ANA BERGAMASCHI

I am Ana Bergamaschi – windy, deep, and as multiple as the colors of a sunset. A dreamer at heart, a dreamer of awakeness!

Growing up in São Paulo, the vibrant megalopolis of South America, I was immersed in a colorful blend of cultures, like a tropical smoothie of diverse spirits. As an observant child, I was quiet and curious, always fascinated by the behaviors and systems around me. I saw life as an endless chain, stretching from before us, through us, and beyond us. Often lost in thought, it was dancing and movement that grounded me, providing the best moments of my childhood.

At sixteen, YOGA captivated me, even though I didn't fully understand it. I explored multiple schools and styles, always seeking to grasp its essence. My quest for understanding took me far from my family to Oceania and back. I ventured through different cultures and paths, dropping law school to study performance art, dancing and performing at rave festivals, and experiencing life-changing entheogenic journeys.

In my journey, I decided to take a break from civilization and lived in the jungle of Bahia, inside a national park, for more than a year. This profound experience shifted my perspective on life so drastically that returning to the old ways became impossible.

Since then, my mission has been to share tools to cultivate what I call "The Body of Awe," a sensible body, a body that is alive and reshaping – dynamic! One that feels and expresses freely, unbound by conventional teachings. These pathways help us feel the miracle of being alive and aware by shifting our perception through changes that happen in and through the body. Beyond yoga, I delved deeply into butoh dance and the Feldenkrais Method. My journey with Feldenkrais began in 2008 with my dance teacher, director, and Feldenkrais practitioner, José Maria Carvalho, in Brazil. After years of practice and noticing significant improvements in movement, thought, self-organization, and awareness, I decided to study with Mia Segal, the founder of MBS Academy and Dr. Feldenkrais' first assistant, collaborator, and associate for sixteen years. Passionate about the method, I continue learning and evolving, studying with Mia and other teachers worldwide.

In yoga, I found clarity through meeting my teacher and friend Eric Baret, who initiated me into Kashmiri Yoga. This practice has become the tender core of my life. These teachings concern specifically the teachings of Jean Klein and the Kaula and Pratyabhijna tantric lineages, Abhinavagupta being one of the most prominent philosophers of Kashmir’s tantric tradition.

On the periphery, yet equally important, was my discovery of power. After years of practicing softness and subtlety, I was introduced to Pilates by the great and attentive teacher Anne-Laure Lamarque, who presented the method softly and mindfully. I studied in Paris with Mikael Puccini, founder of The Original Pilates and President of the European Pilates Federation, and a direct student of Romana Kryzanowska, the designated heiress of Joseph Pilates himself.

Noticing the concrete benefits of the practice in my own body and through student feedback, I continued my studies with Marina Buntovskikh, master trainer in STOTT PILATES®. This was just the beginning of my power journey. I started rock climbing and fell in love with it – a dance with walls, nature, and rocks. The rock dictates the moves, tearing me from embodied habits and pushing me to grow. Climbing taught me to love pain, rage, effort, and through these, it became yet another place where I experience the flow state that I once found in dance, yoga, and music.

Motivated by improving my rock climbing, I began strength training and am now passionate about sharing this tool with others while completing my studies with Menno Henselmans, a reference in the field of Science-Based Personal Training.

Based on my trajectory, I can say I am a yogini, a somatic teacher, a butoh dancer, a Pilates instructor, a Feldenkrais practitioner, and soon a Personal Trainer, but above all, I am nothing. I am a tiny part of this immense beautiful universe in its constant lively pulsation! All qualities are welcome – subtle and soft, peaceful and calm, stormy and powerful, windy and wild. With the wide range of resources I have gathered through a lifelong journey, I am honored to guide and accompany you on your own body journey, wherever it may be right now.

INFLUENCES of Masters who crossed her life directly : Pedro Kupfer (Hatha Yoga), Toshi Tanaka (Seitai Ho), José Maria Carvalho (Butoh, Feldenkrais, Aikido), Luis Fuganti (spinozist philosophy)  Eric Baret (Shivaism of Kashmir), Mia Segal (Feldenkrais), Christine Greiner (Art Semiotics)