We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bibi Lorenzetti a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Bibi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We believe kindness is contagious and so we’d love for you to share with us and our audience about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Shala means Home. I own and run a Yoga Shala. I find myself in this position because of many consequential acts of kindness. Yoga has been my life for many years now, over a decade. A beautiful empty space came to find me. I had no initial interest in having a yoga Shala, in fact I was looking for someone else. Growing up as a young yoga teacher I was very observant of how my teachers ran their Shala, and for as much as I admired their dedication and love, I always promised myself I wouldnt do it, I didn’t want to care so much. I did not want that responsibility. But this space would not leave my consciousness. Within a few days, less then a week two total strangers (my now business partner and I) found each other, and because of kindness a Shala, for a community ready for one, happened.

I offered this man my outlook on yoga, my passion, my dedication, and why I thought this space needed to be a Shala. He listened. He had been getting the ‘call’ to open a yoga studio, I had been called by a space. We stood on the different sides of the same coin. He extend a kindhearted trust, a kind of trust that two strangers do not typically offer each other. We knew nothing about each other, but we both extended kindness and trust to each other and a beautiful community was born from this kindness.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Bibi came to Yoga seeking ease from her ongoing struggles with eating disorders. After trying all sorts of therapies and healing modalities she found Ashtanga Yoga to be the most effective route. She found the regimented, intense and repetitive nature of Ashtanga Yoga to serve as a mirror to all that lived underneath the surface of the disease; the community aspect – or coming into a space daily with the same group of people – of the practice, and the close guidance/relationship to one teacher allowed her to feel safe to explore, and feel held while working through the complex deeply rooted layers of the disease. Not an easy journey. Because of her experience she feels passionate about holding space for others to come take a hard look at themselves and serve as a compassionate guide at their side and they move through their personal journey into wholeness. Her approach is rooted in believing that the practice itself has all it needs to initiate and hold transformation, a good teacher is one that can stand at the side of that, inform the journey, add softness or rigidity and support the student in seeking the help they need as they navigate their journey.
Bibi started teaching in 2008 and received her blessing to teach Ashtanga Yoga in 2014, from the KPJAYI Institute in Mysore, India, where she has had the honor of assisting R. Sharath Jois over the years. After co-leading the Ashtanga Program at the Shala Yoga House in NYC for years, she opened Newburgh Yoga Shala in the heart of the Hudson Valley, where she leads Yoga programs, 200 Hour yoga teacher trainings, retreats and private yoga sessions. She intends to share the transformative and healing practice of Yoga with you through accessible, intelligent, and adaptable instruction.

She has completed the third series of Ashtanga Yoga under the guidance of her teachers Sharath Jois and Eddie Stern, Kristin Leigh, Barbara Verocchi, but it wasn’t until she became a mother that she really understood the depth, richness and wisdom of the practice. She believes more than ever that the complexity of asana, when done in the correct environment and with proper intention, can really prepare you for the challenges of life. Becoming a mother gifted Bibi with a deeper understanding of what the essence of the practice is. Moving through the pregnancy, postpartum and now motherhood, she comes to know how attachment can hide within the confines of practice, and she now focuses on deep listening, honoring and being compassionate with Self as the pillars of practice. She is a sincere believer in the profound beauty and many benefits of this method, teaching her students how to adapt it to the current individual needs. She believes there is no one correct way to practice Ashtanga, but rather a personalized approach to practice that allows for deep inner growth when done with sincerity and fluidity. Her teaching is rooted in her own disciplined and dedicated practice.

Bibi has privately taught many high-profile entertainers including Madonna and been featured on:
WanderlustTV
Vogue Magazine
Netflix documentary On Yoga: The Architecture of Peace (Video listed below)
Ashtanga Yoga Parampara
the Finding Harmony Podcast
Ashtanga Yoga Parampara
Dharma Talks Podcast
Ekam Inhale
Heartbreak Kids Podcast

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I’ve always believe that when bad times hit something more powerful rests on the other side of it. At 25 I was living what I thought was my best life: living in Ibiza, jobless, partying like there is no tomorrow, taking care of by a beautiful ‘succesfull’ Italian crazy guy. Then I got hepatitis C and the beautiful successful Italian guy disappeared and my life crumbled. Sick, with a broken heart and having lost what I thought was my whole life, I went home to heal. During this time I found the most amazing Yoga teacher, who took me under her wing and taught me all about hatha yoga, ayurveda and the power of mantra and stones. I followed her guidance and within 3 months I was healed. Not my heart, but the hepatitis disappeared. The doctors did not believe it as they had never seen such a fast recovery. When I told them about my methods they did not approve and said it would come back. They monitored me for a year, gave me medication for a year, and finally defeated released me.

I share this because despite the pain – physical, emotional and energetic – I allowed for magic to enter. I trusted. I allowed love to hold me. I felt love all around me, in a way I never had. I thought love was only towards and from one person and if you loose that person you loose love forever. But love is all around us, we just have to be open, to see it to receive it, to allow it. This has forever changed how I view life. Resilience is allowing. Is being able to be with the bad and not shutting down, allowing life, universe, love, God to pick us up and show us the way.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Not everyone is good intentioned, not everyone wants what is best for you, not everyone can be trusted…but all situations are the exact thing you need to learn the next lesson and stay on your path. Especially when you loose sight of where you are going. Everyone deserves kindness, compassion and love. But not everyone can be trusted.

This is a big lesson I have learned as a business owner. As a person who is uncomfortable with confrontation, I have lived a life trying to bypass any hard conversation by over extending myself. When you have a business, it’s like having a child, you have to protect it. Situations arise where your core values are put to test. I’ve learned recently that when you feel triggered, or find yourself in a reactive state, it is essential to pause, observe where whatever is arise is coming from/ leading to, and allowing it to be, without acting on it. I’m very lucky to have a business partner, a life partner, mentors and good friends to come to and speak things through to get perspective. I have found that having this supporting circle helps immensely with pausing and making decisions that are aligned with my core values.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bibilorenzetti.com
• Instagram: https://www.bibilorenzetti.com
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOE5qVfEV4Sqv6MqDxI416A
• Other: https://www.newburghyogashala.com

Image Credits
David Lamer