When…Yoga Changed My Life.

WHEN YOGA CHANGED MY LIFE (AND WHERE IT'S TAKING ME)

Anjaneyasana

If someone had told me years ago, back when I was a teenager, that yoga would become such an important part of my personal and professional life - I probably would have laughed out loud. And yet, here I am, sharing a story that starts in Trento, Italy, among the mountains of Trentino, and unfolds in chaotic, multicultural London, continuing to evolve. Mine is not a linear story; it’s a journey made of anxiety, discovery, obstacles, and rebirths. But most of all, it’s a path towards myself.

With this blog, I want to share fragments of life which, pieced together, form an uncharted, unique path - one that often has no clear destination.

The aim is to share my lived experience, with the hope, perhaps, of helping someone else find their own uncharted path - just as I was helped, many times.

This is my first post, created with heart and edited by my dear friend Silvia, who uncharted me to take a chance on this adventure too - telling the story of how I found myself on the mat, teaching yoga.

AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER: ME, YOGA (AND THE DALAI LAMA)

It all began when I was 16 or 17, during a time that wasn’t exactly easy - a period when I was trying to find my identity. The mother of my best friend was very close to Tibetan Buddhism and would often suggest I try yoga, knowing how anxious I constantly felt. I didn’t listen straight away. But eventually, thanks to a few school workshops and countless YouTube videos, I began taking my first steps on my own - between a sun salutation and a few improvised poses on the rooftop of my building, too embarrassed to be seen.

During those years, something happened that I never would have expected - something that marked the beginning of my spiritual path. In Trento, I had the opportunity to shake hands with the Dalai Lama. Yes, him - the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. It was a public event I was dragged to by the mother of my best friend (we even skipped school for it), and all of a sudden, without realising it, I found myself face to face with this small but incredibly powerful man. It was a moment I remember with disbelief. Maybe I wasn’t yet ready to understand the depth of that encounter, but it definitely pushed me to read more about Buddhism. I started with "Are You Sure You’re Not a Buddhist?" by Khyentse Norbu, and moved on to "The Art of Happiness" by the Dalai Lama himself. And from there, a path began - one that’s still ongoing - to figure out who I am.

(This episode will become a spin-off… stay tuned!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWfzIgyVqvQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7wGOVRpWqs

FROM TRENTO TO LONDON

After years of trying to find myself through various experiences - from breakdancing to graffiti, to travelling with no destination driven only by the need to escape - I decided to leave behind the life I had in the province of Trento, which never truly felt like mine. At 21, I chose to leave everything: a permanent job, home, friends - and move to London. It was a drastic change. The city swept me up in its frenetic pace, with long shifts at a shop in Oxford Circus, grey winter days, and a constant sense of loneliness - even while living in a house with more than eight people. Anxiety came knocking again, hard.

It was one of my flatmates, a yoga teacher, who encouraged me to try a class at a local shala. At first, I hesitated: the language, the group, the idea of being exposed… everything held me back. Then one day, I went. And it felt like stepping into a room where time stood still. For an hour, the noise of the world disappeared. There was only breath, movement, and this new - and wonderful - feeling of finally belonging to something.

WHEN PRACTICE BECOMES STUDY

I never intended to become a teacher. Yoga was my peaceful corner, not a job. But when my flatmate - someone I was very close to - decided to deepen her practice in India and stopped teaching, I had to look for new studios and new teachers. At home, I began practising sun salutations every morning at 6:30, before heading to work. It became my sacred moment. Then I met Chaitanya, a very spiritual teacher who introduced me to the more philosophical side of the practice.

At the same time, I was going through another dark period. I felt excluded from the fashion world I’d worked in for years - out of place, even because of my body, which didn’t fit the “ideal” image that world expected. After many discussions, my partner convinced me to attend a yoga retreat in Spain on my own. For my anxious mind, it was a big challenge. But that week in the mountains of Alicante made me realise something essential: life can be simpler, if we stop building mental cages for ourselves. That’s when I started meditating.

Urdhva Mukha Svanasana - 2020

A YOGA MAT AND A ZOOM LINK IN A PANDEMIC

After returning from the retreat, I began to feel a strong desire to deepen my knowledge of yoga on a theoretical level too. I found a 200-hour training course at a local school - Breeze Yoga. I went into it with the intention of learning, not of teaching.

And yet, my mentor Hassan told me: “Every train has its own passenger.” With that, he encouraged me to teach my first yoga class. The anxiety was still there, of course, but the feedback was positive. So, once I completed the training, I decided to rent a room in a nearby dance studio and started teaching to the local community and friends, on a donation basis.

Then the pandemic hit. What was meant to be a side project became a real job. On Zoom, my classes started to fill up with students. I was in disbelief: how had I gone from a small local community of 15 people to teaching online classes attended by people from all over the world - Miami, Australia, South America, Switzerland... all stuck in lockdown, yet united in the shared practice of yoga.I could feel something was changing. Without even realising it, I had become a professional yoga teacher.

I had become that train - and the passengers were boarding.

WHERE I AM AND WHERE I'M GOING

After 10 years of practice, yoga continues to lead me towards self-discovery - more than anything else. Today, I teach, create content, lead retreats, travel. It turned a passion into a profession, and naturally, there are pros and cons. One day, I dream of owning a property by the sea and building my own centre.

But there is no real destination. In yoga, there is no such thing as “arriving”. There is only the constant journey. Being a teacher means above all being a student - always learning, evolving, discovering new parts of yourself and others. It’s not always easy. But it’s real. And every day, on the mat, I find the reason why I started. And yes - I still need yoga. Maybe now more than ever.

Writing this first post brought my mind back to all the experiences I’ve lived, the people I’ve met who changed me and helped guide me down this uncharted path. I scrolled back through photos and old posts from my first videos and content. I laughed with my editor friend as we remembered that absurd handshake with the Dalai Lama in my little hometown in Italy, where everything began. And who knows - maybe the Dalai Lama won’t remember that boy who was looking for his identity (and still is), but he definitely holds a place in my memory: a starting point, with no destination.

And you? What’s your uncharted path?

Edited by Silvia De Vecchi