Giacomo.
authorised level 2 teacher SYC

born and raised in Milan, Italy, he has always cultivated an instinctive fascination for the world as something alive, where art meets science, words meet numbers, differences are specialities. architectural studies seemed to nurture this complexity well, merging different realms of knowledge and savoir faire, but he found no answer to the beating existential and identity questions that kept emerging, sometimes almost hunting him. this brought Giacomo to engage in international cooperation and to investing one year in a research project on the environmental re-qualification in Mathare Slum, Nairobi, Kenya. studying the slum reality and building heartfelt relationships with the locals has been a mind-blowing and re-defining experience. in hindsight that has probably been his first profound yogic experience since it has allowed him to get free of so many conditionings he inherited from the environment he grew up in. it was an opportunity to re-settle his own values in a much more universal mindset. it is around the Nairobi project that Amanda and Giacomo first met, and it’s there that Amanda led him and other two friends along his first yoga practice. yes, Giacomo loves these poetic coincidences: it was also the first time ever Amanda taught (more like improvised) a yoga class…not destiny, but good synchro for sure.

after graduating at the Politecnico of Milan he went to the IUAV Venice for a master in Environmental Urban Planning. with time it became clear how little is the space of action we have in changing the world directly in name of ecology, love, ideals of equality and justice. it was 2013 and it was at that time he started establishing for the first time a routine around his yoga practice. in 2015 he joins Amanda in Paris and there he started to go to AYP regularly, building gradually a 6 days/week ashtanga yoga practice. in spite of his love for his studies he lost faith in the possibility of making a tangible contribution for a better world by pursuing the profession. tough realization, but it became clear that the only, true and profound revolution is with-in, not out-there. thus, he kept directing more interest and effort in the intimacy of practice and selfless action.

that’s all he did, and the events, more or less slowly, started to unfold towards other possibilities.

that’s how - briefly - Giacomo also approached teaching practice. a gem manifested, an invitation opened, and he decided to accept it and take care of it until it eventually blossomed.

in 2017 Amanda and Giacomo, invited by a long term practitioner and friend to do so, decided to open a shala in the lake town of Arona. for G. it has been a great learning experience: his practice grew deeply thanks to the time spent assisting Amanda and, with time, he found confidence to share his experience of the practice.

teachers are everywhere: any situation can carry big revelations if we are open to listen. that said, there are certain human beings with whom we resonate more and that we chose as teachers and spiritual friends. Chuck Miller and Angela Jamison are Giacomo’s chosen gurus in ashtanga land. Chuck taught Giacomo how to mature his personal relationship with the practice; how to look for equanimity and sama in the asana practice and beyond; and how to listen to the silence within us while waiting for the emergence of our inner teacher. Angela, through her example, showed Giacomo how to prepare the ground for a healthy and strong yoga community and how to cultivate integrity and regenerative feedback loops in the teacher-student relationship - this is why both A&G chose Angela as their mentor.

Giacomo admires and respects the role of Sharath Jois as the steward of the ashtanga lineage and is thankful for every trip made to Mysore both for practicing under his sheltering presence and for getting in touch with the Indian context where this practice emerged, feeling connected with the roots. he is an authorised level 2 teacher and received Sharathji’s recognition along with Amanda during their third visit to the source.


ordinary is extraordinary.

we are not our attractions nor our repulsions, we are not our fears, we are not who we are told we are.

we are much more than what we identify with.

there is always a margin of choice, and it matters.
















photos A&G --> © Heinui Poura