Is not what you practice- but HOW you practice and WHEN you practice

I see myself as a Yoga student-practitioner-teacher. For more than three decades Yoga has been enriching my life: it feels like a nourishing well that keeps giving. This summer, I am diving into the question of how we can support our health in the long run, and I have acquired quite a few insights that I would like to share with you here, hoping that you will benefit from them:

· There is an epidemic of “premature aging”: people barely their 30s or 40s that lack vitality, senseful rhythm, creativity, and mental clarity. Their energy is unbalanced, they suffer from high levels of anxiety/depression/reactivity as well as digestive and sleeping problems. Overstimulation, overindulgence and the continuous search for emotional excitement and momentary pleasure guide their decision.

· Although it is best to start preparing for a healthy longevity as we are in our 30s, it is never too late to start!

· We don’t+ have to "be healthy” to start taking care of ourselves. We just have to begin where we are!

· We have the possibility to reframe how we think of the passing of time. Instead of “aging” (which in our culture is associated with negative connotation), we can choose to see it as “Wiseing”: making wiser positive decisions about our physical-mental-emotional-social health. I don’t ‘think that the term exists in English: I created it.

· When it comes to yoga, it is not about what we say we practice (all kinds of questionable things are being marketed as “yoga” nowadays). It really is., first of all, about HOW we practice. This means, to prioritize practices that honor the body-mind, are integrative, favor our physiology, help us to develop resilience and balance our nervous system.

· The practice is not about “fixing” something, but about acknowledging honestly the existing possibilities, be grateful for what is, and explore their healthy maintenance and/or expansion, as appropriate.

· Harmonizing our Vata Dosha is key for living after 40 with a sense of empowerment- instead of as a drag, or a down-hill experience. To move and breath properly is a good start, but it is not all. The invitation is to adopt the right kind of integral lifestyle changes that will allow us to have enough energy to not only function but thrive through your daily activities, and that will support us to keep memory and cognitive brain performance intact.

· To reduce yoga to Asanas- sprinkled with a little bit of breathing and trend words like "consciousness"- is not enough: all the limbs of yoga work TOGETHER to support our wellbeing. This includes not only meditation and other yogic tools, but also coherent ethical actions that enhance and optimize our health and the wellbeing of others through proper diet, consumption choices and interactions.

· Yoga is not another “self-improvement” project. That will be- once again- another self-centered way of seeing things.

· Yoga practice is not something we can put in a compartment either: I “do” my Asana sessions but the rest of my life and relationships are a mess – starting with my relation with myself- and I keep abusing/neglecting my body-mind. This, in a nutshell, is the essence of WHEN we practice: ALL THE TIME!

· If we can really LIVE the principles of Yoga in daily life, feeling continuously empowered by the knowledge of Ayurveda, we will be co-creating our reality one breath, one action, one day at the time. This is the essence of sustainable and effective practice.

This season I have also been learning lineage traded explorations unknown in the West that recently have been tested in medical research settings to understand how exactly they work. For the time being, I am sensing/experiencing them in my body-mind. When the time is right, I will see what is appropriate to share in my group classes and in my private sessions- depending. Of course, on the needs of the participants.

Be ready for new , inspiring and exciting inquiries!