ABOUT ME
My encounter with meditation began before and separately from my initial -very physically intensive - Iyengar yoga practice. My fascination with the mind and my own consciousness since being a child led to a quest to try and discover what would happen if I would stop thinking. It seems as if, if 'I' stopped thinking, 'Lara' would disappear.
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A degree in philosophy naturally followed from these childhood Cartesian ponderings, during which time a chance encounter with a Zen monk on the banks of a canal in Venice led to a deeper exploration and practice of meditation.
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These years involved learning traditions and followings of Western Chan, Japanese Zazen, Vedanta, Sri Chimnoy, Theravada, as well as modern mindfulness techniques, reading various Buddhist texts and practising every technique of meditation I came across. Metta, Samatha, Zen, Body scanning, Insight, as well as the MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction) of Jon-Kabat Zinn, and several silent retreats before a life changing 10 day silent Vipassana journey. I would recommend Goenka's free Vipassana retreats to everyone, there is nothing else in this world that can get you to understand your essence than this journey.
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At first, enjoying Iyengar yoga for its rigour and strengthening, I discovered the utility and strength of the mind when maintaining a 'difficult' or 'intense' position and how the limits of the body were sometimes much beyond what I'd previously allowed - either from fear or perhaps laziness. Concentrating the mind in lengthy warrior pose can in fact be easier than in a seated meditation and thus the links between my practices of the mind and body began.
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After years of practising a range of additional styles - hatha, ashtanga, vinyasa and yin yoga, in 2018 Lara went to train with Simon Borg-Olivier, pupil of both B.K.S Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois, physiotherapist, molecular biologist and founder of the Synergy yoga system. Synergy yoga is a hatha vinyasa utilising principles of physiotherapy to create safe and effective posture and movement practise for "Western bodies". This is to say, our modern, sedentary lives have altered and limited the natural strength and flexibility of certain parts of our human bodies, as compared to traditional cultures where eating seated on the floor, kneeling, squatting and carrying things on your head were daily activities. Thus, some traditional yoga postures may not be appropriate or ought to be altered.
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Since then Lara has discovered the amazing benefits and fascinating discoveries that can be achieved through learning about functional neurology. How we use our eyes, tongue, breath and more can directly and immediately light up different brain areas which in turn can allow us to find more or less stability or flexibility. An advanced teacher training in functional neurology with Adell Bridges and Celest Pereira with further education from Z Health. Neurological awareness is extremely helpful for pain and limited range of motion in movement and every day life.
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As a dancer as well, I look to combine the yogic tradition, the joy of expressive movement, and this relevant understanding of our bodies and their anatomy from the physiotherapeutic point of view.
~
A degree in philosophy naturally followed from these childhood Cartesian ponderings, during which time a chance encounter with a Zen monk on the banks of a canal in Venice led to a deeper exploration and practice of meditation.
~
These years involved learning traditions and followings of Western Chan, Japanese Zazen, Vedanta, Sri Chimnoy, Theravada, as well as modern mindfulness techniques, reading various Buddhist texts and practising every technique of meditation I came across. Metta, Samatha, Zen, Body scanning, Insight, as well as the MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction) of Jon-Kabat Zinn, and several silent retreats before a life changing 10 day silent Vipassana journey. I would recommend Goenka's free Vipassana retreats to everyone, there is nothing else in this world that can get you to understand your essence than this journey.
~
At first, enjoying Iyengar yoga for its rigour and strengthening, I discovered the utility and strength of the mind when maintaining a 'difficult' or 'intense' position and how the limits of the body were sometimes much beyond what I'd previously allowed - either from fear or perhaps laziness. Concentrating the mind in lengthy warrior pose can in fact be easier than in a seated meditation and thus the links between my practices of the mind and body began.
~
After years of practising a range of additional styles - hatha, ashtanga, vinyasa and yin yoga, in 2018 Lara went to train with Simon Borg-Olivier, pupil of both B.K.S Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois, physiotherapist, molecular biologist and founder of the Synergy yoga system. Synergy yoga is a hatha vinyasa utilising principles of physiotherapy to create safe and effective posture and movement practise for "Western bodies". This is to say, our modern, sedentary lives have altered and limited the natural strength and flexibility of certain parts of our human bodies, as compared to traditional cultures where eating seated on the floor, kneeling, squatting and carrying things on your head were daily activities. Thus, some traditional yoga postures may not be appropriate or ought to be altered.
~
Since then Lara has discovered the amazing benefits and fascinating discoveries that can be achieved through learning about functional neurology. How we use our eyes, tongue, breath and more can directly and immediately light up different brain areas which in turn can allow us to find more or less stability or flexibility. An advanced teacher training in functional neurology with Adell Bridges and Celest Pereira with further education from Z Health. Neurological awareness is extremely helpful for pain and limited range of motion in movement and every day life.
~
As a dancer as well, I look to combine the yogic tradition, the joy of expressive movement, and this relevant understanding of our bodies and their anatomy from the physiotherapeutic point of view.
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my teaching
BRAIN
BREATH AWARENESS INTUITION GENTLENESS ACCEPTANCE MOVEMENT JOY |
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RYT 200 Yoga Alliance - Simon Borg-Olivier & Nowhere Yoga
RYT 100 Advanced Yoga Teacher Training in Functional Neurology in Yoga
Certified Hormonal Health Practitioner
Certified Thai Massage Therapist
Ayurvedic Massage Abhyanga Practitioner
Philosophy BA (Hons) - University of Bristol
Masters in Arts Management - IED RomeWorld Traveller, Life Liver, Consciousness Explorer
RYT 100 Advanced Yoga Teacher Training in Functional Neurology in Yoga
Certified Hormonal Health Practitioner
Certified Thai Massage Therapist
Ayurvedic Massage Abhyanga Practitioner
Philosophy BA (Hons) - University of Bristol
Masters in Arts Management - IED RomeWorld Traveller, Life Liver, Consciousness Explorer
Complementary work
I am a writer, both of copy for digital marketing, in particular in the tourism sector and of poems and travel writing.
I work with photographers as a muse, particularly for movement and nature projects.
I am a travel planner and design itineraries in Italy but also around the world.
I also enjoy painting, playing the piano and clarinet, and dancing everything from the Argentine tango to the Tarantella, to Cuban salsa.
I have worked in the contemporary arts as a curator, art director and art educator.
I work with photographers as a muse, particularly for movement and nature projects.
I am a travel planner and design itineraries in Italy but also around the world.
I also enjoy painting, playing the piano and clarinet, and dancing everything from the Argentine tango to the Tarantella, to Cuban salsa.
I have worked in the contemporary arts as a curator, art director and art educator.
- RYT 200 Yoga Alliance - Simon Borg-Olivier & Nowhere Yoga
- RYT 100 Advanced Yoga Teacher Training in Functional Neurology in Yoga
- Certified Hormonal Health Practitioner
- Certified Thai Massage Therapist
- Ayurvedic Massage Abhyanga Practitioner
- Philosophy BA (Hons) - University of Bristol
- Masters in Arts Management - IED Rome
- World Traveller, Life Liver, Consciousness Explorer
