The heart of the studio, our team

My passion and love for travelling and learning helped me learn from various experiences and jobs: as a waiter, cook, boat foreman, surf instructor… The more diverse the experience, the more it enriched me, challenged me and prepared me for my professional development. I was born in Genoa and grew up in a large Italian family. I left home to study law at the University of Bologna. As an intern, I studied human rights and European Union law in Strasbourg (France), international law in Geneva (Switzerland) and environmental law in San Sebastián (Basque Country, Spain). Trained as a lawyer, my professional career initially focused on sustainability and education. I started at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Environment to work on environmental governance. In 2003, my training led me to the International Court of Environmental Arbitration and Conciliation as head of legal affairs. From there, I moved to the University of Deusto in Bilbao to teach Sustainable Development, and then to the Basque Environmental Protection Agency to head the first Biodiversity Centre. In 2011, I began attending Advaita Vedanta classes with the revered Swami Vagishananda Saraswati. I realised that understanding our mind, being aware and managing the emotions that require our attention, in order to achieve inner peace and be able to relate to others with greater empathy, live according to our values and manage conflicts from an emotional perspective, are essential aspects that we must learn from an early age. Instead of memorising concepts, in order to become well-rounded individuals and positive citizens, children need to learn about how the mind works and the ability to control their emotions, assimilate internal values and understand how to satisfy the human desire to be happy. If we want a sustainable and more peaceful world, schools and universities must integrate self-awareness and social-emotional learning into their curricula.

Therefore, I have devoted myself to studying Vedanta psychology and Western depth psychology with Carol Whitfield (CIIS). First, seeking inner growth; then, working individually and with groups (educators and yoga practitioners) to develop self-awareness, manage emotions, and commit to meaningful goals based on desires without attachments, with an appropriate attitude and values. My courses on self-knowledge, emotional intelligence, Advaita Vedanta, meditation, and individual sessions are currently available online and in person in different countries.