Teachers
About us
We first met in Berlin, where Tom taught his daily Mysore program for over 5 years, with Julia assisting him for the last 2. In 2024, we decided to take a temporary break from daily teaching to spend some time focusing on our own practices and work towards a sustainable way to teach in the future. Until then, we will be visiting some of our teachers, including regular trips to London to practice with Hamish and Louise at Ashtanga Yoga London.
Tom Austin
In early 2007 I started practicing Ashtanga Yoga daily with Rachel Howlett in Cornwall, England. Over the following few years I was introduced to Denise Christian, Matthew Vollmer and John Scott, who all practiced with Pattaphi Jois in the late 80’s and 90’s. I have also travelled to Mysore, India, to practice with Sharath and intend to go back to practice with him soon.
I was fortunate enough to practice with all of my teachers in small groups and get to know them all on a personal level. John and I practiced together before he taught his classes: he would adjust me, explain the adjustment and then I would adjust him in the same way. I also completed teacher training with John and Lucy Scott, giving me many helpful insights about teaching.
In 2011 I started practicing regularly with Matthew and Carla Vollmer, first in Brazil and then later in Berlin. My experience with them influenced my practice and teachings the most. Their dedication and grounded approach has had a lasting effect on me.
After over 10 years of daily practice, I felt grounded enough to hold my own Mysore Style community, which I started in 2017 in Berlin, Germany. Teaching and practicing daily has given me an internal strength, which has profoundly changed the way I see the world. I would like to share this strength with others, giving as many people as I can the opportunity to look into themselves and see life from a new perspective.
Julia Austin
I found my home in Ashtanga yoga when I attended my first Mysore class with Tom in 2018. I originally started practicing yoga in 2010, initially drawn to Kundalini Yoga as a counterbalance to my life as an athlete and professional health coach. After exploring different styles and a few years of consistent Jivamukti Yoga practice, I finally stepped into the Mysore room and quickly felt that this was the practice that truly works for me.
The clarity, structure and transformative depth of the Ashtanga method immediately resonated with me. From the beginning, I established a consistent daily practice that has remained a central part of my life ever since. After three years of dedicated practice, I began assisting Tom in the Mysore room daily.
This intimate experience of the teaching process has shaped the way I aim to hold the space: attentive, respectful, steady and supportive of each student's individual path within the framework of the tradition.
My approach to teaching is grounded in daily personal practice. For me, practice is a place of quiet transformation, offering new perspectives. It is a tool for turning inward, cultivating focus, steadiness, awareness, reflection and connection to my natural stability and being. A practice that keeps me grounded in myself and supports living with authenticity.
I aim to support students in developing a sustainable consistent practice, with curiosity, openness and respect for where they are each day. Supporting others on their individual paths, discovering what the practice has to offer for everyone, is an opportunity I greatly appreciate and rejoice in.
As a student, I regularly travel to London to study with Hamish Hendry and Louise Newton, and continue to deepen my understanding by practicing with other senior teachers whenever possible. Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to study with Iain Grysak and Allen Enrique.
At present, living in a rural area, I maintain a daily home practice — most days sharing the space with Tom and supporting each other as needed. Alongside to Ashtanga, I have been following the Vipassana meditation tradition since 2015 and offer holistic Ayurvedic nutrition consultations.
