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Team

Our teachers are warm, experienced, compassionate and caring. Most importantly, they genuinely love what they do and care about your experience.

Whether new to yoga or Pilates, or an advanced practitioner, our teachers’ talent, warmth and passion will ensure that you are challenged and guided along your journey, on the right path, at a pace that’s right for you – from the very first step. 

Surya Retreat Team

Jamie Isaac

Master Pilates Teacher
Jamie Isaac believes in the power of mindful movement to change the world. Really.

As a surfer, yoga lover and Classical Pilates aficionado, Jamie founded Azulfit & Fluid Life Pilates Studio to share his passion with those who are ready to take their next conscious step toward vibrant health. 

Jamie is a Peak Pilates Master Instructor & Teacher Trainer, 2nd Generation Master Pilates teacher and is one of the world’s first specialist Pilates retreat teachers, having designed and taught Pilates retreats for 15+years. 

Jamie loves nothing more than supporting and celebrating the transformations of his students… except maybe playing with his awesome kids. Find Jamie online at Azulfit 365 or join him on Pilates Anytime. 

Jo Dombernowsky

Pilates Teacher & Nutrition Advisor
Jo Dombernowsky is in charge of the menu at the retreat and inspires us all with her ability to make really healthy food taste really good.

Hi, I’m Jo, Pilates teacher and nutritional advisor. Having studied nutrition for many years, I believe in the power of food to improve health, energy and wellbeing and our menus here at Surya do exactly that. I love sharing my knowledge and passion for food in weekly workshops and special nutrition and retreat weeks.

I am an advanced practitioner and instructor of Stott Pilates and also a trained yoga teacher. My Pilates classes focus strongly on understanding correct form, body awareness and body synergy, giving students the understanding and skill to progress in Pilates safely and quickly. I also offer Reformer classes which are a great way of bringing variety to your movement practice and are ideal for building and toning muscle.

 

I LOVE working in a healthy environment with like-minded people and I LOVE teaching and seeing how people progress and benefit from our classes.

I’m very much looking forward to meeting you!

Charlotte Mulvany

Yoga & Meditation Teacher

Charlotte started her journey with us as a young yogini and volunteer in 2012, a six month experience which quite literally changed her life. 

Hello! I’m Charlotte, welcome to Azulfit.

I believe that everyone has capacity to be strong, healthy and happy at any age.

I feel my role as a teacher is to help you connect with your potential, to plant the seeds of practice and create the right environment in which those seeds can flourish.

Kindness, positivity and laughter are my tools!

I have spent the last decade studying yoga, philosophy, anatomy, and meditation and am currently training to be a therapeutic counsellor. My teaching style emphasises experimentation and connection, underpinned by mindful awareness. I enjoy blending traditional yoga asana with a modern emphasis on developing skills, strength and mobility, which creates body confidence and a practice that is meaningful on and off the mat.

Yoga classes are designed to empower and energise and create an amazing feeling in your body, whilst giving space for mental focus and calm.

Meditation classes employ mindfulness techniques to help you to build or grow your personal practice, and to inspire intentionality in your life. Let’s get started! 

Lindsey Todd

Yoga & Meditation Teacher

Lindsey’s love of yoga began 20 plus years ago. When she found herself in New Zealand surrounded by a group of high vibing Yogis, her whole world changed. 

Hello I’m Lindsey,

I am from the UK and moved here with my family 3 years ago when we packed up our camper van and drove through Europe to the beautiful Canary Islands, searching for more sunshine and a slower pace of life.

My love of yoga began 20 plus years ago and it changed my world! I found I had a place to go that has served me my whole life.

This started me on my journey of self-development within my personal practice and ultimately led me to becoming a Yoga teacher.

I have completed training with the British Wheel of Yoga (BWY), BSY and Yoga Alliance. Loving any opportunity to deepen my knowledge and understanding of our Yoga practice.

For many years I have worked in the UK as a registered nurse. My nursing background enables me to have a unique way of observing the body. Everyone is different. Everyone has their own challenges in different ways. Always approaching practice with kindness and a loving heart.

I love to teach varied styles from a strong vinyasa to a chilled restorative or Yin class. My goal for you in your practice is to help you create space within your body and mind and to deepen your personal practice. I’m always available for a chat and happy to talk you through any questions you may have for your personal practice goals

I look forward to meeting you soon!

Leti Porto

Yoga teacher

Leticia found Yoga like many others, at a time she needed it most. Meditation teacher first, and having experienced a severe back injury and an emotional trauma, she surrendered to the spiritual and physical side of this ancient practice in hope of recovery.

