Ambra Vallo ~ The Dance of Discipline, Yoga, and Spiritual Growth

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Ambra Vallo is a renowned yoga instructor with a rich background as a former professional ballet dancer. She hails from an illustrious career in dance, having been part of prestigious ballet companies such as the Royal Ballet of Flanders and has extensive experience teaching yoga, holding certifications in multiple disciplines including Dharma Yoga, Rocket Yoga, and Forrest Yoga. Ambra has also worked with high-performance athletes, sharing her knowledge at football clubs like Aston Villa and Manchester City. Today, she leads a more peaceful life in the countryside of Buckinghamshire, UK, where she continues to teach and inspire through one-on-one sessions and workshops.

Visit Ambra on her website: https://www.ambrasana.com/

Key Takeaways:

• Ambra's journey from ballet to yoga teaches the importance of listening to the body and valuing personal growth over physical achievements.
• The stress of professional ballet instilled a high level of discipline in Ambra, which she beautifully translates into her yoga teachings.
• Yoga is a practice of presence and self-exploration beyond physical poses, and it can facilitate profound spiritual and personal growth.
• Ambra shares the benefits of integrating yoga with athletic training, highlighting the mental and physical enrichment it provides athletes.
• Her teachings reflect a combination of discipline from ballet and adaptability from yoga, promoting a holistic approach to life and practice.

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Episode Transcript

Todd McLaughlin (00:33):
Welcome to Native Yoga Toddcast. So happy
you are here. My goal with thischannel is to bring
inspirational speakers to themic in the field of yoga,
massage, body work and beyond.
Follow us at @nativeyoga andcheck us out at
nativeyogacenter.com. All right,let's begin.

(01:05):
Hello, welcome to Native YogaToddcast, and today, I bring to
you a exciting guest. I had sucha great time speaking with Ambra
Vallo and go visit Ambra on herwebsite, ambrasna.com. Get it.
It's cool. I like it.
ambrasana.com and then also, youcan find her on Instagram at the
same handle, and the link is inthe description below. And one

(01:25):
thing I really enjoyed aboutthis conversation is just how
excited Ambra is for yoga andhow many different teachers and
places she's practiced. I mean,she's talented, and definitely
go look her up on the interweb.
And I hope that you enjoy thisconversation as much as I do, as

(01:45):
I did. And thank you for yoursupport. I really appreciate it.
The channel is growing andlistenership has been expanding,
and I'm so excited that you'reenjoying it. If you have any
feedback for me, send it my way,please. I really am grateful for
any ideas that you have. And ifthere's a guest that you would

(02:06):
like to for me to bring on, sendme a name and maybe an email of
where I can reach them, and I'llreach out and bring your
favorite person on. All right,have a great day. I hope you
enjoy it. Let's begin. I'm sohappy to have this opportunity
to meet and speak with AmbraVallo, Ambra, thank you so much
for joining me today. How's yourday going so far?

Ambra Vallo (02:30):
Very good. Thank you, Todd, thank you so much for
inviting me to the podcast. Is apleasure and an honor to be here
with

Todd McLaughlin (02:36):
you. Well, thank you. You know I have had
the opportunity of reading aboutyour bio and your background,
and it's really amazing. You'vespent years as a professional
ballet dancer. You've takenmultiple teacher trainings from
some of the greatest yogateachers that we can access
these days, such as Dharma Mitraand Larry Schultz from rocket

(03:01):
yoga, and Anna Forrest fromforce yoga. And I notice you've
taken many different teachertrainings for long periods, like
500 hours, 300 hour, which isamazing. I love meeting somebody
else that is so passionate aboutyoga. Can you tell me a little
bit about your journey as aprofessional dancer to the world

(03:21):
of yoga and how these two havehelped you share your passion
for movement.

Ambra Vallo (03:29):
Sure, so the first time I practice actually in yoga
class, it was when I was 12years old, one of my ballet
teacher, she was a Anusarateacher, and I took my first
class when I was really, reallyyoung. Then later on, I didn't

(03:51):
practice anymore. Once I changedcountry, because at the age 12,
I go to France, the scholarshipin one of the ballet school,
Rosella high tower, which theyare in Cannes in France. So I
lived in France for a couple ofyears, and then I lived for six
years in Belgium. I had anotherscholarship, and then I had the
contract with the Royal Balletof Flandres, that is the royal

(04:14):
company, which is in Antwerp inBelgium. And I stayed there. So
at the age of 17, I was aprofessional ballet dancer with
that ballet company, and then Ihad another contract that he was
in the UK, in England, inLondon, and I've been here for
36 years now, like in the UK,

Todd McLaughlin (04:33):
amazing. Wow. I mean, from everything I hear
from ballet dancers that arecurrent and ex ballet dancers,
or they've, they've retired. Itjust sounds so intense in terms
of the discipline and what youhave to put your body through.
What was it like for you,navigating all that?

