Our Teachers
Julia Gavin
When Julia arrived in Goa in January 2013 for her 200-hour Ashtanga training at Kranti Yoga, she had no idea she’d found her calling and her second home. What started as a teacher training became a lifelong dedication to the practice and the art of teaching it.
Julia didn’t just complete her training and leave. She stayed for 10 years, studying under Kranti himself and learning yoga the traditional way. She became the lead teacher of the 300-hour teacher training program. Beyond teaching, she helped other teachers develop their own trainings and workshops, and took on the role of manager, overseeing everything from curriculum development to marketing.
Over those years, she guided thousands of students through their own teacher training journeys, leading both Intermediate and Advanced programs at Kranti Yoga.
A Teacher Who Never Stops Learning
Julia is, first and foremost, a true student of yoga. She’s completed multiple certifications in Rocket Vinyasa with David Kyle (Baba Rocket), Marcus Veda, Hannah Whittingham, and Carson Clay Coulhan. She’s trained extensively with Patrick Beach and follows his Vinyasa Flow practice with devotion. And if you love anatomy or want to understand why your body moves the way it does, you’ll appreciate Julia’s deep dive into the body’s mechanics through multiple trainings with Celest Pereira.
Her students know her as a self-confessed anatomy geek who makes the complex simple and the challenging achievable. When she explains alignment, you understand not just what to do, but why it matters for your body.
From Goa to the World – And Back Again
Julia has led teacher trainings across the globe: on the beaches of Goa, the coast of Nicaragua at Los Clavos Surf Camp, the French Alps, Northern Spain, and her hometown of Liverpool at Yogacita. These days, she splits her year between teaching the 200-hour and 300-hour programs in Liverpool and spending six months here at Palm Trees Yoga School, the place she considers her second home.
Teaching That Goes Beyond the Mat
You get a teacher who brings together traditional Ashtanga wisdom with a contemporary, progressive approach. Her classes are fun, accessible, and rooted in deep knowledge. Whether you’re stepping onto your mat for the first time or deepening a long-standing practice, Julia creates an environment where you feel supported, challenged, and genuinely cared for. With nearly a decade of teaching experience and thousands of hours guiding students, you’re in exceptionally good hands.
Samriddhi Malhotra
Samriddhi leads the yoga philosophy, pranayama, and meditation at our teacher trainings in Goa. Since 2019, she’s been guiding students to understand the deeper layers of yoga, the parts that transform your practice from physical exercise into something that shifts how you see yourself and the world.
Her practice draws from Ashtanga, Hatha, Vinyasa, and Iyengar, giving her a comprehensive view of how different traditions approach the same ancient wisdom. She completed her 500-hour teacher training in Ashtanga Vinyasa at Kranti Yoga, then continued studying with some of India’s most respected teachers.
Samriddhi has trained under Acharya Ajay Sharma for Ayurveda, Veda, and Chakra Philosophy. She’s also studied Iyengar under Sharath Joshi. As an advanced meditator, she’s completed intensive Vipassana training in the Theravada tradition under S.N. Goenka, as well as studies in the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism.
What makes her teaching valuable is how she integrates ancient Indian practices and philosophies in a way that’s relevant to contemporary yoga practice. You don’t just learn the theory, you understand how to apply these teachings to your own life and teaching.
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