My Story…

My gratitude goes to Vanda Scaravelli, who taught me to be supported by the ‘earth’ and to walk into the ‘new’.

Yoga is like a river which, for thousands of years, has been nourished by many streams and springs along its course towards the great ocean. Yet, the very first source of this river lies within each of us, deeply hidden. Often, it is only when we are bathed by the great river of tradition that our thirst for true knowledge is awakened. Tradition is the water that quenches and nourishes our being, but the real seed is within us, and this is what must unfold and grow towards the sun.

I am a direct student of Vanda Scaravelli (author of Awakening the Spine, 1991). Vanda studied yoga personally with B.K.S. Iyengar and T.K.V. Desikachar (both in the lineage of Krishnamacharya). She was also a close friend of J. Krishnamurti and accompanied him for many years in Switzerland. I began studying with Vanda in 1983, at the age of 26, and continued to have regular one-to-one lessons until 1999. I was her student for the last 17 years of her life. This encounter profoundly changed both my life and my yoga practice.

I now continue to explore and share the teachings I received from Vanda, preserving their simplicity and freedom. I teach yoga because I am happy to share the beauty of a practice that reaches us in a natural way. I was born and still live in Florence, where for many years I have run my own yoga studio in the city center. Since 1987, I have been teaching advanced courses, private lessons, and intensive workshops both in Italy and abroad.

Rossella is a registered yoga teacher with the YANI association.

  • September 7–14, 2025: Intensive Residential Seminar – Tuscany

  • January 28, 2024: Seminar “Roots and Wings… Images in the Teaching of Vanda Scaravelli” – Centro Yoga Mandir, Milan
  • September 8–15, 2024: Intensive Residential Seminar – Tuscany

  • October 7, 2023: Intensive Seminar “Gravity, Breath, Rhythm” – Centro Yoga Mandir, Milan
  • September 10–17, 2023: Intensive Residential Seminar – Tuscany
  • August 28 – September 4, 2023: Yoga and Stars Under the Volcano – Stromboli, Sicily
  • May 6, 2023: Intensive “Gravity, Breath, Rhythm” – Centro Yoga Mandir, Milan
  • July 1–8, 2023: Clare Island Intensive Seminar for Yoga Teachers
  • April 22–23, 2023: “Vanda Scaravelli Teachings” – Copenhagen, Lige her Lige Nu
  • January 26, 2023: Intensive Seminar – Centro Yoga Milano, Yoga Mandir
  • March 26, 2023: Seminar – Brescia, Italy

  • January 22, 2022: Advanced Seminar – Milan, Centro Yoga Milano, Yoga Mandir
  • May 7, 2022: Advanced Seminar – Milan, Centro Yoga Milano, Yoga Mandir
  • May 21–22, 2022: “Freedom” Intensive – Copenhagen, Lige her Lige Nu
  • July 2–9, 2022: Residential Seminar – Clare Island, Ireland
  • September 17–25, 2022: Intensive Residential Seminar – Maremma, Tuscany
  • October 26, 2022: Milan, Centro Yoga Milano, Yoga Mandir

  • October 23–24, 2021: “On Intuition” Workshop – Copenhagen
  • September 19–27, 2021: Intensive Seminar – Montorgiali, Tuscany
  • August 28 – September 4, 2021: Intensive Seminar – Stromboli, Sicily
  • October 23–24, 2021: “On Intuition” Workshop – Copenhagen
  • September 19–27, 2021: Intensive Seminar – Montorgiali, Tuscany
  • August 28 – September 4, 2021: Intensive Seminar – Stromboli, Sicily

  • February 1–2, 2020: Intensive Seminar “Intimacy…” – Dublin, Ireland
  • January 18–19, 2020: Advanced Seminar – Florence, Italy
  • December 8, 2019: Intensive Seminar “The Pelvis, the Earth, the Breath” – Brescia, Italy
  • November 16–17, 2019: “Going Beyond” Intensive Workshop – Copenhagen, Denmark
  • August 31 – September 7, 2019: Intensive Seminar for Yoga Teachers – Aeolian Islands, Italy
  • August 10–11, 2019: “Intimacy” Intensive Workshop – Tuskaer, Fjaltring, Denmark
  • August 9, 2019: Lecture “Feminine Wisdom” – Tuskaer, Fjaltring, Denmark
  • August 8–9, 2019: “Walking in the New” Workshop – Tuskaer, Fjaltring, Denmark
  • July 13–20, 2019: Intensive Workshop – Clare Island, Macalla Farm, Ireland
  • May 18–19, 2019: “Dance” Intensive Workshop – Copenhagen, Denmark
  • April 6–7, 2019: Workshop – The Yoga House, Twello, Deventer, Netherlands
  • March 24, 2019: Seminar “Non-Doing” – Brescia, Italy
  • January 19–20, 2019: “Intimacy” Intensive Workshop – Copenhagen, Denmark
  • November 25, 2018: Workshop “From Trust Comes Energy” – Studio Brixia, Brescia, Italy
  • September 22–23, 2018: Intensive Yoga Seminar – Tuskaer, Fjaltring, Denmark
  • September 1–8, 2018: Yoga Week – Stromboli, Sicily, Italy
  • July 13–20, 2018: Intensive Workshop – Clare Island, Ireland
  • June 16–17, 2018: “With Kindness” Intensive Workshop – Copenhagen, Denmark
  • April 14–15, 2018: Intensive Seminar – The Yoga House, Deventer, Netherlands
  • December 2–3, 2017: Intensive Seminar “A New Beginning” – Copenhagen, Denmark
  • November 19, 2017: Seminar “The Dance of Life” with Kerry Maguire
  • September 2–9, 2017: Retreat – Stromboli, Sicily, Italy
  • July 14–22, 2017: Clare Island Retreat – Ireland
  • May 6–7, 2017: Intensive Seminar – Copenhagen, Denmark
  • April 8–9, 2017: Intensive Seminar – Twello, Netherlands
  • March 12, 2017: “Balance and Equilibria” Seminar – Brescia, Italy
  • January 27, 2017: “Yoga and the Art of Listening in Dialogue” – Florence, Italy
  • December 3–4, 2016: “Change” Intensive Seminar for Teachers – Florence, Italy
  • November 12–13, 2016: “A Feminine Approach” Intensive Seminar – Copenhagen, Denmark
  • November 27, 2016: “The Spine in Yoga Practice” – Brescia, Italy
  • August 27 – September 3, 2016: Intensive Week – Clare Island, Ireland

