OM meets...
Athina Tamaresi
OM chats to this month’s cover star, Athina Tamaresi, the founder of ineayoga School, Greece, about tantra, mantra, and how she transformed her parents’ beach house in Corfu into a thriving and successful yoga retreat hub
How did you first find yoga?
I am from Greece and lived for over 10 years abroad, most of it in Brighton. The first years away from home, I went through a rough patch. I felt very much alone and kind of lost, even though I had wonderful friends around me. You know, you sometimes have that feeling that somehow life is not enough, even though many of the boxes I wanted were ticked. So, I went to therapy, which was great and helpful, then my friend Martina took me to yoga and I felt a similar relief. Soon afterwards, I figured out, that if I skipped one of my therapy sessions each month, I could finance a whole month of yoga classes too – and it really helped me through these dark times. There was this day in particular, I went to a lesson and burst into tears out of nowhere; a deep release was just beginning to come because I felt somehow unconditionally accepted, and I don’t mean from someone, it was probably the first time I felt real presence.
And how did you come to run yoga retreats for a living?
A couple of years later, my now partner, Cedric (whom, by the way, I met during a yoga training in India) and I started travelling the world to find a place where we could live the dream, teach yoga together and enjoy life. The journey began in India, of course, led us through a few other countries in Asia, and then guess what – pandemic hit. We decided Europe was the most sensible idea, but we didn’t know where to go…out of the few options that seemed realistic, we picked Corfu in Greece. My parents run a small apartment holiday house with 15 rooms by the beach, and it sounded like a safe option.
When we found ourselves stranded on Corfu, it hit me — we had travelled the world searching for the perfect place to offer yoga, only to realise my parents’ place was ideal all along. Isn’t that how it often goes? The answer is right in front of us, but we just don’t see it. Anyway, we upgraded the backyard parking into a practice space, added some decoration, created a yoga brand called ‘ineayoga’ and ran our first retreat with only three people, but yay!
How has ineayoga grown since then?
Now, five years later, the backyard has transformed into a lush garden, the parking into a proper yoga shala, my father’s garage is the meditation sanctuary (sorry dad!), the former reception turned into a professional kitchen, that is partially supplied by our own veggies, and the rooms are now entirely filled with yoginis and yogis. Here we are, running a yoga school called ineayoga full-time, hosting retreats from April to October on Corfu and some in India as well during the wintertime.
So what exactly do you offer at ineayoga?
We offer week-long yoga retreats and a vinyasa and yin yoga teacher training based on tantra philosophy. But what we actually provide is a safe space to deeply relax and heal, to re-connect to oneself and the permission to fully feel what is inside. The tools we use are meditation, breath-work and my favourite part, mantra. Of course, we also teach daily yoga asana classes, where movement is the focus, as a healthy body is equally part of a fulfilled heart.
What does a tantric yoga life look like on a paradise island?
Well, obviously I won't complain about living 50 metres from a beautiful sandy beach, having daily healthy food cooked, and meeting wonderful people from all over the world, all while sharing what I love so much. But let’s be honest, life always comes with ups and downs, yet isn't that what makes it so exciting and precious? That's the moment when yoga and life meets and the teachings come alive. Here at ineayoga we practice and teach the philosophy of tantra yoga. In Tantra we embrace life and everything that comes with it! Just as a side note, I am speaking of traditional tantra yoga and not the modern interpretation of the sexual stuff. Tantra is a millennia-old non-dualistic yoga system that wants us to remember our innermost essence, that we are already perfectly whole and loved exactly the way we are. The forgetting of this wholeness is what makes us feel alone and what prompts the urge of never having enough. The practice here is to soften into the beauty of sensing your body as it is, embracing your feelings and thoughts as they are, and dropping into the subtle joy of simply being alive.
In tantra, the mind doesn't need to be forcefully quietened to find inner peace, we rather work on understanding its nature and how to handle it more skilfully and compassionately. The effect is a falling in love with oneself and a surrender to the flow of life as it so magically unfolds. In my teaching, I invite tenderness and slowing down rather than pushing or performing.
The cover picture is you playing the harmonium — why is mantra so special to you?
Letting my voice flow freely is one of the moments I feel most alive, most free. It touches the heart in such a deep way — it’s one of the most delicious ways to connect with that part of me that is pure love, without judgement or worry. When combined with powerful ancient Sanskrit mantras, sung for centuries in the yoga tradition, it becomes an alchemy of healing and sweetness. I witness it time and again, even those who have never encountered mantra before find themselves tearing up in our chanting circles, sharing how deeply moved, released, or joyful they feel.
Chanting isn’t just beautiful, it has real physiological benefits. It’s a form of breath-work, and the vibrations of mantras activate prana energy in the body, making us feel more alive. It’s a tantric practice that helps us reconnect with the sacredness within and return to the light of our awareness. That’s something I want everyone to experience, which is why we include chanting in every retreat at ineayoga.
Find more about Athina Tamaresi at: ineayoga.com or connect on Instagram @inea.yoga
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