Ambra Vallo (04:54):
It was a great amount of discipline for a very,
very early age. And of course,you know, I was living. On my
own. So I was, like, homesickquite a lot when I was little.
But then it just made me growfaster than a normal kid, I
suppose. I mean, 17, I had afull time job. I was like, in a

(05:14):
ballet company. And I think thehardest things he was, well,
what make the difference? Ithink, with yoga was the full
identification with the body,which was like the instrument of
our profession, and it was very,very hard on the body. So from

(05:35):
really young age, we experiencequite a lot of pain in the body,
and we learn to carry on and notto listen too much to the body,
but just making sure that we canget to performance and to to be
at the top shape of topperformance, even if you are not
feeling well. And I think thatwas the hardest part. I think of

(05:58):
being a ballet dancer, thisconstant pressure on the
performance and on the on thebody, which later on in the
years, I'll rediscover backagain, like a yoga and the
different parts of the yogareally helped me out to feel
like comfortable back again, Notonly with the body, but of

(06:22):
course, with all the differentparts of the yoga, like with the
breathing and the meditation,find like a calmer state and a
better version of myself backagain, which helped me to
perform better in the ballet asWell, which was great. And then
my passion started there. Ifound this something that I

(06:48):
could actually teach to theperformer, and that is why I
worked for quite a long timewith with athletes, with the
ballet dancer, with the gymnast,with the martial artists, and
especially with footballers, itwas one of the first people that
I start teaching. It was at meetin the beginning.

Todd McLaughlin (07:09):
That's cool. I saw that you currently teach
class now at a football club. Isthat true?

Ambra Vallo (07:15):
I used to be the residents, like a yoga teacher
at the Aston Villa FootballClub. For many, many years, I
did that, and now I live in thecountryside. We are in the
middle of nowhere here in theBuckinghamshire, just in the
middle of the fields. So I madethe choice of having like a more

(07:37):
calmer life here in thecountryside and the left
Birmingham, and now we are muchcloser to London, but in the
north of London, in thecountryside. So I will just do
one to one sometime with thefootballers, different like a
team, but mainly I was with theAston Villa football team, and

(07:57):
during the lockdown with theManchester City woman, also, I
was giving quite a lot ofclasses with them. Yeah,

Todd McLaughlin (08:07):
amazing. Now, when you made mention about the
rigor of being a professionaldancer, and that there was a lot
of times where you wereencouraged to not listen to your
body, or to just kind of push,even though it hurt, and just
like we're going to perform,have you come across that in the
yoga world too?

Ambra Vallo (08:29):
So I suppose, like ballet dancer is very, very
similar to gymnasts. And I'm 53years old, so back then, when I
was much younger, when Istarted, when I was five years
old, I think the old system ofthe itching ballet was it was

(08:50):
old fashioned. So it was aboutlike discipline, and it was more
forceful. I think now there ismuch more understanding. And I
think the coach they are allhave a background of psychology
and of nutrition, which, back inthe time, it wasn't like that,

(09:12):
you know, like back in the time,you know, we were encouraged
most of the time, you know, tolook in a certain way, no matter
what the side effects would be.
So you were just asked to lookin a certain way, and then it
was your own way to get there,which was very, very hard, I
suppose, especially if you'respeaking to a child, you know.

(09:33):
And I think you can do quite alot of damage, I think,

Todd McLaughlin (09:40):
yeah, yeah. So you, I guess what I'm curious
too, though, is that I'venoticed that in the yoga world,
that there are yoga teachersthat are very forceful with the
way that they teach yoga, andkind of expect that if you feel
pain when you're going into. Aposition that, oh, it's just the

(10:02):
body. It's your mind is morepowerful than the body, so don't
worry about the body. Don'tworry about the pain. Just push
through your body's opening. Doyou have you found that like,
that sounds to me kind of likethe older school ballet style
where you were just like, No,you perform, but it doesn't
sound I don't know. I'm curious,have you found that in the yoga

(10:24):
world much over all of youryears in different places
practicing? Or do you find thatit's just so different that it
doesn't compare?

