28. February 2020

Part of the Ayurveda Medicine, Pranayama is a natural healing practice that has been used for more than 5000 years to promote physical and mental health and,according to ancient scriptures, it's the main portal towards spiritual awakening. The Sanskrit word PRĀṆĀYĀMA is composed by Prana, which means Life Force, and yama, meaning Control but the interesting fact is that the word can also be divided into Prana and Ayana, where Ayana means "the opposite of control". Under this light,...

13. January 2020

Yoga is about Unity. It is like a homecoming. No matter what level you start from and what style you feel drawn to, the act of choosing to stop and invest time to listen to your breath and to your body is a loud declaration of Self-Love. As a result your entire system will mirror back that goodness. Practicing Yoga is the best way to befriend your body from scratch, as if you were inhabiting it for the very first time. You will discover a completely new way to feel it, move it and relate to it....

12. June 2019

A visitor: “What is yoga?” Paramhansa Yogananda: “Yoga means union. Etymologically, it is connected to the English word, yoke. Yoga means union with God, or, union of the little, ego-self with the divine Self, the infinite Spirit. “Most people in the West, and also many in India, confuse yoga with Hatha Yoga, the system of bodily postures. But yoga is primarily a spiritual discipline. “I don’t mean to belittle the yoga postures. Hatha Yoga is a wonderful system. The body, moreover,...

05. March 2018

When you think of a Retreat, what do you picture in your mind? As a Yoga teacher my priority, for example, has always been peace. I usually prefer teaching in offstream, tiny places to mainstream and touristic spots. I also happen to love better waterside venues, both because l am a swimmer and because water is such an important element for our balance. Even better if it's salty, crystal clear and a few meters away from my front door. Now, that's the only "luxury" item l wish for when thinking...

23. December 2017

Our gifts are often more known and obvious to others than to us. Your teachers, family and friends have probably told you for years how good you are at something yet you have never paid too much attention to their comments. WHY? Maybe because that particular talent is something you were born with and you have always taken for granted that there is nothing so extraordinary about it. You keep using it with the same nonchalance you walk, speak and brush your hair most likely thinking that everyone...

28. November 2017

Truth is always relative. It has different shades and layers according to whom is reading the situation. Each of us have our own unique universe of thoughts, beliefs, emotions, conditions and experiences which are constantly shaping who we are and how we relate to what happens to and around us. In front of the same situation two people might get different inputs and interpret them in a complete different way, each holding their own version of what is happening or happened. Even so, taking...

16. November 2017

Sitting in meditation is not so much about achieving something or getting somewhere in your personal journey. It is the journey itself. It’s a way to stop all chatter and intentionally set yourself in a mindful state. All you really need to do is listening and paying attention. Don’t force anything, let it rise spontaneously. Letting go is the key here. Rather than pushing to get somewhere, we drop all tension both in our body and in our mind and we allow it happen. It is a transformative...

13. November 2017

Safe and sacred. These are the two basic qualities of a Retreat place. Like a sort of refuge. A place where you are respected and protected. A lay version of the Monastery, mostly meant for people who are not nuns or monks. A temple, but without any religious connotation, as neutral as possible. A mind-and-heart Sanctuary, where people gather to connect through their intelligence and their emotions. Retreat centers can be quite special places because of the lifestyle in them, which is rather...

10. November 2017

The man in me will do nearly any task As for compensation, there's a little he will ask Take a woman like you To get through to the man in me. Storm clouds are raging all around my door I think to myself I might not take it anymore Take a woman like your kind To find the man in me. But, oh what a wonderful feeling Just to know that you are near It sets my heart a-reeling From my toes up to my ears. The man in me will hide sometimes to keep from being seen But that's just because he doesn't want...

09. November 2017

We all have narratives in our minds. A beliefs system which is partly a result of our first impressions, our past and history and partly the fruit of our present fears and limited perceptions. Meditation comes handy since it trains us to watch our thoughts and investigate them.We learn to take distance from them so that we can stop identifying ourselves with those limited beliefs. We become aware that they might represent a portion of the truth, not the whole picture. Becoming aware of those...