"Aprile non ti scoprire". e "Maggio fatti coraggio"... That's what Italians say during this period of the year and this year there is no doubt. We didn't "uncover" ourselves in April, as it was even snowing sometimes, and well, May didn't start warm neither. But now, we're finally seeing the light at the end of the long winter tunnel. We can now say "courage", the summer is closer and closer!
We were all looking forward for a warm weather, in order to go out in the nature and don't feel oppressed by the COVID-19 restrictions anymore. And we waited for a very long time... a very long winter, but finally spring is there: sun is shining, the air is getting warmer and people are happier :)
Well, for me it's even easier to feel a better mood, as I decided to take a flight few days ago and come to visit my family in Italy after such a long time away.
Finally Italy starts to reopen, as numbers are going down, my mum got the vaccine and I really needed to recharge my battery in the sunny Tuscany countryside with my family :) This could sound egoistic, but I'm really aware of the luck I have. Such a beautiful house in this gorgeous wild greenery, where to spend my 5 days of quarantine. I don't see it as an egoistic act actually, rather I see it as an act of "self-care".
I invite you to reflect on these ambiguous feelings indeed. Interpreted in one way, they are negative and should be avoided, interpreted in another way they are positive and should on the contrary be welcomed. An example is envy, which maybe some of you can feel right now, by looking my pictures of these days and has a negative connotation. Instead, try to observe the same feelings as positive and constructive admiration. Envy is negative because it makes you believe you can be happy if you have what others have. But you are perfect as you are. Instead of the wish of having what others have, engage yourself to get what you really want and see what the others have with inspiration and admiration only.
Yes, I'm lucky and I don't want to hide it. I'm proud of what my father created and he's still maintaining and growing. This is his place of happiness, and he sweated hard to get it. This is our family retreat. I used to share this place with friends, whenever there was the opportunity in the past. So many parties I did it here in the swimming pool during my youth and now I'm so grateful this place exits to give me peace. Who knows, maybe one day I will make a yoga retreat here!
That's my time to slow down and enjoy the small things of life. Listening to the birds, letting the sun warm up my skin and enjoy the love of my family. And from Monday to Friday I'm working remotely. Every morning I'm doing my personal yoga practice outside, facing the warm sun, feeling an immense joy and gratitude. If you are struggling in the city right now, take the time to go out in the nature, wherever it is, listen to the birds, breath the fresh air and observe the surroundings. We are living in such a wonderful world! Spring it's the time to go into the wild, be grateful for what you have and be brave to create what you want.
The last month was full of changes and new things for me too. I had the honor of teaching yoga to a group of scientists during the vEGU21, a 2 weeks online conference. On the 21st I did a short class during the quiz&stretch and as the organisation liked it, I was asked to repeat it for the closing party on Friday the 30th. It was challenging for me to make an open class, only 30 minutes long, accessible to everybody from all ages. I'm pretty happy on what it came out at the end. If you are curious to try it out, just check the first class here and the second one here.
In the meantime my regular classes are going smoothly forward. One day at the beginning of April I also had the pleasure of making my Wednesday class outdoor in the park of Hasenheide with Ele. It was great and I'm so grateful of her achievements. She improved a lot, she found her practice, she managed to make perfect headstand, she can bind even in Marishasana D, she has strong and beautiful lines and, I guess, seeing your scholars so engaged and happy, when they achieve their goals, it's one of the most valuable gift, you can get from them.
And my teaching skills are continuing to grow. Right now I'm reading a very interesting book called "How to teach yoga beyond the poses" which is giving me a lot of inspirational ideas. And I'm understanding better and better how to create the classes based on the students and not on the Asanas. This is a big step for me, finally understanding the real meaning of "we don't use our body to get into the pose, we use the pose to get into our body". Nonviolence is the first Yama, and first of all is non violence with ourself. If our body cannot get into one pose, make it in a way it is feasible for you, just find the pose variation which feels right to your body. We all have different bodies, so my biggest challenge is indeed teaching the pose, which fits the body of my student.
The next class will be on Monday from 7:45 to 9:15 pm with Ashtanga from the living room, as it will be dark already, but then, on Wednesday from 7 to 8 pm, I will do the Power Flow class outdoor from the magic garden of my parents. So, if you want to experience a bit of Tuscany, even tough only digitally, don't hesitate to connect! It's a kind of "itinerant SìYoga" as I did last summer between Corsica and Tuscany indeed. More about the project of last year can be reviewed here.
So yes, another summer, another itinerant Power Flow with SìYoga! The time is just repeating itself in this permanent circle of life. And I'm happy to see new faces joining my online classes from Tuscany soon. And just a little heads-up... from June my Wednesday Yoga Class will be also accessible outdoor in a Berliner park with Urban Sport Club ;)
Stay tuned!
Namaste,
Silvia
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