Ambra Vallo (10:32):
So fortunately, I think my teachers, they were all
very, very kind, supposed withthe body. I started actually
with Ashtanga, Ashtanga vinyasa,patavi Joy, Ashtanga vinyasa.
But my teacher was MichelleBernard and David Swenson, which
they were the old kind ofschool. Michel Bernard, he

(10:55):
actually studied with youngerand with patabi Joy, so he had
an approach to the practice,which was quite healing. And he
allowed us to use the props andthe belt and even try to do like
shishasana headstand and allthat. So I come from that kind
of school. And David Swensen, hewas very kind as well. And he

(11:18):
was like, very careful, youknow, in the poses. So I suppose
I've been quite lucky with that.
Yeah. And then, of course, itwas like Sri Dharma Mitra and
Larry Schultz. He actuallychanged and modified a lot of
the really severe and kind oftraditional sequences to make
her a bit more like easier forthe Westerner and Anna forest,

(11:41):
she come from any younger kindof background, so it's a very,
very healing practice. Sosuppose I've been quite lucky
with that, but I can see whyyou're asking, because I know
there are some practice thatthey are some teachers, and they
can force and students intopositions, which is, I suppose,

(12:05):
is very easy to go into the trapof that, especially if you have
a teacher that is telling youthat the deeper you go into
pose, or like, if you deeper Yougo in the pose, and the more
spiritual you are. Or if you aregoing into series that they are

(12:27):
more advanced, you must be abetter person, almost. Or maybe
they don't say that, my baby,you think that maybe you can
become a better person byachieving certain poses, which I
think is completely theopposite. Actually, it's
actually completely theopposite, because once you do a
pause and you think they'reprobably you're separating

(12:50):
yourself because you think like,oh, if I can do that, and maybe
someone else cannot do it, Imust be good. And that is like
you need to look at the mirrorand go like, Oh, here is the
ego. And you know, you need topull yourself back, you know,
like into the right road, youknow, back again. But it's
normal. I suppose a lot ofpeople, they start from a very
physical practice, and then withthe time, they kind of discover,

(13:13):
like, all the different aspectsof yoga. You know, we all know
in the beginning a bit like thepoint of the iceberg. And then
we discover, for the one, thatthey want to go a bit deeper you
put, you know, you start likesnorkeling or deep diving to try
to find out more and more. Youknow, what the real yoga is. But
it's already good. I think thenpeople, this starts, you know,

(13:36):
some people, they say, like, youknow, what the Westerner do is
not the real yoga. But I think,in a way, is good that there is
a fashion, even if people, theythink that is a sport, which I
don't think is a sport, becauseit's a philosophy, is way of
living. By a lot of people, theystart with that, and very often,
then they come in class, andthen you start speaking or

(13:59):
giving like some reading or evena mantra, or speaking about yoga
sutra, Patanjali, or you speakof Sri Dharma Mitra, or you're
speaking of my teacher, AnnaForrest. Say that, and then
they're asking for more. Sothey're really interested. So
even though they come for thephysical part. Slowly they

(14:20):
become more and more interested.
I think everything dependsalways on the teachers, because
same attract same. So the peopleyou're interested, they want to
just go and do yoga. So now theywill go to the teacher. They
just teach that and but I thinkthere is more and more study

(14:41):
now, even on the on the anatomyof the poses and what poses they
are good and how to do them inthe correct way. While before
the we didn't have all this thatknowledge. So I think like yoga
is changing a lot, at least forthe yoga Sana kind of part,
there is. Bit more emphasis onthe breathing, because now there

(15:02):
is all this fashion of breathwork of all kind that they kind
of transform it and distortedsome of them. And you know, like
there is all kind of breath workthat they are using for
different way for some of them,they can be for sport, for deep
diving, some to go back, youknow, into trial trauma, some to

(15:26):
become having better health. Butthey're all like, you know, like
a very ancient gift that begiven through generation and
through teachers to students formany, many years. Which they
come from? The same you knowplace which they are like. You
know Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Theyare like the the main like texts

(15:50):
where you can find all thistechnique you

Todd McLaughlin (15:55):
mentioned the text Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Can
you tell me what you think ofsome of the really like, All
right, so let me like back up alittle bit. So maybe a yoga
practice that seems really easy.
Maybe we could just pick andsay, easy to do an asana
practice and bend over and maybetouch your knees, kind of like a

