Budapest is a city of contrasts, grand and intimate at once, with its river, bridges, and old streets that breathe history.
Among the galleries, cafés, and creative ateliers of Bartók Béla Street, one of the city’s most characterful arteries, lies a place where life gently slows down.
Up a narrow staircase in an old building whose corridors still hold the memory of past decades, you arrive at Amrita Yoga Center, a boutique studio dedicated to the practice and teaching of Iyengar Yoga. The space has that rare quality found only where time has learned to rest: walls that have witnessed many stories and an energy that has matured into quiet wisdom.
Founded in 2008 by Erika Répassy and Kevin Gardiner, both senior certified Iyengar Yoga teachers, Amrita offers a professional yet deeply personal environment where yoga becomes a tool for awareness, growth, and inner balance.
Classes are precise, safe, and intelligently structured, with emphasis on individual attention, pranayama, and the living philosophy that informs each asana. Amrita Yoga Center is more than a yoga studio, it is a community where practice meets tradition and discipline meets kindness.
Kevin Gardiner – Precision, Wisdom, and a Touch of Playfulness
Originally from New York, Kevin Gardiner began his yoga journey in 1970 and has been teaching Iyengar Yoga since the early eighties. Over the decades, he has become a respected and well-known teacher within the international Iyengar community.
He studied in India many times with the Iyengar family – B.K.S. Iyengar, Geeta, and Prashant – drawing from them the precision and depth that continue to shape his teaching.
A co-founder of the Iyengar Institute of Greater New York, Kevin also served for many years in leadership and executive roles. In the United States, he was deeply influenced by Mary Dunn, his primary teacher and guiding light for decades, as well as by Manouso Manos, Faeq Biria, Ramanand Patel, and Jawahar Bangera.
Trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kevin spent 15 years as a professional actor, director, and movement teacher. This background still shines through in his classes, alive with rhythm, clarity, humor, and human warmth.
His approach to yoga is analytical, philosophically rich, and deeply embodied. Students value his ability to express subtle aspects of practice in a way that is both accessible and inspiring.
Kevin now lives in Budapest, where he and his wife, Erika Répassy, lead the Amrita Yoga Center, a place where Western precision meets Eastern stillness.
Erika Répassy – The Elegance of Precision and the Strength of Stillness
Erika Répassy began her yoga journey in 2002 in London, after years in tourism, diplomacy, dance, and music. Encounters with international teachers soon opened the door to the Iyengar tradition, which she immediately recognized as her true home.
After studying at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in London, she continued her education in Dublin, completing her teacher training in 2006 and later deepening her studies in New York.
Her practice is infused with patience and presence, yet remains inquisitive, a constant dialogue between body, breath, and awareness.
Erika has studied several times in India at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, where she practiced directly with the Iyengar family. She now holds the Intermediate Senior II teaching level, is an active member of multiple European Iyengar Yoga associations, and regularly serves as an assessor of teachers across Europe.
She was also one of the founding members of the Iyengar Yoga Association of Hungary, contributing to the development and recognition of Iyengar Yoga in her home country.
As a teacher, Erika creates a space where discipline meets gentleness and where precision becomes an expression of care.
“Yoga never becomes monotonous,” she says. “It is an endless exploration of space within the body, the mind, and the heart.”
The Space and Props That Create Support
The practice space at Amrita Yoga Center is bright, spacious, and filled with a quiet sense of calm. Wooden floors and high windows bring warmth and lightness, while every detail supports a deep, safe, and conscious yoga practice.
The studio is fully equipped with a complete range of Iyengar Yoga props, allowing each asana to adapt to different bodies, conditions, and levels of experience:
- Ropes on the wall for inversions, spinal traction, and exploring standing poses.
- Wooden and foam blocks to assist alignment and stability.
- Chairs for seated postures, twists, and therapeutic variations.
- Blankets, bolsters, and belts for comfort, softness, and safety.
Together these elements create an environment where everyone, regardless of age, experience, or physical condition, can feel supported, steady, and free to explore the depth of practice.
A Community That Grows Through Practice
Amrita Yoga Center brings together teachers and students from across Europe. Many have been coming for more than a decade, a reflection of the trust and quality that define its teaching.
Each month, the studio hosts philosophy evenings, thematic workshops, and community gatherings that nurture a sense of belonging, friendship, and shared exploration.
Classes are taught mainly in Hungarian, with regular English classes led by Kevin.
You can check the current schedule and book your spot here: https://amritajoga.hu/orarend/
You are warmly invited to visit Amrita Yoga Center, a space where yoga becomes a personal experience, quiet, focused, and profound.
Location: Bartók Béla út 34. 1/3, Budapest
Website: www.amritajoga.hu
Facebook: @amritajoga
Style of yoga: Iyengar Yoga
As the founders of RunToYoga, we have attended Erika’s classes many times. What stands out most is her profound understanding of pranayama and the depth that comes from long, consistent personal practice. Her teaching of breath work goes beyond technique, becoming a study of stillness, awareness, and inner expansion. Each class leaves a quiet imprint, a reminder that pranayama is not about control but about connection - a meeting point between discipline and surrender, between effort and ease.
