Marianna Thymiaki
Marianna Thymiaki is the Founder, Director, and Lead Teacher of Modern Yogi, a yoga studio based in Nafplio, Greece.
Her teaching is inclusive and accessible, honoring the unique needs, abilities, and journey of every student. Deeply inspired by the philosophy of yoga, Marianna weaves its timeless principles into every class, believing that ancient wisdom can serve as a practical guide for modern life. This philosophy is the inspiration behind the name Modern Yogi, where traditional teachings meet the needs of contemporary living.
Marianna has been practicing yoga since 2009, following a lifelong path of dedicated practice, study, and continuous learning. She is an E-RYT 500 and YACEP registered teacher with Yoga Alliance and has completed Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training with David Swenson. She trained in the Black Lotus Yoga system with Ty Landrum, deepened her studies in Pranayama and Meditation with Gregor Maehle, and completed Yin Yoga training with Paul Grilley. She has also studied extensively with internationally respected teachers including Richard Freeman, Tim Miller, Nancy Gilgoff, Jean Claude Garnier, Monica Gauci, and many others, continually expanding both her knowledge and her approach to teaching. In 2026, she hosted Adam Keen at Modern Yogi, further strengthening the connection between the Greek and international yoga communities.
Throughout her career, Marianna has taught at well-known yoga studios in Athens, as well as dance schools, fitness centers, and cultural organizations, gaining extensive experience working with students of diverse ages and backgrounds. She is also the co-owner and contributing writer of the online wellness magazine ModernYogi.gr, has written for 4MOMS, and co-organized the Revival Festivals in Athens for three consecutive years, beginning in 2017.
In 2021, Marianna moved with her family to Nafplio in search of a slower pace of life and a deeper connection with nature. For two years, she collaborated with Fougaro Art Center, where she taught yoga to both adults and children.
Today, through Modern Yogi, she continues to cultivate a vibrant yoga community by offering daily classes, workshops, retreats, and teacher training. Her mission is to inspire people of all ages and experience levels to integrate yoga into their everyday lives as a sustainable and meaningful way of living.
Marianna is also the mother of two daughters. Outside the yoga shala, she enjoys rock climbing and mountaineering and is an active member of the Nafplio Mountaineering Club, finding inspiration in nature, movement, and adventure.
Dimitri Dermentzis
Dimitris Dermetzis is a certified guide-facilitator for outdoor recreational activities (ISO/IEC 17024:2012) in hiking and climbing, and a member of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises for Outdoor Recreational Activities. He also works as a rope access technician (IRATA: Lv3), supervising the safety of technicians working at height and being responsible for their rescue. Dimitris studied electrical engineering (EN50110) and specialized in the field of wind energy and offshore renewable energy installations, with a career both in Greece and abroad.
He has been actively involved in mountaineering and climbing since 2002. His activities include several winter ascents on mixed terrain in Greek mountains, as well as many sport and traditional ascents in the most important climbing areas in Greece. He has also climbed in Latin America, the Middle East, and several European countries, scaling rocks, ice, and mixed terrain routes on the vertical faces of the French and Italian Alps.
Among other roles, he has served as a board member of a mountaineering club in the Greek Mountaineering Federation, where he volunteered in fire protection, sports climbing, and technical direction for the 1st and 2nd rock climbing festivals in Athens. He has also served as an expedition leader on mountains in Central and Southern Greece and has worked as a volunteer coach for youth and children, leading them to distinctions and awards in national bouldering championships.
In recent years, he has lived in Nafplio, where he contributes to the cleaning and marking of mountain trails in the area, as well as the development of new hiking routes.
He maintains existing climbing rocks in the area, climbs, organizes the opening of new climbing routes, and creates new climbing fields with a focus on safety. For him, this is a way of life.
In July 2024, he co-founded the “Nafplio Mountaineering Club” with the primary aim of advancing and developing climbing and hiking, raising environmental awareness among citizens, and highlighting the cultural heritage while combining it with modern cultural creation.
Dimitra Tsintavi
Hello! I’m Dimitra Tsintavi, a Stott Pilates Instructor and a teacher of classical ballet and contemporary dance!