(16:20):
chair pose. So we say, okay,that's not so scary. Then we
open up the Hatha YogaPradipika, and we read about
drawing water up through alittle a little tube, and, you
know, and then pulling this out,and pushing that out, and all
these things that like from,from from my perspective, when I

(16:40):
first read it, I was kind oflike, what is going on here? And
this is such a reallyinteresting book, because it's
like an anthropological study ofa group of people that were
doing stuff before there waselectricity, before there was,
like entertainment outside ofthis spiritual like, this really
deep, intense longing to go, togo deeper. So I'm really

(17:03):
curious, um, what are yourthoughts when you read the Hatha
Yoga Pradipika? How do youtranslate that into your
current, modern life?

Ambra Vallo (17:13):
No, the Yoga is the main text of the Hatha Yoga,
which is, have the five mostprincipal element that asana,
pranayama, kriya, Mudra, banda.
So it's quite important for thepractitioner that won't actually
go into all this cleansingtechnique, but also using
energetical law, Mudra, the Sealof energy, which, before they

(17:35):
were together, the mudra bandand then they separate them. So
the people that they are doing alot of pranayama, I think is one
of the main texts that they cansee, like the technique, I think
is very useful, is a verystrange book at the beginning,
when you are reading aboutsuppose, under the guide of a
guru, or like a good teacher,they can explain to you. I never

(18:00):
did all the technique also,because I experiment all like
this technique with the Sridharmamitra, and he taught about
all of them. But then we do likethe the easier one, which will
be like the kapalabati we'redoing, like the shiny school we

(18:23):
are doing the neti, which islike with water through the
nostril, the quite easy one. Orthe dauti, which is the very the
simple, the simple one, not thethe really like complex one, the
one with the hot water in themorning, with the lemon and, you
know, like, if you're not vegan,maybe with honey or otherwise

(18:45):
with agave, or, like, somethingjust to make it, like, a bit
sweeter, you know, in themorning, that is the one that's
we practice the most. Andtrataco We did also with Sri
Dharma Mitra, with the thecandle as the part of the kriya,
the other kriya I read. Iactually teach them even in the

(19:07):
future training. But I don'treally like made them like do to
the students. I know that theyare some places and some teacher
training, even in India, wherethey made them do each one of
them now, also some of them. Ithink we are in a modern world,
and you can go like in a clinic,if you want to do like a, you

(19:27):
know, like in a gastric wash, oryou want to do a colon colony
irrigation, you can do this kindof things. But also, we must
think that he will. They arevery, very old book, and I'm
pretty sure, like, maybe, ifthey were rewriting some of this
technique, probably they wouldtransform now, because there are

(19:49):
many way even like just brushingthe teeth with the hearth and
the tool and the finger, youknow, or bringing the the finger
into the ear. And cleaning theear. You know, they're like,
someone, take it. You're going,why would you do that? You know?
And I they're important. They'repart of the tradition there. I
think is very important that weneed to read this book, because

(20:10):
they're really important. Imean, Sri Dharma always said
that we just need very few bookand read them many, many times,
yoga sutra, Patanjali, and thenthe Bhagavad Gita, the Hatha
Yoga Pradipika. So, like thesethree book so like, you don't
need to have, like a bookshelffull of book that you are not
reading, but few of them, andthen read them many, many time.

(20:33):
So then every time is a bit likewatching a movie again and again
and again. You can see, likedifferent things. And then, of
course, because we changethrough the years, and we
experiment new things, and thenwe see different things either
in the same book, and they areincredible, like, I mean, the
sacred scriptures, they arelike, timeless, that's amazing.

(20:54):
And hatha yoga, pratipika aswell. You know, it's quite a
complex is a big book, and it'snot the easiest one, but if you
want, like, all the evenbreathing technique, all the
main creation of that,everything is there. But, yeah,

Todd McLaughlin (21:14):
I agree, it is fascinating. What book are you
currently reading about yoga? Orwhat is a book that you've
picked up recently that you'vejust been blown away by? Because
I know it's such a huge topic,and there's so many branches and
avenues. Is there something thatyou've been enlightened by
lately?