For the subsequent years she followed a strict diet of Meditation and also Ashtanga Mysore style, before undertaking her first 200 hour Vinyasa YTT with her original Yoga Teacher, Andrea Everingham.  Having taught Yoga full time around Manchester and UK and in different Spanish locations for years, Leti felt called once again to dive deeper into her practice and undertook more trainings like  Ashtanga Yoga, with the European Yoga Institute.  She has continued her training on a pilgrimage to India, the home of yoga, to take further trainings in Hatha Yoga, Pregnancy and Postpartum Yoga, Kids Yoga, Yin and Restorative Yoga and her love Yoga Therapy.

With a Kids Yoga Programme for Mindfulness, having worked in youth prisons and alternative schools for the last 9 years, and teaching in the same Yoga Teacher Training she took as a student once in Fuerteventura, Leti Porto follows her heart to “where the call occurs”, she relocates to the Magic Island of Fuerteventura where she runs her own retreats and different yoga classes across the island, Galicia and the UK.

She is guided by a thirst for knowledge that can better herself, her students and her planet.

Community, safe space and respect for tradition are her tools.

A class with Leti will leave you feeling strong yet calm; aligned to yourself and those around you. There will be mantra, movement, meditation and guaranteed giggles.  She meets you humbly in a safe space FOR you. Yoga for all. WeAreOne.

Gary Solomon azulfit

Gary Solomon

Customer Service & Business Manager

Gary is a real team player and helps with many aspects of the Azul experience, always bringing a healthy sense of humour and c’est la vie attitude, to keep things light whilst getting things done.

Gary left his corporate job in the UK to join the Azulfit team, adding his much-welcomed experience working for a large UK tour operator to the Azulfit mix.

Not just a quick mind, Gary loves cycling, triathlons and SUP. He can often be found out on his bike or catching some waves on his paddleboard, making the most of the beautiful island that he now calls home.

Karissa Isaac​

AZULFIT CO-FOUNDER, ALL AROUND TEAM PLAYER

A geneticist by training, Karissa is a strong believer in a holistic approach to wellbeing and the benefits of Pilates and yoga. She put her passion for holistic health into setting up Azulfit along with Jamie, and works to make sure that all guests get the most out of their Azulfit retreat. Karissa is a reiki practitioner and is following her love of healing and holistic wellbeing.

Together with Jamie, as founders they have run retreats, events and workshops worldwide. Although she is missing the Fuerteventura lifestyle and especially her Azulfit family, Karissa loves the water and is a former America East record holder in the 200 Butterfly. You can still find her in the water, and coaching swimming in Carlsbad, CA! She has studied Ayurveda with the Dogwood Botanical school of medicine.

You’ll find Karissa behind the scenes working on our website, booking systems, marketing and working on our amazing location retreats to make sure you have the best Azulfit experience.

Erika Godszak azulfit team

Erika Godzsak

Guest Experience Manager

Erika has a passion for all things fitness and wellbeing and brings her wealth of experience in hospitality to head up our Guest Experience at Azulfit!

Erika lived in London for many years managing a bustling restaurant before relocating to Fuerteventura after falling in love with the island.  She adores outdoor activities, exploring the island and being active. Erika is the perfect host for our guests – always happy, always caring and ensuring your stay is exactly what it needs to be – exactly what you need with that personal touch.

We are lucky to have this star on our team and she hopes you will enjoy your stay with us at Surya retreat!

Alice Aloisi

Alice Aloisi

Guest Care + HR Manager

Alice has worked in hospitality for many years. She is an absolutely wonderful addition to the Azulfit team, bringing care, professionalism, compassion and her amazing language skills to our team.

She is also an important part of our operations team, heading up our staff development and HR, to ensure we are always providing the best experience for not only our guests but our staff as well. We can’t wait for you to meet her!

We are lucky to have this star on our team and she hopes you will enjoy your stay with us at Surya retreat!

Almudena Leon

Vegetarian Cook

Azulfit arrived in my life as a gift; working here has been an amazing opportunity to do what I love, to cook, and to focus on quality vegetarian food with a conscience. 

We plant important seeds in each and every guest with the food that we prepare and I love watching them grow through the week.  I love all the recipes, so I can’t pick one favourite, but if I had to, I’d choose the mung dhal and all of the cakes!
Most important to me are my family; my son and my two granddaughters and living here I can give them a quality of life and freedom that isn’t easy to find in the world but is preserved here in Fuerteventura. You can still find isolated places here to experience wild nature in its pure form and enjoy peace and quie

Analisa Paloshi

Vegetarian Cook

Since 1999 I have been studying and practicing Tao philosophy and what we do here at Azulfit harmonizes perfectly with this philosophy, taking care of ourselves, eating well and learning every day.

