Hello, my name is Ioanna Karolina Benakis.
Welcome to my world
My journey began with a traditional path of success. After attending various private schools, I graduated from one of Switzerland’s most renowned Hotel Management Schools. Yet, despite achieving everything I was expected to achieve, something always felt missing.
After years of self-inquiry and extensive travels around the world, I eventually found myself on the path of Yoga. Or perhaps Yoga found me. Because, ultimately, it is the body that holds the answers.
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I am a mystic at heart
My life is devoted to the exploration of human consciousness and the deep understanding of our true nature. Through yoga, meditation, writing, reading, contemplation, silence, and direct life experience, I continuously seek a deeper connection with myself and with life itself.
My interests naturally led me toward the study of the human psyche, philosophy, existentialism, altered states of consciousness, feminine spirituality, sexuality, well-being, nutrition, and the profound wisdom hidden within nature.
I am also a writer, a lover of contemporary dance, and deeply passionate about music and piano.
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The Woman
As my yoga practice became more subtle over the years, I discovered something precious within my own body as a woman.
I found a depth, a wisdom, and a power that had never been taught to me.
This realization transformed my life and eventually became the foundation of my work.
For years, I immersed myself in hundreds of courses, trainings, retreats, workshops, and women’s circles across different continents. These experiences helped me free myself from many of the unhealthy conditionings imposed by modern Western culture and guided me toward a more authentic expression of femininity.
The teachings of Tantra, Taoism, Ayurveda, and Yoga have profoundly shaped my understanding of feminine energy and women’s health.
After several years living and studying in Asia, I felt called to return and share these teachings with other women.
This is how Scent of Woman Yoga was born, a yoga practice specifically designed to honor and support the female body, its cycles, its sensitivity, and its unique intelligence.
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Yogic Studies
My professional path includes certifications in Vinyasa Yoga, Tantric Yoga, Osteopathy, Alignment, and Energy Healing.
I am also a Reiki Master.
My studies have taken me across the world.
In Sri Lanka, I immersed myself in Ayurvedic medicine and underwent the traditional Panchakarma cleansing process.
In the jungles of Mexico, I spent extended periods in intense spiritual practice and explored various shamanic traditions and ceremonies.
I sat for countless hours in satsangs with spiritual teachers and studied ancient philosophies, including Advaita Vedanta and the teachings of non-duality.
Today, my approach combines these diverse teachings into a practical, embodied path that I share with my students.
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A Taste of My Own Medicine
Everything I teach has first been lived, experienced, questioned, integrated, and embodied within myself.
While my life has been filled with extraordinary beauty, adventure, and transformation, it has also brought profound challenges.
I have experienced trauma, eating disorders, addictions, heartbreak, surgeries, physical pain, emotional suffering, and burnout.
The path I teach is not one I discovered through books alone.
It is the path that helped me heal.
It is the path that allowed me to rebuild myself, again and again.
And it continues to do so today.
This is why I believe so deeply in these teachings.
Not because they are theories.
But because they have carried me through the darkest moments of my life and guided me back to myself.
And that journey never truly ends.