About Us

We are the oldest operating Ashtanga Yoga school in Estonia, but our path here wasn't a straight line. It’s been a long circle.

How It Started (2000–2006)

I (Jocke) did my first Ashtanga workshop back in 2000. It was interesting, but it didn't stick immediately. It wasn't until 2005 that Terje and I started practicing yoga regularly. At the time, we were working in the fitness industry—Terje was a club CEO and I was a product manager.

The real shift happened in the summer of 2006. We went to a two-week retreat with Lino Miele in Finland. Honestly, I was a meat-eater then and my biggest worry was, "Will I survive two weeks on vegetarian food?" But after two weeks of strong practice and Magnus’s food, I felt surprisingly good. That retreat didn't just change my diet; it changed our direction.

Building the School (2007–2015)

On January 2, 2007, we opened Fittest Body and Mind. We taught Pilates and other classes to get people through the door, but our focus was Ashtanga.

We kept following Lino’s teaching. In 2009, Lino came to Tallinn to teach a workshop at our place. He invited us to study with him in Kovalam, India, which we did. The following year, 2010, during his visit to Tallinn, he officially inaugurated us as the Ashtanga Yoga School of Tallinn.

For the next five years, we were the hub for Lino’s teachings here. We hosted him every spring for workshops and every summer for retreats in Paatsalu, Tallinn, and Haapsalu.

Going Our Own Way (2016–2025)

In late 2015, our cooperation with Lino ended. We were involved with creative processes like YOGAFUNC, which was not okay for representatives of Lino's schools. The Ashtanga Yoga School of Tallinn was put on hold.

For the next 10 years, we "bent the rules." We experimented. I created the Fullvinyasa concept and we focused on functional movement rather than strictly following the tradition. It was a time of exploring what we thought yoga should be.

Back to the Roots (2026)

In late 2025, I started feeling drawn back to the traditional practice. I tried it again, just one practice, and it felt right. It became clear that I didn't want to reinvent the wheel anymore. I wanted to practice the method exactly as it was taught to me.

So now, we are rebuilding. We are rebuilding the school, and we are rebuilding our connection to the lineage and Lino Miele. We are done with bending the rules. We are here to share the traditional Ashtanga Yoga method.

Thank you for being part of our journey. See you on the mat.