My favourite recipe – so hard to choose! I love the date truffles we make here, because of the variety of different flavours and textures you can create with them. For me, Fuerteventura is a paradise, it was always my dream since I was a child to live on a sunny island, so I love living here.
Most important to me are my family; my son and my two granddaughters and living here I can give them a quality of life and freedom that isn’t easy to find in the world but is preserved here in Fuerteventura. You can still find isolated places here to experience wild nature in its pure form and enjoy peace and quie

Carola deGenst

Guest Care
1) How long have you been in Fuerteventura? All my life, although I have had periods when I have been away from the island. 2)What is your favorite thing about the island? The beach, the atlantic ocean and the good life. 3) What do you like about working in hospitality? I like to be friendly and make the guests happy with the time they spend here; both with the services that Surya retreat itself,  and all the island offers to them. 4) What do you like doing in your spare time? I enjoy being with my daughters, my family. And I love the ocean.

Barbara Marino

Guest Care

Barbara takes guest care seriously and loves what she does. She believes in a holistic approach to lifestyle and is an avid believer in leading a healthy, balanced lifestyle. 

She enjoys spending time with her family and loves the healing and mood balancing properties of essential oils. We are lucky to have her on the team, caring for our guests, cleaning and maintaining the beautiful Surya retreat site with love.

Paul ‘Gecko’ Birchmore

Project & Site Development
The island’s leading building expert, we are blessed to welcome Paul ‘Gecko’ Birchmore to our team.

He keeps the retreat site running beautifully, from top to bottom, he loves football and dives with sharks in his free time.

Azulfit Guest Instructors

September Yoga Retreat

Rachel Blunt

Guest Yoga Teacher
Rachel discovered her love and passion for yoga many moons ago during her previous life as a Youth and Community Street Worker.

With a lifelong love of sport and being active, Rachel found that Yoga not only made her feel amazing physically but it did something magic to her mind and gave her the tools she needed to cope with the pressures of her job.

It wasn’t long before yoga became her full time passion and full time career choice! It became clear that being a yoga teacher and youth worker had many similarities… Supporting and guiding people to explore and develop their full potential.

Rachel loves to encourage playfulness and wonder within her yoga practice, her classes and life. She has been teaching full time since 2006, hosting her own retreats and exploring the world. 

Rachel’s commitment to empowering those around her is inspirational and her ability to form lasting and genuine connections with people and raise them up is a true gift.

You can expect to practice anything from Hatha to Vinyasa to Yin to Partner Yoga and all with a few giggles along the way.

Yoga Teacher Training

Andrea Everingham

Guest Yoga Teacher
Andrea is the founder of OneYoga Studio in Manchester and a regular contributor to ‘Ask The Expert’ (Manchester Evening News). She combines her many years of experience studying and working with the human body and movement with an in-depth study of nutrition and raw foods and their impact on overall wellbeing. She is also trained in ante- and post-natal care.
She joins the Azul team in the Fuerteventura sunshine with her natural and empathetic teaching style and infectious enthusiasm. Her holistic and sophisticated approach of total body, mind and spirit integration is as accessible to those new to yoga as it is challenging for the more practiced yogi. Naturally approachable and caring, her passion is to bring the joy and release of yoga to her students. Her captivating, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed approach continues to attract a strong following of committed yogis both in her studio and through retreats across the globe.

Sarah Warman

Guest Yoga Teacher
Sarah was born in the U.K. but is a child of the world. Her passion in life has been to travel, meet new people and experience as much as possible. She has spent most of the last 19 years travelling, living and working in the Caribbean, Italy, Greece, Australia, South East Asia, Spain, East Africa, India, Nepal, Bali and many other countries.

Whilst living and working overseas she has gathered varied skills including working in the travel industry in Italy, teaching English for a charity in Nepal, working on an ecological project in Bali, raising funds and distributing shoes for a children’s charity in East Africa, training as primary school teacher, managing restaurants and even had her own cake business in the Caribbean. Her experiences have given her a broad love for the planet, its wonderful people and a better understanding of our interconnectedness. Her favourite thing in life is her love of people and to help them in any way she can to reach their best potential, either through teaching, charity work or simply by listening and trying to accommodate their needs in her job.
It was during her 7 years living in the Caribbean that she began her health and spiritual journey. After running a successful business working ridiculously long hours and not looking after herself enough, she became quite sick. Suddenly her health and vitality became paramount and she began looking at more healthy, sustainable ways of living. She discovered yoga and the power it brings to connect the mind, body, breath and spirit. She also discovered healthier ways of eating through the health food movement that was sweeping the island. Sarah would go on many yoga retreats herself to rejuvenate, when it suddenly occurred to her, why was she going away on holiday to be healthy, why couldn’t it be a part of her everyday life? So she took the plunge and quit her job to go volunteer in various yoga retreats across Spain, including this one, in a bid to broaden her understanding of healthy eating, to increase her yoga practise of 9 years by training as a Ashtanga Vinyasa and Yin yoga teacher in India, and to see if she could find a way to make it her lifestyle everyday. She was blessed to discover Azulfit and hasn’t looked back since. You can find her local classes in York and her Mandala artwork on My Mandala Yoga.