A little bit about my education and professional journey so far…
Since the age of 4, I took classical ballet lessons until 2004, when I graduated from the general high school of Atalanti, Fthiotida, and was admitted to the Higher Professional Dance School of Despina Grigoriadou, after passing exams at the Ministry of Culture. Since 2007, as a graduate teacher of classical ballet and contemporary dance, I have worked in various dance schools in Athens, Ioannina, and Nafplio. I have consistently attended seminars on contemporary dance and improvisation both in Greece and the Netherlands.
Επιπλέον είμαι κάτοχος διπλωμάτων στον φορέα ISTD – Modern Theater Dance (Jazz) και Flamenco από την Spanish Dance Society. Παράλληλα, το 2010 έγινα Pilates instructor από την A.F. Studies – Pilates Academy κι έκτοτε διδάσκω την μέθοδο Stott Pilates σε διάφορα Pilates studios, σχολές χορού και γυμναστήρια σε Αθήνα και Ναύπλιο.
Τα τελευταία 9 χρόνια διαμένω μόνιμα στην περιοχή του Ναυπλίου, όπου εξακολουθώ να διαδίδω την μέθοδο Pilates μέσω personal κι ομαδικών μαθημάτων.
Alkistis Asoniti
From a young age, I began discovering the benefits of movement. Sports played a significant role in my life, and my curiosity about the human body eventually led me to study Medicine.
In 2020, during a period of stress, yoga found its way into my life, reminding me of the sense of peace that movement can bring. My practice became a space to reconnect with myself—a pause, as well as an opportunity to refocus and turn inward.
In 2022, I began exploring the path of teaching by completing my first 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) with Panos Katsandris. During the first years of this journey, I developed a deep love for dynamic practices, to which I devoted myself wholeheartedly. During this time, I had the opportunity to teach Vinyasa at different levels, as well as handstands and inversions, in various spaces in Patras and Athens.
Over time, however, as I met students of different ages, with different bodies and in different contexts, my approach to teaching began to evolve. Today, my intention is to create a space where each student can connect with themselves, exactly as they are and wherever they are in their journey.
I continue to attend seminars and training programs, constantly learning new ways to share the gift of yoga. In the summer of 2026, I also completed my medical studies.
This year, in this beautiful space, I will be sharing different aspects of my practice with you—sometimes through relaxing Gentle Flow and Yin Yoga classes, and at other times through dynamic handstand and arm-balance practices.
I look forward to moving together, breathing together, and creating a space of presence and connection.
Christina Merianou
My name is Christina, and my journey with yoga began in 2010, when a class at a gym became the starting point for discovering an entirely new way of life. My search led me to Ashtanga Yoga and to my teacher, Katerina Zoungrou, with whom I took my first meaningful steps into the practice.
I was born and raised in Corfu, and in 2004 I moved to Athens to study Political Science at Panteion University. Later, I lived in Amsterdam, where I had the opportunity to study with different teachers and deepen my practice, particularly in Ashtanga Yoga.
My love for yoga led me to travel to Thailand several times, where I continued my practice and trained in Thai Yoga Massage. I later travelled to Mysore, India, the birthplace of Ashtanga Yoga, where I completed my training at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Foundation, deepening my understanding of the tradition and philosophy of yoga.
Today, I live in Nafplio and continue my practice and personal development under the guidance of my teacher, Marianna. I believe that yoga is a lifelong journey of learning and self-discovery, and my aim is to create a safe and welcoming space where each person can explore the practice at their own pace.
Antonio Charalampous
Antonio is the founder of Yoga Mala Studio in Chalkida, where he leads Ashtanga & Yin Yoga classes, and the founder of ModernYogi.gr. He is certified in the 1st & 2nd series of Ashtanga Yoga by David Swenson, in Yin Yoga by Paul Grilley, and in Yoga Nidra (iRest) by Molly Birkholm.
Due to his athletic background, education in physical education, nutrition, and massage, as well as his specialization in injury rehabilitation, he often collaborates with athletes and individuals with advanced injuries for recovery.
Recognizing the uniqueness of each practitioner, his approach to teaching is simple and straightforward, using the practice as a therapeutic tool for both body and mind.
Antonio maintains a comprehensive practice, working on all aspects of Ashtanga for his personal and spiritual development.
He regularly attends educational seminars with top teachers such as David Swenson, Richard Freeman, Tim Miller, Nancy Gilgoff, Jean Claude Garnier, Gregor Maehle, Monica Gauci, Mark Khan, Deborah Adele, Cliff Barber, and many others.
In his free time, he engages in various forms of art, movement-related activities, and participates in volunteer initiatives.
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