Ambra Vallo (21:33):
So at the moment, being interested in always,
like, you know, spiritualityhas, like, a very broad umbrella
in the ranges whatever is like,getting you close to the Spirit.
At the moment, what I'm readingand what I'm like, really
interested is what's happenedafter we die. And there is, I

(21:59):
always had from very young age,a kind of feeling that there is
no end when we, when we go awayfrom the this life, you know,
from this physical body, evenshe dharma. I remember, like
when we were in the in the inthe teacher training, was one of

(22:22):
the girl lost the mother. It wasno long before the training. And
you say, like, don't worry, weall will meet again. No one
never die. And I remember thosewords. They were already inside
me when I was really little. AndI remember when my grandma, she
was very old. She was like, 97or something like that. And she

(22:46):
was going like, I'm scaredbecause I gonna die. And
remember as a child, I used tosay, like, grandma, no, never
die. We don't die. And it'ssomething that you always been
with me, like, I I know thatthat is not the end of it. And
he was a feeling that I hadforever. And then, of course,

(23:07):
with the yoga, gets closer andcloser, you know, speaking about
the real essence, and, you know,like the, you know, like the the
parallel life that they are likeonce we leave the body and, you
know, and we have, like, bigprojects. And we came here like

(23:28):
we came here to school to dosomething, and then we forget,
of course, because, like theMaya, and then we forget
everything. And then we came inthis life to do something, and
then we will go back home, backagain. And then we have a time
that we're gonna pull likeeverything together and see what

(23:51):
we actually learn from thislifetime. And then some of us
decide to come back, and somethey've gotten finished things.
So I'm studying that at themoment, and I'm following, like
quite few people, that they arein that world, and I'm very
interested. It's everything isthe same because they are when

(24:12):
they are speaking, they'respeaking with different analogy,
but we're speaking about thesame things, the real essence,
yeah, which, of course, thesoul, the spirit, they are a bit
like, different. But I canprobably like one of the movie
that they they are, like, reallynice. That is Brazilian is like,
no solar. I don't know if youthought you ever seen no solar.

Todd McLaughlin (24:35):
I don't think I have. How do I spell it?

Ambra Vallo (24:38):
No solar is N, O, S, A, nos, double, S, la, l, a,
r, sola, down

Todd McLaughlin (24:47):
and check it out. I have not seen this is

Ambra Vallo (24:51):
one of the most famous psycho Chico Xavier.
Which is one of the most famousmedium that existed since
Brazilian. And he wrote, like400 book on the canalization
that he had from, you know,what's happened after we died,

(25:13):
because he had and he wrote allthis book, and then he gave
everything in charity. So helived a very, very simple life,
giving everything, charity,through this canalization, and
then the deeds like a movie. Andthere are people that have got
this sensitivity that they canactually, you know, have they've

(25:34):
got, they can go during thenight, or maybe they can move in
between the two words, and thenI find that very interesting at
the moment.

Todd McLaughlin (25:46):
That is so cool. I'm really glad you told
me. I love hearing about that,because I'm fascinated by the
same thing, and I I can't waitto check out the the author, the
book that you're talking about.
That's that because I've neverheard of. So I really appreciate
getting introduced to somethingnew and and I just to share a
real quick story, I along thelines of what you're saying, I

(26:07):
came across a website wheresomebody said one way that you
can practice developingintuition to be able to
potentially gain insight intosome of the questions like
You're mentioning, what was mypast life, or what is my dharma
or my duty while I'm here, ifI'm here, what did I do to
deserve this? And what do I needto do to try to work through

(26:28):
some of that? And so somebodysaid, Well, try out this website
where it's called remoteviewing, a remote view target.
So you go on the website and ityou just type in anywhere on
Google remote view target, andit'll say, Okay, we've selected
a picture. And so then you sitand you meditate, and you just,

(26:49):
what's the first thing thatflashes into my mind? And you
just write down, and you justkind of investigate, like, is
there a smell? Is there a color?
Is there a shape? Is theresomething? And then you so you
just try not to intellectuallyjudge yourself while you're
doing it. And then you hit thebutton, and it shows you the

(27:09):
picture, and you go, Oh my gosh,I got a few of them, right? How
is that possible? So then youreset it and you do it again.
And it's such a reallyinteresting exercise, because
I'm always fascinated by tryingto get my intellect to not
question everything so intenselyand to just feel so I'm I would

(27:34):
love to hear about your journeywith trusting your intuition and
learning how to balance yourintellect with your intuitive

Ambra Vallo (27:49):
so there is when I was like younger, I suppose we
do quite a lot of things that'sThinking with the mind. And I
think the smarter part toourselves is when the mind is
quiet, and so we are more somuch more intelligent when the

