If your travels bring you to Pula, perhaps for its Adriatic coastline, rich Roman heritage, or the magnificent Pula Arena, there is another place worth discovering, especially if yoga is part of the way you travel.
At Gortanova 32, just a short distance from the sea, you will find Iyengar Yoga Pula, a small, fully equipped studio founded by Nataša Sršen. Today, it is home to a dedicated practice and a close-knit community, but its beginnings were far more modest.
When Nataša first began teaching in Pula, she did not yet have a studio of her own. She taught wherever she could find a suitable space, sometimes with just one or two students. All the necessary yoga props travelled with her in the car, from one rented space to another, and after each class she packed everything up and took it home again.
Over the years, those modest beginnings grew into something lasting: a studio of her own, regular classes, dedicated students, and a community brought together by a shared curiosity and interest in yoga.
The studio may be small, with space for around ten practitioners, but its roots run deep.
From personal practice to teaching
Nataša began practising Iyengar Yoga in 2000. Over the years, her personal practice developed into an ever-deeper exploration of yoga and eventually led her to teaching. She completed her teacher training in Germany and received her first certification in 2012. Today, she is a certified Level 3 Iyengar Yoga teacher.
Her teaching remains firmly rooted in the work of B. K. S. Iyengar and in an understanding of yoga as something far broader than a sequence of asanas. At Iyengar Yoga Pula, students are introduced to the practice, philosophy, and art of yoga, with precision and a spirit of inquiry at the heart of the practice.
Nataša is joined by Ana Ljubić, who began practising Iyengar Yoga in 2018 and received her Level 1 certification in April 2026.
Together, they have created a space where tradition is respected, while the atmosphere remains warm, open, and genuine.
Serious practice, relaxed atmosphere
What makes Iyengar Yoga Pula special is the balance between discipline and ease.
Before class begins, the studio is often filled with conversation and laughter. Once the practice starts, however, the atmosphere shifts. Nataša approaches yoga with dedication and expects her students to be fully present in their practice, both physically and mentally.
Many students come regularly. They are curious, ask thoughtful questions, and want to deepen their understanding of yoga. After class, conversations often continue, sometimes about yoga, sometimes simply about life and whatever is happening at the moment.
It is this combination of focused practice and genuine human connection that gives the studio its distinctive character. Here, practice can be serious without becoming rigid, and people can connect without losing the attentiveness that yoga asks of them.
Practice for different stages of life
The programme at Iyengar Yoga Pula reflects the diversity of the people who come to the studio. Beginner, general, and more advanced classes are offered regularly, while individual sessions are available for those who need a more personalised or therapeutically oriented approach.
The programme also includes a gentler class for people over 50, currently attended by a group of women and adapted to their individual needs and abilities. In the past, Nataša has also taught yoga for children and pregnancy yoga, which she continues to offer when there is sufficient interest.
New students can begin with a trial class, giving them an opportunity to experience Iyengar Yoga and see whether this approach feels right for them. Nataša often speaks with new students before their first visit, allowing her to get to know them a little and better understand their individual needs.
Different generations and levels of experience therefore meet in the same studio, but the intention remains the same: to offer a practice that is precise, attentive, and responsive to the individual.
A community that extends beyond the yoga mat
At Iyengar Yoga Pula, the sense of community does not end with the final asana. Over the years, students have come together through shared reading, workshops, yoga conventions, and travel, as well as more informal moments, from pizza after practice to a film evening celebrating the birthday of B. K. S. Iyengar.
Workshops are also an important part of studio life. Nataša regularly offers three-hour workshops open to practitioners of different levels, creating an opportunity to explore a particular subject in greater depth. Earlier this year, for example, she offered a series of monthly workshops dedicated to shoulder health.
Over the years, this small studio in Pula has also welcomed respected teachers from the international Iyengar Yoga community. Uday Bhosale travelled from London for his first visit to this part of Europe, while Elisabeth S. Brass from Berlin and H. S. Arun from Bangalore have also taught in Pula. When Nataša’s friend and teacher Lara Speroni visits from London, she too leads workshops at the studio.
This October, Elisabeth S. Brass returns to Pula after seven years to teach a three-day workshop. For the local community, it will be another opportunity to practise, explore, and learn together.
Stories that stay with us
Perhaps the best way to understand a yoga community is through the people who grow within it. Some of her students’ stories remain particularly close to Nataša.
One is the story of a girl who first came to class with her mother when she was just nine years old. A year later, she joined Mali Jogi, Nataša’s yoga programme for children, and continued practising until she left Pula to study. Nataša fondly remembers how naturally yoga became part of her growing up and believes that the experience will remain with her, even if other things have taken priority in her life for now.
At the other end of the age spectrum is a 78-year-old student who attends the general class. Despite the physical challenges that can come with age, he never complains and always speaks about yoga with genuine positivity. His perseverance and attitude towards practice have become an inspiration even to much younger members of the group.
Two very different stories, yet both reveal something essential: yoga can accompany us through very different stages of life. What matters most is not age or ability, but the willingness to return, observe, learn, and continue.
From yoga props in the car to a studio of her own
Perhaps the story of Iyengar Yoga Pula is best understood by returning once more to where it all began.
When Nataša started teaching in Pula, she was the only Iyengar Yoga teacher in the city. There was no permanent studio and no established community. She rented different spaces, carried the props in her car, set everything up before class, packed it all away afterwards, and took it home again. Sometimes, just one or two students would attend.
But Nataša kept going.
Today, the picture is very different. On Gortanova Street, there is a small studio where around ten people can practise together. Classes run regularly, and familiar faces return week after week.
Nataša describes the studio and the community that has grown around it as simply a great blessing.
Perhaps that is why the studio feels so firmly rooted. It did not appear overnight. It grew slowly, through years of practice, teaching, perseverance, and people who kept coming back.
A small studio with deep roots.
Iyengar Yoga Pula
Address: Gortanova 32, 52100 Pula, Croatia
Website: iyengaryoga.hr
Facebook: Iyengar Yoga Pula
Yoga style: Iyengar Yoga