrams and in Varanasi, one of the world’s oldest living centres of spiritual scholarship.

In 2012 Simona returned to professional work in design between London and Los Angeles while intensifying her commitment to the Ashtanga method under Hamish Hendry and Noah Williams, both certified by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. In 2016 she returned to India in response to a strong vocational call to dedicate herself fully to practice under Sri R. Sharath Jois, whom she has since regarded as her principal teacher and Guru. She is among the few long-term students who had the opportunity to study consistently with the late Sharath Jois across India, Europe, Asia, and the United States, following his international programs, workshops, and Mysore seasons.

During the 2018–2019 season she received Authorization to teach from Sharath Jois and assisted in the early-morning Mysore program — a formative apprenticeship that continues to shape her teaching approach. In 2022 she further assisted him in the shala, deepening her study of the traditional hands-on adjustments characteristic of the Mysore method.

Her subsequent training included extended study in New Zealand under Peter Sanson, a senior certified teacher in the Pattabhi Jois lineage, where she supported the Queenstown Ashtanga community and co-founded Wairua Yoga at Jack’s Point.

Simona has taught internationally in Italy, Spain, the United States, India, and New Zealand. Her work remains grounded in the traditional Ashtanga method and is enriched by complementary disciplines including Goenka Vipassanā, Advaita Vedānta, and Tibetan Buddhist studies, which inform the contemplative depth of her teaching.

She is currently pursuing academic studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, integrating historical, cultural, and philosophical research with her ongoing yogic training.

Her vocation continues to unfold through disciplined practice and scholarly inquiry, with the aspiration to transmit the tradition with clarity, integrity, and respect for its living lineage.