(28:11):
mind is quiet. And that is a bitwhen we are going in meditation.
So that is the process of themeditation is we arrived to a
place which is where the mindis, put it on the side, and then
it's almost like we do thisjourney. We are in a center of a
circle, and we are here, andthen outside the circle, we are

(28:35):
so much more intelligent. Thatis the moment of meditation,
when we can transcend thespeaking mind, because it's
constantly distracting us. Andonce we arrive there, we get so
many information, and it'salmost like we have a bag that
is broken or has little hole,and then by the time when we

(28:56):
come back, we have got just onelittle piece of sand. So we are,
is almost it was too smart outthere to be able to remember
when you go back. And then withthis little bit of light that we
bring back with us, we try tofind back again, the way to go

(29:19):
back to that point. And everytime we bring back these little
fragments of what we collectdown there, but we can never
actually bring the whole thing.
So we get there and we have thissensation of, I am the sand now
and then when you come back, isjust a little fragment. And this
little fragment is the one thatis like giving you the wheel and

(29:44):
to go back and go back and dolike your part of the sadhana
with the meditation so that youcan get to that point. Yeah. I
don't fans were actually here.
That was

Todd McLaughlin (30:01):
great. Yes, that was exactly. No. I love the
way you explained it, becauseit's a hard con. It's a concept
that's not easy to put intowords. But I love the way that
you painted that picture. Thatwas really cool. And I like
hearing I'm trying to askeverybody this question, because
I I find that each person'sinterpretation of how and how

(30:24):
you access that and how you putit into your practice, but
that's so cool. I like the waythat you're saying like from the
grain of sand, and you can'tpull all of it back with you,
but maybe you take a little tinybit. Have you had any recent
situations where, through yourprocess of sadhana and or
meditation practice that you'vegotten a little glimpse of,

(30:46):
like, Oh my gosh. I can'tbelieve I just experienced that,
like I had a feeling, or I had asense, and a Derek just popped
up in front of me. Have you hadany do you have those moments,
or have you had anything likethat happen lately?

Ambra Vallo (30:59):
Yeah. I mean, I have this those moment, and I
get very, very excited about it.
And again, I try not to get tooattached to it, because even
that is an attachment to get tothat point. But what is very,
very nice, which is, I've quitea lot of students that they
actually do painting, and theydo quite a lot of pranayama with

(31:20):
me. And I had, like I did Coachlike few young people, and when
they were injured, I gave themlike routine of pranayama and
meditation, very easy technique.
And they come back with thepainting, with the color of the

(31:42):
chakra, with the Kundalini. Andeven people that they were
saying, like, you know that thatactual visions. And I think
they, sometime, I'll go like,Oh, that is amazing. They are
such a simple technique, andthey can go so deep. I think
because they are like, verybecause they are young, they are

(32:04):
very pure soul. And I think theycan see quite fast. I think
things, they can immersethemselves like quite easily,
and I get quite excited. Andthen there is a part of me and
go, I cannot get there. How comethey see all these things? I
never saw these things, youknow, but then I get very
excited. It is great. I'm a goodteacher. I can tell them to go

(32:27):
there, even though I don't knowhow to go there. But the little
I actually, you know, the fewtime that I go a bit deeper, it
was, you know, like when i iactually less expected, let's

(32:48):
say sometime I think, is likethe moment that I'm alone at
home and there is no noise andand actually, the I Say, into a
concentration kind of states,but not really in deep
meditation. And then sometime itcan be sometime even like that
is not a meditation. Likesitting by will be like, I'm

(33:13):
just relaxing and being in onespot doing nothing, and then
suddenly I'm concentratingnaturally. And then are getting
to that state, and that's beenprobably the moment that I had
the deepest connection with thatpiece that we want to find with.

