The Gati Project started with a creative exchange between Léo - founder ,
Lina -retreat center owner and Linda, who played a central role in co-creating the inaugural retreat.
We also have invited teachers and contributors for each specific focus.
Léo, the founder of Gati, has been immersed in yoga since 2017 and completed his Ashtanga Vinyasa teacher training at Wild Warrior Yoga in Spain in 2021. With a passion for dynamic flows, hot yoga, and climbing, he started bolting routes in Lesvos in 2020, blending his interests. Recently, he has explored mindfulness and meditation, finding balance by incorporating Yin sequences into his practice.
Léo enthusiastically shares his deep affection for the island, childhood memories, and favorite hidden spots.
The familial bond between Léo and Lina, rooted in their teenage friendship, brings a warm and personal touch to our team!
Lina, owner of Hotel Votsala and Villa Daphnis & Chloé, was raised in Lesvos and Athens, and traveled to far-off destinations like India.
Her educational background is in theater, and she studied the traditional Bharatanatyam dance. Lina completed a 200-hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh, India, and graduated from a Thai Yoga Massage training, which will be available by appointment during retreats.
She has been leading sunrise seaside yoga classes at Votsala hotel for years, offering her unique accessible stretching style and beautiful singing voice, as well as evening live piano or lyra sessions.
Linda, a German-born producer, traveler, and yogi, connected with Leo during their Andalucia teacher training, sparking an immediate friendship. Sharing a vision of organizing retreats, they seized the Gati project opportunity, combining Linda's production skills with Leo's creativity.
Though Linda initially encountered yoga in diverse ways, it took time for her to recognize its personal health benefits. Now, she sees yoga as the ultimate means to regulate the nervous system, provide therapy, and reconnect with life's basics. Influenced by her ashtanga practice, Linda's vinyasa classes offer a well-rounded, joyful workout, incorporating breath and relaxation for a motivating experience.
With 13 years of diverse yoga experience, Elsa, also known as Yogazaz, expanded her knowledge through a 200-hour Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training in Brussels in 2019. Certified in various yoga styles, including Hatha, Yin, Restorative, Pre/postnatal, and Menopause Yoga, she emphasizes the importance of exercising both mind and body to manage stress, enhance health, confidence, focus, and connection with oneself.
Alongside yoga and daily meditation, Elsa engages in a variety of sports like climbing, boxing, and surfing. She believes in working with the body, not against it, focusing on breathing, interoception, core strength, alignment, and joint mobility. She always adapts her classes to her students' needs and level, and encourages every one to explore, celebrate and focus on their own practice.
Nadine is a passionate climber, and for her, yoga is the perfect way to maintain balance between her mind, body, and soul. She loves to share her knowledge with others and strive for improvement together. Nadine started teaching yoga in January 2021 and thoroughly enjoys practicing with others. Her yoga style is influenced by Shivananda yoga and shiatsu.
The classes are really relaxing, and for Nadine, it's crucial that each participant finds inner peace and feels a connection to the world. Additionally, she wants to demonstrate the benefits of yoga for climbing and how mindfulness can influence one's approach to climbing.
The classes are really relaxing, and for Nadine, it's crucial that each participant finds inner peace and feels a connection to the world. Additionally, she wants to demonstrate the benefits of yoga for climbing and how mindfulness can influence one's approach to climbing.