Jigyasa Shiv

Jigyasa Shiv

Yoga & Meditation Teacher, Teacher Trainer
Jigyasa as her name suggests, was born with curiosity. She was always keen and eager to learn new things ever since she was a child. This quest of hers lead her to turn her love of learning into a lifelong pursuit, deepening her knowledge and sharing this with her students.

She started her career as an Insurance agent, moving onto a Workshop consultant with leading newspaper of India, The Times of India, later she made a switch in Electronic Media, wherein she started as a Creative Sales person and eventually landed herself hosting a Drive Time Radio show on RED FM. Having tried all forms of creative expression, nothing seemed to satisfy her quest in Life. Eventually her encounter with her Master made her realize what she wished to do in pursuit of quenching her spiritual thirst and helping people.

Jigyasa is a Traditional Yoga Teacher and Energy Therapist with a Modern twist. She started practicing Yoga when she was a kid, using the practice as a remedy to help with her health issues. Seeing how the practice worked for her, she has believed strongly ever since in the power of Yoga and Meditation.

Originally born, brought up and trained in India, Jigyasa has been living on the beautiful island of Fuerteventura for a couple of years teaching Yoga and practicing Energy Therapies. Classes/Sessions with her will help you heal your Body, Mind and Soul and connect better with your inner-self. Her classes provide a good mix of Chanting, Pranayama, Asana and Meditation.

Jigyasa strongly believes that Each body is different and dedication can bring in great results.

Yoga Aphorism that Jigyasa strongly believes in is “Ishwarapranidhanadva” meaning “Inner peace can be achieved through complete devotion and surrender (pranidhana) to God or a higher power (isvara)”

Training & Experience-

  • Yoga, Energy Reading & Healing. Flower Essences & Animal Communication.
  • Yoga Trainer.
  • Teacher Training Hatha Yoga at Mysore Hatha Yoga Kendra.
  • Teacher Training Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga at Ashtanga Yoga Institute, Mysore
  • Intensive Saadhna at Mysore Hatha Yoga Kendra
  • Short term Yoga Saadhna from Yog Shala, Rishikesh, India.
  • Meditation.
  • Practitioner of Kundalini & Chakra Meditation, Sri Vidya Saadhna for a couple of years now.
  • Energy Practices
  • Aura Scan & Energy Consultation
  • Chakra Balancing
  • Reiki Certified as a Master in Reiki. Have been healing and teaching Reiki as a healing technique.
  • Pranic Healing Certified as Advanced Pranic Healer and Psychotherapist.
  • Crystal Healing. Using crystals to heal and help in a person’s health and wellbeing.
  • Flower Essence Therapist Certified as a flower essence therapist from Australia.
  • Animal Communication Master Level Certification from The Animal Talk Institute, Australia.

Helen Clough

Yoga & Meditation Teacher
From a young age I danced, which led to a professional dance career travelling the world, achieving my dreams in my very early twenties. A shift in personal circumstances led me back to the UK where I fell into a corporate world taking up a senior management role where I remained for over ten years.
During that time, my mind yearned for a place to disconnect from the stresses of living in such a yang world and the high intensity stresses of my work environment. Having always been a gym bunny, and enjoyed Pilates throughout my dance career and with my background I have always been fascinated by how incredible the human body is. I was always drawn to yoga, knowing the benefits for mind body and soul, but just couldn’t quite find the perfect place and time. As with most things in life, it came to me, and found me at the right time. Finally, in Manchester, I had found a place to reconnect to my body on a much deeper level than I could ever have anticipated. I hadn’t connected to my body in such a freeing, liberating, creative, fun and playful way since my dancing days. I particularly loved vinyasa flow, and Jivamukti, and not long after yin and restorative began to seep into my practice. I was hooked, and found myself craving more and more, always with a thirst for knowledge, my mind wanted to know more about Yoga and it’s fascinating history, until finally after my teacher convincing me I was ready I signed up to a teacher training, here in Fuerteventura with Andrea Everingham at Azulfit. What a location, the whole experienced was truly first class and incredible. It wasn’t long, and didn’t take very much before my teaching days came back to me like they were yesterday and became more important to me than my regional manager role. I made the bold move to quit corporate, and move into teaching yoga full time. It was an easy decision for me when a position at Azulfit came up. Having experienced first hand the home Azulfit create, including their beliefs, ethics and professionalism, I instantly knew this was for me. Luckily, they felt I fit too. Arriving back at Azulfit, I felt like I had come home. Now I get to do what I love daily, sharing the beautiful gift of reconnecting to ourselves, with wonderful souls in an incredible magnetic island, and our home in Corralejo, Lotus Retreat.