Teachers
Meet our team of Iyengar® Certified Teachers.
Elsa Santos - PT
Portuguese | French | English
Elsa Santos is the founder of OM Iyengar Yoga Lisbon. She has been a Senior Certified Teacher by RIMYI in Pune since 2019.
At the invitation of the Spanish Iyengar Yoga Association, she has participated as a jury member for Beginner and Intermediate level exams in Portugal and Spain.
She has been practicing and teaching yoga for over 20 years, having completed her training in 2008.
Her basic training was done in Paris with Faeq and Corine Biria. After obtaining her certification as an Iyengar yoga teacher, she continued studying with other teachers, especially with Patxi Lizardi in Madrid.
She regularly interns at the Ramanani Memorial Institute in Pune, having been invited in 2019 by Abhijata Iyengar to participate in Yoganusasanam.
In Iyengar yoga, she was drawn to the scientific aspect of the method: the rigor, the intensity, and the precision.
Elsa is fascinated by yoga's ability to transform people's lives, giving them a range of tools to improve their health, well-being, character, and awareness, empowering and increasing the confidence of its practitioners.
Teaching allows you to convey, in an objective and practical way, a profoundly philosophical, comprehensive, and complex subject such as Iyengar yoga.
Cecilia Sanchez - ES
Spanish | Portuguese | English
Cecilia Sánchez has been a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher since 2016, certified by the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute. In 2019, she graduated as a Junior II teacher in Barcelona.
She began her studies as a student in 2009 with Elsa Santos, whom she has since accompanied as a teaching assistant in classes and workshops. She also studied with Patxi Lizardi in Porto and Billy Konrad in Lisbon.
A graduate in Physical Education and former athlete with extensive experience in exercise and training, she found her passion in Iyengar Yoga, drawn by the clarity of BKS Iyengar's teachings and the pursuit of a path of righteousness and infinite inner knowledge.
Hugo Oliveira - PT
Portuguese | English | Spanish
A member of the Om team, she is a Level 1 certified teacher and has regularly participated in Iyengar® Yoga workshops and intensive courses with teachers such as Patxi Lizardi, Corine Biria, and Elsa Santos.
Hugo graduated in Civil Engineering from IST and has always been involved in sports, having practiced Judo, Cycling, Skateboarding, Surfing, and, since 2011, has been a regular practitioner of Yoga.
Since the opening of the Om Iyengar Center in Lisbon, he has dedicated himself to the practice and deepening of his studies of Iyengar Yoga at the center, under the guidance of Professor Elsa Santos, where he obtained his certification in 2025, becoming the most recently certified Iyengar® teacher in Portugal.
Liliia Zakharova - UA
Ukrainian | Russian | Polish | English | Portuguese
Liliia Zakharova is the most recently certified Iyengar® Yoga teacher in Portugal by the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute.
She began her practice as a student of Iyengar Yoga in 2017 with Sol Viegas, whom she has since accompanied in classes and workshops as an assistant teacher, and has also attended classes and workshops with Elsa Santos.
Holding a degree in Dance and Choreography, a Master's degree in Dance Pedagogy from the University of Humanities and Economics in Lodz (Poland), and having danced since the age of 3, she participated in international ballroom dancing championships and, as a professional dancer, carried out several dance and musical theatre projects in Ukraine, Poland and Portugal.
Given her professional experience in activities deeply connected to body and mind, and her excellent academic background in pedagogy, she found in Iyengar Yoga the space to combine this experience and knowledge for a rich sharing of a way of being, existing, and doing that allows her to improve people's lives.
In Lisbon, she has been part of the Om team, coordinated by Elsa Santos, since June 2023.
Angeline Alves - BR
Portuguese | English
Angeline Tozi is a dedicated teacher in training. Originally from Brazil, where she studied regularly with renowned senior teacher Karina Grecu, Angeline expanded her knowledge by participating in workshops with recognized instructors such as Rosana Siligmann, Cristina Costa, and Ursha Devi. She is currently training under the guidance of Professor Elsa Santos.
With a background in Civil Engineering, Angeline found in the practice of Iyengar Yoga a profound connection to her profession, where the precision of the alignments and the careful structuring of the postures reflect the same dedication required in engineering. Beginning her Iyengar Yoga journey in 2019, she has dedicated herself tirelessly to deepening her knowledge in order to share, with passion and devotion, the valuable fruits of this path. For Angeline, Iyengar Yoga is a delight for the soul, and she believes that this practice can bring balance and well-being to all who experience it.
In Lisbon, she has been part of the Om team, coordinated by Elsa Santos, since August 2023.
Nuno Malha - PT
Portuguese | English
A professional DJ, Nuno began his yoga journey in 2018. Since then, the practice has become a constant in his life. In 2020, with the closure of clubs, he dedicated himself entirely to yoga, deepening his studies and finding in Professor Elsa Santos a fundamental reference in his path. This later led him to join her teacher training program.
Over the years, she has practiced and learned from leading Iyengar Yoga teachers, consolidating her knowledge and refining her approach to practice. At Om Iyengar Yoga, she continues to deepen her studies under the guidance of Professor Elsa, reinforcing her commitment to the precision and rigor of this methodology.
His interest in and respect for Iyengar Yoga continues to grow, and today it is an essential part of his life.
Mónica Cunha - PT
Portuguese | English | French
From a young age she was always very involved in physical activities, doing classical ballet, water skiing, snow skiing, horseback riding, judo, in addition to gymnastics at school.
At age 26, she discovered yoga, practiced with various teachers until she found Iyengar yoga, with which she immediately identified.
He began his Iyengar training in 2014 with Professor Billy Konrad, finishing in 2017.
Since then, they have participated in several workshops with Iyengar teachers, such as Christian Pisano and Patxi, always seeking to improve their personal practice and acquire more knowledge.