  • March 29, 2015: “Meeting the Elements in Yoga Practice” – Brescia, Italy
  • February–May 2015: Monthly Advanced Seminars – Florence, Italy
  • January 31 – February 1, 2015: Advanced Seminars – Milan, Italy
  • November 30, 2014: “Meeting the Elements in Yoga Practice” – Brescia, Italy
  • November 14–16, 2014: Intensive Seminar – Florence, Italy
  • November 1–2, 2014: Seminar – Copenhagen, Denmark
  • August 31 – September 6, 2014: Intensive Week – Stromboli, Italy
  • August 14–17, 2014: Retreat – Florence, Italy
  • July 2–19, 2014: Clare Island Retreat – Ireland
  • May 23–25, 2014: Intensive Seminar – Florence, Italy
  • March 30, 2014: Intensive Seminar – Brescia, Italy
  • March 1–2, 2014: “On Beauty” Intensive Seminar – Deventer, Netherlands
  • February 8–9, 2014: “Yoga is Freedom” – Copenhagen, Denmark
  • November 24, 2013: “Gravity, Breath, Rhythm – The Spine in Asana Practice” – Brescia, Italy
  • November 15–17, 2013: Intensive Seminar – Florence, Italy
  • March 17, 2013: “Intuition in Yoga Practice” – Brescia, Italy
  • November 18, 2012: “The Pelvis: Stability and Fluidity” – Brescia, Italy
  • 2012: Began teaching regular seminars – Yoga Studio Brixia, Brescia, Italy
  • 2012: Co-organizer of “The Yoga Teacher – Competencies, Professional Profiles and Regulations”
  • 2012: Masterclass – Centro Yoga Shakti, Genoa, Italy (subsequently taught various seminars)
  • 2012: Conference for “Professional Women Network” – Florence, Italy

  • 2010: Began teaching regularly in the Netherlands at Satyam Yoga, visiting annually
  • 2009: Residential Seminar – Lake Garda, Italy
  • 2009: Taught at the Yoga Festival – Milan, Italy; began regular seminars in Milan
  • 2008: Invited to teach at the Yoga Festival – Milan, Italy
  • 2008: Continued collaboration with the Tuscan Regional Coordination “Yoga Table”
  • 2008: Workshop – The Breathing Project, New York, USA
  • 2008: Teacher Seminar – Namasté USA, Dallas, USA
  • 2007: Intensive Seminar for Inner Yoga Trust – UK
  • 2007: Published articles in Yoga Therapy Ireland magazine
  • 2007: Teacher Seminar – Yoga Therapy Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
  • 2007: Published articles in Rossella newsletter – Dansk Yoga, Denmark
  • 2007: Residential Seminar for Teachers – organized by Dansk Yoga, Denmark
  • 2007: Advanced Teacher Seminar – New Mexico, USA, for Yoga Now
  • 2006: First seminar – New York, USA
  • 2006–2009: Taught regular seminars in Dublin, Ireland

  • 2005: Irish Yoga Association published an article about Rossella in their Newsletter
  • 2005: Began regular teaching in Ireland; first residential seminar at Clare Island, visiting Ireland annually thereafter
  • 2004: Residential Seminar – Antigua, Caribbean, for US students
  • 2003: Continued traveling several times a year to Denmark in various locations to teach advanced seminars
  • 2003: ALT for damerne published a 3-page article on Rossella titled “Yoga in Slow Motion”
  • 2002: Began teaching advanced seminars twice a year in Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 2001: Began annual summer residential seminars in Sicily – Stromboli, Italy
  • 2000: Began residential seminars in Italy, attended by yoga teachers

  • 1996: Opened her own Yoga Studio in Florence, Italy, as a self-employed teacher
  • 1992: Began teaching courses in Florence at various studios
  • 1991: Resumed teaching yoga, following what she was learning from Vanda Scaravelli
  • 1990–1999: Continued intensive study with Vanda Scaravelli

  • 1988–1990: Continued studying with Dona Holleman
  • 1987: Trained as a teacher under the supervision of Dona Holleman; began teaching courses
  • 1983: Began individual study with Vanda Scaravelli
  • 1983: Attended an intensive course with B.K.S. Iyengar – Pune, India
  • 1981: Began practicing yoga with Dona Holleman in Florence, Italy