(33:39):
I think it's quite hard todescribe it. And I think we all
have a very different way todescribe it's a bit like someone
that never loved to say like,oh, when you are loved, that is
what you feel. And I think youknow, is this not peace? Is is
you feel at peace? But you feellike love, but love is you, is

(34:03):
you cannot really explain it.
It's not something that you canexplain. It's something that you
feel like you want to go backto. That is for sure, because
it's so much better there, andthen, you know, you're very
little here, and you feel verybig there, even though you're
very small in where you're thisreally big place. But is, is

(34:26):
incredible. I just wish people,they teach a bit more like even
simple technique. Because Ialways find like pranayama, for
me, is like the pranayama is themeditation for the people that
they cannot meditate, becausesometime, even doing a very
simple pranayama, even withoutcounting, you know, in the in,

(34:46):
out, through left nose, rep,selling right in and right,
exhaling, left and additional,if you do for very long time, it
can become very meditative. Andhe. An effect on body mind that
he much higher and is sopowerful, I think. And that was
one of the technique, mosttechnique that I was like

(35:10):
teaching to the footballers aswell. It was like a breathing
technique and visualization,because I did sports psychology
as well. So I was bringing fewtechniques together, like, you
know, with the pranayama, thevisualization, using mantra. But
there were different mantra withthem. They were more like
positive affirmation. And, yeah,it's a bit like being in the

(35:33):
bubble of Michael chissemi Yaki.
You get in the bubble then, youknow, it's like the total
experience, that it's the same.
So when you are an athlete, themoment where the time transform,
you feel stronger in the worldyou actually normally are, and
everything goes so seamless,generally, in their total

(35:56):
experiences, because ofintrinsic motivation that you
are experiencing, that issomething that you love doing so
much. And then, you know, youget absorbed in what you're
doing, and then the timetransform. And then that is
called the total experience ofthe flow state of Michael
chisumiaca. And I remember whenI start studying like yoga. And

(36:18):
with the Yoga Sutra ofPatanjali, the word the
difference, like from thepratyara, which is the bridge in
between Raja and going towardsthe raja part, which was
concentration, meditation intoself realization, was like, Oh,
my God, they are like the samesteps that they are doing in the
athlete when they are going intothe auto Talika experience,

(36:39):
which is, you know, like goingin the last is so similar. You
concentrate so much that youbecome the point of attention is
the same. You become that solike in, like in the, in the
different set of the of the, theeighth limb of yoga, exactly in

(37:00):
the same way.

Todd McLaughlin (37:03):
I know, I think that's really cool, that you're
able to bring attention to anathlete that what they're
already doing is a aspect ofyoga. Because, like, I think a
lot of times, maybe an athletelooks at yoga and says, I mean,
there's so many different thingsthat people think, right? We
think like only, that's forballet dancers only. Like female

(37:26):
ballet dancers are going to begood at Yoga. But me, this old
guy over here, how could I everdo that? How could I ever or but
the fact that you're trying tobridge that gap, and you can see
the similarity of the athletebeing able to put their mind so
deeply in touch with whatthey're doing that that is a
deep state of Samadhi, in asense, or a deep state of

(37:46):
concentration, like you'resaying, is the same as that jump
from pranayama over toconcentration, or, like you
said, Pratyahara, are you? Doyou feel that when you have new
students and that are likereally new to yoga, and you're
attempting to convey some ofthese ideas. What is like if you

(38:11):
have a situation where you feellike you're teaching to maybe a
more advanced level, and thenyou have that person that's
brand new, how are you bridgingyour gaps to include everybody.

Ambra Vallo (38:24):
So here in the UK, I mean, London is very, very
physical people. They love theyogasana, and there is no many
studio that they are interestedin doing, like the part of the
even, like a bit of pratiara,like withdrawing of the senses
into a little breathingtechnique. Sometimes we struggle

(38:46):
a bit, so it's quite importantto bring it into the masses.
This technique sometime changingthe name, even with the athlete.
I never call them, like, youknow, like the name of, for
example, if I doing positivebreathing, I will call like, you
know, Surya pranayama. Will saythat his technique that he is

(39:09):
feeding the left hemisphere ofthe brain, which is logical, the
four, you will feel moreconfident. So it will be like,
you know, for breathing, forconfidence, to increase the
confidence before, before, likethe match is, I think is, is
using the right analogy. And Ithink is education so educating,

(39:32):
like, you know, like the thepeople that they are coming to
classes to have a all roundedclass, instead of having a class
that is only focusing, like onthe on the yoga center, which is
a lot of fun, which I think alot of people, they are sitting
at the desk, I'm pretty surethey probably arrive after work
and they just want to sweat. Andinstead of going to the gym, and

(39:56):
maybe they say like, Oh well,let's go and try nine. Instead
of doing a yoga because itbecome like so popular, you
know, like in the west, to dolike the yoga practice. But I
suppose if is up to the teachersto give them like some of the
technique in the beginning andthe end of the class, and

