Authoritative meditation teacher and author of numerous books, after eighteen years of monastic life, of which the last six saw him engaged as Abbot, meditation master and president of the U.B.I. (Italian Buddhist Union) decides to continue his path as a layman. He is currently interested in studying the various themes of spirituality and meditation in the scientific field. He collaborates as a teacher on the Master’s in Meditation and Neuroscience promoted by the Faculty of Psychology La Sapienza, in Rome and with the University of Udine.

He holds conferences and seminars on meditative practice and leads Vipassana retreats, profound vision, throughout Italy. Together with Dr. Enzina Luce Franzese, psychologist and psychotherapist, on 10 March 1999 he founded the Association AMITA – Luce Infinita (www.amitaluceinfinita.it). Since 14 September 2021 he has been president and guiding teacher of the Buddhist association MAHA BODHI (www.mahabodhi .it) Driven by a strong interest in the arts, Mario Thanavaro studied judo, music, dance and acting from a very young age. At eighteen he left Italy and went to England to follow his aspiration as a musician.

This experience led him to approach Indian music and its spirituality. Having returned to Italy to fulfill his military service, he continued to study and practice meditation as a self-taught man. At the age of 22 he felt the need to be guided by a Master and returned to England in search of a monastic community. He meets Ajahn Sumedho, abbot of the community of ‘Thai forest monks’ of Theravada Buddhism and recognizes him as his teacher.

After twelve years living abroad, in England and New Zealand, where he contributed to the foundation and growth of some monasteries, in 1990 he founded the Santacittarama (The Garden of the Serene Heart), the first monastery of the Theraváda School. In September 1995, during an evocative ceremony at the Maháyána monastery of the 10,000 Buddhas in California, he received the transmission of the Bodhisattva precepts. For further information on the Maestro: www.mariothanavaro.it

Elena De Martin has been practicing and teaching Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga for 25 years and is the founder and director of La Yoga Shala in Milan.

She encountered Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in the late ’90s through her first teacher, Lino Miele, whom she followed for several years as both a student and an assistant.

In 2001, she met Sri K. Pattabhi Jois for the first time at the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, which he founded. To deepen her practice, she returned passionately in the following years to study with him and his successors, his daughter Sarasvati and his grandson R. Sharath Jois. She received authorization from the Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute to teach Second Level Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.

During her years in India, she delved into the philosophy of Yoga, scriptures, the basics of Sanskrit, as well as chanting and mantra, under the guidance of authoritative Indian masters of philosophy and Sanskrit language. The proximity to these extraordinary teachers and intensive studies in India were extremely significant in her personal transformation journey and her understanding of Yoga as an intrinsic value to apply in everyday life. Elena constantly returns to Mysore, where she continues her studies.

In 2010, she met Richard Freeman for the first time, with whom she began an intense period of study, recognizing in him a profound understanding of the message of Yoga and a rare ability to interpret it according to Western thought.

In parallel with her Ashtanga studies, in 2001 she also embraced Vipassana meditation, following the teachings of the master S.N. Goenka. To this day, her ongoing practice contributes to bringing greater awareness to her life and the path of self-discovery she has embarked on through Yoga.