Tuesday evening teaching yoga in Milan : voice assists

Last week on tuesday I taught in english italian a full vinyasa class in Milan. It was a great experience. But I asked to my colleghes do you think it is right to change language during a yoga teaching? In a nutshell, many of them told me not to answer because they never had to. A few of them told me not to feel like teaching in another language. My friend and colleghe Belinda said to me it is right to be understood by students.

My personal feeling is not to touch too much students (verbal guidance) so if I need to express in a few seconds to change a foot position to improve the posture, I need to say it as quick as possible. And possible means if I communicate a first assist and the student does not understand, I will change my teaching language for him or her at the next one. The best book I red about assisting is Yoga assists of Sharon Gannon. In this book it is suggested to teachers to know how to adjust but to decide if to do it or not. I guess thatmis the point. Freedom of speech, to get a result. Action on the contrary.

Free yoga class with Benedetta Spada in Milan for sun Eclipse 2015 and Spring celebration

Yoga Festival, in partnership with City of Milan, asked for Benedetta Spada to lead a meditation and sun salutation serie during the celebration of the sun eclipse. At the same time hundreds of partecipants have greeted the italian early spring.

I have been asked to partecipate (as a teacher) to Eclipse and spring 2015 celebrations with all Yoga festival friends, yoga students, and citizens connected in less than 48 hours to this event. The idea was so great I decided to change my plans of the weekend and serve the Holy spirit and my City. So we had an appointment in a city park nearby Planetario at 10 a.m. all together, the sky was cloudy but the faces of the people were shining. I guess people arrived in vespa, bicycle, train and car. Yoga mats everywhere by the tiny streets, yoga mats opened silently during more than an hour and lets practice a few Sun salutations and some more.

Why did I partecipate in? For a sense of yoga community, to make me well being, finally because I had something to say to these people. Shadow and light are the same. It is not true to think one is better than another. They are the two faces of a medal, separated and complementary. Put together our Light and our shadow is yoga. The way to do it is simple as repeating the phrase "even if me (say your name) I have my pains, my shadows, I decide now to be alive, I choose life and Light." Accepting these two parts and this union is yoga. The World need renaissance, need a guided wellness opportunity, need positive characters by the street.

Press about:

http://milano.mentelocale.it/63839-milano-eclissi-solare-20-marzo-yoga-ai-giardini-montanelli/

http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/milano/eclissi-milano-new-age-comune-organizza-saluto-sole-yoga-1106958.html

http://www.mi-lorenteggio.com/news/35540

http://www.radiolombardia.it/rl/news.do?id=57795

http://www.etalia.net/articles/a6c97444c-685a-461c-b56b-d0fa7e69b61e

http://www.settenews.it/index.php/cronaca/103-news/7311-eclissi-evento-new-age-comune-milano-saluto-yoga-al-sole

http://milano.repubblica.it/cronaca/2015/03/20/foto/milano_il_mega_saluto_al_sole_per_l_eclissi-110044352/1/#8

http://www.adnkronos.com/fatti/pa-informa/sport/2015/03/20/benessere-yoga-per-tutti-domani-giardini-montanelli-per-salutare-eclissi_ORqmO11UTlqn1zCdStN51J.html

http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2015/03/20/eclissi-sole-2015-eventi-in-tutta-italia-cristoforetti-scatta-foto-dallo-spazio/1522235/

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oks6SuBmPLw&sns=em
http://youtu.be/oks6SuBmPLw

Summer 2014 board on my Yoga Van from Rome to Venice to Milan

Guidelines to my next project:

 yoga and crowdfunding

Why yoga why a van?
Yoga Van is a project to help people around Italy and Mediterranean to learn yoga tecniques and meditation, mindfulness.
The project has been created by Benedetta Spada after her book tour experience to present her last book “yoga in viaggio” (travel detox book). The book is an opportunity to help people to learn yoga and meditation out of mat and yoga shala. Everybody can practice everywhere in every moment during life journey. Benedetta expanded the meaning of “yoga in viaggio”, not only a book but a lifestyle to be happy, to have good relations, to approach calm and wellness in every moment of our life. anyway Benedetta started to share the meaning of yoga in viaggio so this book became a blog, a fb page a broadcast Radio, and travel detox workshop with Benedetta on the road.

Why yoga in viaggio is different from other yoga progect?
Because yoga in viaggio wants to share yoga & meditation for modern people a society with low cost and with “happenings”. Benedetta is an antiguru and a modern teacher with a editorialist experience, is a speaker who works in front up to 500 people with natural style and simple approach, she collaborates with Radio Montecarlo from 2007 and she is the first yoga teacher to teach yoga and mindfulness in Radio. Her approach is an unconventional yoga opportunity to put in contact every human with wellness and meditation respecting modern way of life, if you want to be happy and try a new wellness this not means that you have to go to India… but you can now change your life every day where you live, work and travel.
Our project has his own social media&press office.
This is a new opportunity to spread a modern yoga life style. Everybody can practice this simple tecniques but it is important to share. Yoga in viaggio is how you eat, you work, you love, you cook and yes how you practice…

Why me ?
We need only a few partners giving euros (private financing project) which give them the opportunity to help european people to learn more about yoga in viaggio. They support our project, we spread yoga spirit around our world. I like to spend money with purprose.
Creative and makers show cases every week released on a Youtube channel video in italian with english subtitles to follow the tour.

Where and when?
italy/france/spain
From July to September 2014

Offering free or donnation yoga classes, workshop and conference…

So far, this project has been self-funded out of yoga-consciousness need further funding to cover start-up fuel costs, administrative & marketing costs to get the word out, and to purchase more yoga mats.

