Thank you for your interest in LOTUS YOGA
I am Gabriella, the founder of Lotus Yoga studio in Uccle, in Brussels. I am a children’s and adults’ yoga teacher, eager to share my experience and knowledge with you and your family.
I was born in the Salento area of the Apulia region, Italy. I did my high school studies in Lecce, a beautiful baroque city, and then moved to medieval Siena, in Tuscany, to study political sciences and EU law. My university years brought me also to Cork, Ireland, Ottawa, Canada, and many other places in between, until I moved to Brussels, Belgium, where I have been living for almost two decades. My first encounter with yoga happened in 2001 in Siena, when an American housemate talked to me about yoga philosophy and taught me some postures, and I was immediately fascinated by this practise, which at that time was not so common.
While studying and working, I kept being attracted to the mind-body connection, and then was lucky enough to truly experience the multiple benefits of yoga, which I now love sharing with you.
I have been practising yoga continuously for almost two decades while working in the EU policy environment, and in 2014 I completed my first Yoga Alliance Teacher Training. Wanting to deepen my knowledge of anatomy in the context of yoga, in 2020 I took part in a specific training on Anatomy applied to Yoga, also recognized by Yoga Alliance.
Alongside my Adult yoga practice, since becoming a mother of Emma, in 2013, and then Matteo, in 2019, I have developed a keen interest in children’s yoga. In order to be fully equipped to teach children, in 2020, I completed a Children’s yoga training also recognized by Yoga Alliance, and am currently following a program run by the Italian Association for Children’s Yoga, for which I am the representative in Belgium.
In 2017, I took part in an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction programme, where I learnt the meditation practices designed by Jon-Kabatt Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Boston, USA.
Compassion and kindness are the two most important qualities I reinforce through a daily yoga practice. Through my yoga practice, I am committed to continue learning and growing as a student and teacher.
Having experienced myself how hard it can sometimes be to find a balance between private and professional life, but knowing all the benefits yoga can bring, I encourage you to take good care of yourself and your loved ones and make time for yoga!
TEACHING APPROACH
Over the years, I have been inspired by, and actively explored, different ways of approaching a yoga practice, from the “slow-paced” ones, right to the more dynamic yoga styles.
The aspects I emphasize in my teaching are grounding, attention to breathing while it enables the body to move into a posture, to hold the posture and come out of the posture, and a gentle invitation to explore ways of going deep into the practice.
To adults, I teach to beginners, ‘gentle yoga’, and ‘flow yoga’, which is more dynamic. I also teach yoga to children.
