¨The highness form of intelligence is to observe ourselves without judgment. Light and shadows; both want to be seen. Perfectly, imperfectly, whole, complete. ̈
Romina is a yoga teacher and the creator of Slow Mood, an online community where you can find self-care guidance and meaningful conversations with teachers and spiritual practitioners. Her approach focuses on helping others to connect with themselves through movement, yoga, and meditation, as well as learning to slow down and to be more in harmony with themselves.
For us, understanding who we are and finding our place into the world became clearer after learning to connect with our true selves. We are still on our learning journey, and feel grateful to connect with someone that helps others to live their lives better.
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did, and find valuable answers about these beautiful practices.
Romina, tell us a little bit about yourself and your practice, and how did you end up teaching yoga and meditation?
I have always been an energetic, expressive, and creative person, constantly seeking to move around the world with a different perspective of the “regular” view, at the same time, I used to be very dispersed and I had so much energy that it was difficult for me to focus on something, so then I found yoga, in that time I was very young and this encounter really happened by chance, but the connection was right away since I felt an immediate devotion to that moment of silence where everything slowed down and I found myself connected and aligned with my inner self.
It was a time after returning from a long trip when I developed a regular practice, that I had the curiosity to get deep in this philosophy and decided to do a teacher training in a yoga studio here in Barcelona that gave me the opportunity to work as an assistant which helped me to open the doors in this path and also allowed me to practice with great teachers. More than 4 years have passed and I can still say that the learning does not end and I am continually growing, adding more body vocabulary in my personal practice.
You ́ve recently launched a podcast with your projects Slow Mood, tell us what is it about and what people can expect?
Slowmood podcast was created with the intention to connect with teachers and spiritual practitioners from around the world through meaningful conversations and providing powerful techniques to connect with ourselves, to be inspired, and slowdown in this path we call life.
This first episode is very special for us as a community as it’s our way to demonstrate who we are and what attracts us more as persons. For this session, we invited Alesha Mcneil an amazing Breathwork Facilitator and manifestation guide. In this conversation, we shared some magical secrets to attract what we want, and we even get personal with our own stories.
We love this quote that you shared on your Instagram: ̈The highness form of intelligence is to observe ourselves without judgment. Light and shadows, both want to be seen. Perfectly, imperfectly, whole, complete. ̈ What does it mean for you to be ̈Perfectly, imperfectly, whole, complete. ?
For me to be perfectly, imperfectly, whole, complete is to be me without boundaries, and filters, accepting myself as I am. After a long time of inner work and self-exploration of who I am and how I impact the world around me, I realized that most of the time we are very worried to hide and show a specific part of ourselves, and not accepting our real essence. And the most curious thing is that these parts of ourselves that we consider “imperfect or bad” are the most interesting parts of ourselves, more real and more human, that allow us to connect our reality and with others.
How important do you think it is to be constantly connected with our bodies, and what does it mean movement awareness?
As long as I am connected with my body there is no external validation or rule of how can I have health and harmony in my life. I truly believe that the body expresses what it needs by itself, but you really need to listen to it. That’s my goal, develop this listening.
One of the ways to keep me and my body in balance is thorough movement. Movement allows me to express and also heal myself. I can teach my mind with my body and vice-versa and that is why I consider so interesting to teach people to have a better life by using their body as a field to express what it needs to be expressed, and as soon we are our most unfiltered and expressive self, there is harmony and life happens.
Did you notice improvements in your health from when you ́re doing yoga and meditation regularly, comparing to where you ́re not?
For sure, I can tell that one of the facts that I've noticed when my yoga and meditation practices started to be regular, is that I felt immediately a mental clarity and better concentration, also I increased my body awareness which as a consequence allowed me to relieve my back pain.
When it comes to underwear and garments in general, do you think that choosing to buy clothes by following our values is important for staying true to ourselves?
Choosing what to dress is something that I really enjoy since it's part of my personal expression, but I find myself quite picky at the moment. I like to feel comfy with my body (specifically with underwear) and for sure always caring for brands that are respectful with the environment.
Is there anything that you would like to share with our community? Where people can find you?
I want to share a small reflection that I had a few days ago and I wrote it for myself as a reminder.
¨In this days where everything seems to be “frozen”, it is important not to lose our center and be connected with our truth.
The greatest help that I can offer to the world is taking care of myself, cultivating mental health so that I can relate to others.
Developing listening.
Feeling the sensations.
Practicing gratitude, empathy and compassion.
Not comparing myself to others.¨
You can find me teaching at Soho House Barcelona, Holmes Place and at Must experience space, if not, you can always find me around the beach making body shapes and playing :)