Min. Budget to start euro. 5,000 (including the yoga happy van to pay)

Thanks for getting the wheels rolling!

“May my life contribute to all beings living healthy, happy and free.”

Mariangela Melato e noi

Today after the festivity time, everyone awake, and as the world has not ended yet, I ask you for "and what about us?"

Honestly I wish to take advantage of you sleepiness to tackle my favourite issue.

Erich Froomm used to answer, it is possible. Could we learn to love better?

I believe the first step is learn how to love myself with great love.

Then as with great love all is possible to love each others also when it is uncomfortable.

Yes! Let love and freedom ring from Rome, Milan and everywhere in Italy.

I believe there is not one yoga style better than another but many ways to do yoga.

Some years ago I met Maria Angela Melato, in an open class where I was teaching to yoga students and theater professionists. More than 10 years have gone since I met her, but I wish to remind you of something of her: compactness, she was a "tough lady". I mean she had a straordinary coherence, connection and appeal.

Maria Angela seemed to me an honest person, committed to her professione and perfectly able to express her talent. And I felt something more from her: her compactness (which represents for me the coherence of those who do exactly what they are designed to do) was not only the same value I share with her, but Maria Angela Melato had the beauty of someone who has done a definitive choice, of someone free of conventions, I would say a free spirit.

Anywhere You are, I wish You to be free and peaceful. Ciao Maria.

With gratitude

BS

Oggi dopo questa ondata di festivita' ci siamo risvegliati, il mondo non e' finito...e noi?

Si puo' imparare ad amare?

Fromm sosteneva di si!

Credo si possa imparare ad amare se stessi, anche quando ci sentiamo scomodi, credo che si possa imparare ad amare gli altri!

Si! Io sostengo che ci siano molti modi di fare yoga, il mio yoga anni fa mi porto'a conoscere Mariangela Melato, in quel tempo io collaboravo con alcuni teatri milanesi come assistente alla regia  e yoga trainer per attori.

Incontrai Mariangela durante una lezione aperta a studenti e professionisti, sono trascorsi circa 10 anni da allora, ma cio' che ricordo con estrema chiarezza fu la "compattezza" di questa signora. Quando parlo di compattezza io intendo coerenza, connessione, fascino.

Mariangela mi apparve come una donna integra, devota alla sua passione di vita, al suo talento...percepii qualcosa in piu'...questa compattezza che per me rispecchia coloro che attraverso il proprio talento danno senso alla propria vita, sono determinati nelle loro scelte, rispettano se stessi e non abbandonano "il campo" difronte lle incoerenze altrui, ai giudizi falsati, alle frustrazioni terrene di altri.

Per me Mariangela Melato aveva la bellezza di chi sceglie, di chi si libera dalle convenzioni. Mi piace salutarla oggi con un augurio: 

" ovunque tu sia...che tu sia in pace e liberta'.."

Con gratitudine

Benedetta

London with Tara Stiles...and Reebok...new yoga life

I had a diner with newspaper journalists from Europe and US. Anyone has his own personality, the german woman is nice, the French one not at all as Tara Stiles says anyone "make his own rules." I guess in this kind of meeting it is hard to find oneness.

The agent of Tara speaks italian and makes me feel home. I like to hear italian spoken by an american, he is lacking of only our gesture. Speaking with Tara means talking about life, lifestyle, work experiences... And yoga! I find easy to share my experience even in a such glamour environment. My toughts are it is possible to be yoga star, to have money, beautifulness, youth. It sounds crazy but in Italy I never met all these things all together.

Among our small community I notice only Tara and me are vegan. Hopefully the restaurant has great dishes vegan. As I feel hot, I eat mostly raw vegetables so to make smile my guests.

I ask for Tara some more about her way to teach yoga, and how she inserted herself in the yogi world. She answers, and ask me about my point of view. We feel closed, in our anticonventional way of teaching. At one point I say Bye to go to my yoga class.

...ieri sera ho cenato con circa 10 giornaliste provenienti da Francia, Germania, America...le tedesche sinceramente sono simpaticissime! Più delle francesi? ...non me ne voglia l'amata Francia...
Al mio tavolo sedeva Tara ed il suo entusiasmante agente! Un uomo che per un anno ha studiato in Italia e...si parla anche italiano...ma la cosa straordinaria e' sentire parlare un americano l'italiano con quelle movenze tutte nostre con cui siamo noti nel mondo...che sulla bocca di un americano o inglese divengono così cool! siamo noti per la nostra gestualità...bellissimo essere l'unica italiana!
Qui non si parla solo di yoga, si parla di vita, di esperienze, di condivisione! Parlando con Tara, mi pare quasi di ritrovare un'amica, la cosa entusiasmante secondo me degli insegnanti americani...e' che non si atteggiano a guru...ma soprattutto che sono giovani! Voglio dire...sono giovani, belli, simpaticissimi...e questo non li penalizza, ma anzi li valorizza...!
Tara ed io parliamo la stessa lingua e mi fa sorridere avere la consapevolezza che tra molti siamo le uniche vegane...e ceniamo mangiando tofu...e insalate...sorrido...tutti al nostro tavolo sorridono di questo!
Tara ed io ci scambiamo idee, esperienze...la cosa che mi piace di più e' che c'è allegria tra noi...ovvero non ci prendiamo troppo sul serio...siamo anticoncenzionali...tutti a questo tavolo!
Ora scappo alla mia lezione yoga...presto vi aggiornerò sui dettagli di questo viaggio alla scoperta di un nuovo yoga life style?
Love
Benedetta