Justyna Rodzińska-Nair
Co-founder and leader of Studio Kalari, kalarippayattu teacher, coordinator of research, educational and artistic projects, translator, author of a book and blog about kalari.
My life has been intertwined with sports and theater – intense training and art – since elementary school. When I discovered kalari at a theater workshop in 2004, I realised that it was the best training system for me, which at the same time allowed the physical expression of my temper in its natural and authentic form. The experience of dynamic and structured movement, combining strength with flexibility, focus, precision and beauty made me want to return to this feeling of fullness of power more often and follow this path of personal growth even further, as well as share this passion with others. Practicing kalari has also given me a sense of belonging to an old and wise tradition that enables me to know and understand myself better.
I have been practicing kalari regularly since 2005. At that time the only option was to go to workshops and then keep repeating on my own what I had learned which is what I was doing. I went to India for the first time in 2005 and since then I have been going to Kerala on average every two years for intensive month(s)-long training sessions. I practice mainly the southern style kalari, but I also learn elements of the northern style.
In 2010, together with my husband Sankar, a kalari master and ayurvedic therapist from Kerala, India, I founded the Studio Kalari school in Wroclaw. For more than 10 years I assisted Sankar in classes or conducted them myself, and since 2022 on my own I have been conducting regular trainings in Wroclaw, workshops and retreats in Poland and abroad and, periodically, recording classes online; I also wrote and published an e-book “Kalarippayattu. A Holistic Martial Art from India” (2022).
In 2021, mainly due to long periods of sitting in squatted position at the computer (working and writing the book on kalari…), I got a knee strain injury. After many visits to orthopedists, sport doctors and physiotherapists, it turned out that the best remedy was a well designed weight training and specific stretching.
Due to this experience, in 2022, I started to expand my knowledge and skills in movement and training methods at specialized courses and trainings for coaches, physical therapists and movement enthusiasts. This has allowed me to better and more safely adapt challenging kalari exercises to the capabilities of beginners, as well as those students with certain mobility restrictions.
In the training process, it is important for me to work with the whole body in a comprehensive way, with the proper intensity and dynamics, which, combined with the specificity of movement in kalarippayattu, can take us physically, mentally and spiritually to another level.
In the practice of kalarippayattu, I take an individual approach to class participants, taking into account their abilities and limitations especially in the areas of strength, mobility and coordination. At the same time, I really enjoy working with a group, because through synchronized movement a powerful, transformative and integrative energy is generated that supports us all long after the training is over.
Apart from the kalarippayattu practice, I do some weight training and trekking (including dogtrekking with our giant schnauzer), as well as periodically regenerate by swimming in a sea and a forest lake. I am a mother of three teenagers.
Experience in kalarippayattu practice:
- 2008 to present: southern style, master Sankar Lal Sivasankaran Nair, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala, India) and Wrocław, Poland.
Practice in India (1–3 months each time):
- 2023, 2025: northern style, master Sathyanarayanan G Nair, CVN Kalari Sangham, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala, India)
- 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020: southern style, master Sankar Lal Sivasankaran Nair, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala, India) – winter kalari retreats organized by Studio Kalari
- 2010, 2011: southern style, master Ashokan Kutappan, Anjaneya Kalari Sangham, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala, India)
- 2009: southern style, master Thankappan Assan and Ajith Kumar, Maruthi Marma Chikilsa and Kalari Sangam, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala, India)
- 2005/2006, 2007, 2008: southern style, master Jayachandran Nair, Kerala School of Martial Arts, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala, India)
Other courses and trainings:
- Medical personal trainer course, Małgorzata Muzyka-Kopera, Bodywork, Poznań 2025
- Powięź w dynamice: sporty biegowe [Dynamic fascia: running sports], Małgorzata Muzyka-Kopera, Bodywork, Poznań 2024
- Gibkość w praktyce [Agility in practice], Sebastian Kasprzycki i Wojciech Salmonowicz, Wrocław 2024
- Kurs instruktora rekreacji ruchowej [Physical recreation instructor course], AWF, Wrocław 2023 (theoretical part completed)
- Fundamenty Ruchu – kurs trenera personalnego [Fundamentals of Movement – personal trainer course], Bodywork, Poznań 2023
- Flexibility&Mobility, Bartosz Kuc, Katowice 2023
- Konwencja Movementors [Movementors conference], Bodywork, Poznań 2023
- Mobility Work, Monika Garboś, Poznań 2022
Online trainings and events
- Gildia trenerów, online conference organized by Damian Wegner, 2024
Sankar Lal Sivasankaran Nair
Kalari practice brings me joy. When I do a kalari training, my whole body is full of life – even my nails! Every class brings me more motivation to do more things. I’m also interested in observation how human body works.
Sankar is a master of kalarippayattu and a qualified ayurvedic therapist. He comes from Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala, India), from a family associated with kalarippayattu and ayurveda for many generations. His first teachers were his grandfather and father.
He has practised the southern style of Kalarippayattu since 1990. His masters included Tirupuram C. Madhavan (Anjaneya Kalari Sangham), Jayachandran Nair (Kerala School of Martial Arts) and Thankappan Assan and Ajith Kumar (Maruthi Marma Chikilsa Kalari Sangham and Ayurveda), as well as Raja Gopalan Assan.
Sankar studied ayurvedic treatments and massages in his hometown in 1999–2008, at the Institute for Ayurvedic Studies, Maruthi Marma Chikilsa Kalari Sangham and Ayurveda, as well as directly from ayurvedic doctors such as P. S. Sharma and B. S. Jacob from the Somatheeram Resort. He also worked at Sivam Ayurvedic Specialty Hospital.
You can find out more about his Ayurvedic activities on his website ayurvedam.pl.
In 2005–2008 he collaborated with the Indian theatre group Milón Méla, co-leading numerous workshops and performing at festivals in India and Europe. In 2008 he moved to Wrocław, Poland, where he married Justyna Rodzińska-Nair, and in 2010 together they founded Studio Kalari.
Sankar works on daily basis as an ayurvedic specialist and teacher, and currently he teaches kalarippayattu during yearly Summer Schools of Studio Kalari. He also led many kalarippayattu workshops in Poland and abroad (including Belgium, Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, Russia, Italy). In winter, he runs kalari retreats at his own school Alamkottu Kalari Sangham, in Kerala, South India.
He is a father of three teenagers. He enjoys cooking and fishing.