(40:19):
because otherwise they are likeidentifying even more, you know,
like with the body, and you donot want do that, because
people, you know, one day, theygonna become older and they
cannot do anymore the handstandand put the leg behind the head
and doing all these kind ofthings. So I think if it's good
for the health that they aremoving, but also very slowly

(40:42):
giving. I give always intense inthe classes. So in intention,
you help people to do thepractice for a reason and search
for a truth that is much deeperinside them. I'll even like a
guide them so that they can usethe breath, so that they can
heal part of the body, or theycan try to find where something

(41:06):
is hidden, like an emotion isgot hidden in a part of the
body, and then that is why we'rehaving, like a problem, and
because most of the time, youknow, like the, yes, we have,
Like the physical body that heget injured, or we have a pain
somewhere, but a lot of time isnot only the body, but it's like

(41:28):
an emotion that you got trappedinside the body. So sometimes we
try to cure the body, butactually we need to cure the
mind and not the body. So it'swhat we are thinking and how we
are feeding which thoughts withwhich thoughts are we feeding
the body? It is what we arethinking is going in every cell
of the body, and they can makemake us healthy or sick. And

(41:52):
sometime, what is more importantwith the students sometimes
actually working on the mindmore than on the body, or making
work on the body with a veryserene mind, so that they are
not doing the position in acompetitive way, or just to try

(42:12):
to achieve a shape, because thatis, like, pretty pointless. You
know, there are, like, peoplethat they can do contortion, and
we are not able to do that. Sowe're doing all they can stand
on one hand. And, you know, theydo like performances in Cirque
du Soleil, and they can do ahandstand so much better than
what we can do. So we aredefeating the whole point of,

(42:34):
you know, the yoga, it needs tobe taught in the correct way
that there is many, many partsof the yoga, and they are all
important, but if we're focusingonly on one part, which,
unfortunately, is the one thatis the most common, but in a
way, it gives us access topeople starting to come to

(42:56):
class, and is a firstintroduction. And I think you
know, when people, they walk forthe first time in the studio.
You know, they are coming atleast here in England, we have
many ethnicity, we have manyreligion, we have many belief so
even like speaking about, whenwe are speaking about doing the
OM, I just say in the beginningof the class, I sometimes need

(43:18):
to explain. You know, it's likeAmin Amen. And, you know, when
we chant the mantra, which Ilove, chanting the mantra, we
are like, not chanting tosomething that is external, but
is a quality that we alreadyhave within us. And we are
trying, is a bit like a druminside the heart, and we are
trying to start, you know, likea back again, feeling this

(43:40):
vibration that they are throughthe words. But then those words
and this mantra, which meanbeyond the mind, the Manas and
tra which is beyond the mind,they are awakening something
that is already within us. Andso I tried to explain, you know,
you're not doing you're notchanting to another god if you
believe in something. And I tryanyway, to teach in a very, like

(44:04):
neutral kind of way, yeah, notas a religion, even though come
from the Hinduism the Buddhist,the journey is not bad, like a
lifestyle. So it's a way ofliving. And I think when people,
they can find their own way.
Because I think there is no oneway. There is many way. There is
many things out there, and eachone of them, they need to find

(44:26):
the what work for them. And it'snot the one is wrong and one is
right, what can work for you,and then maybe in another time
of your life, something else itwill work for you. And maybe you
go back to what you sort it, andmaybe even in different time I
was saying, or the week or time,or the month or time, you know,
you will feel like you needdifferent things sometime I like

(44:48):
to, you know, some the feet onthe ground and do like, you
know, like, really, like aritual with, you know, with the
feathers and with the drums. Andwith, you know, sage, I mean,
here in the Shala that you cansee here, I've got like Shiva.
And the Shiva there is all thearound the neck has many, many

(45:09):
like japa, but to do the japaMala, many, many Mala. And then
he has two feathers that theyare like the shaman kind of art,
together with the Shiva, whichis, it's a bit like, you know,
come bringing together, like myteachers, you know that they
come spirituality has many, manyaspects, you know, and there is

(45:30):
no one that is more spiritualthan another. Is different way
of expressing whatever isgetting you closer to the
spirit, to the real essence, towhat we really are that is
spiritual. There is not one wayto be spiritual, many, many ways
that we can be spiritual.

Todd McLaughlin (45:48):
I agree Ambra, I think that's extremely
important to talk about, and Iknow because you are from
looking at your hearing from youabout your experience of taking
serious study with multipledifferent teachers, with Dharma
Mitra, with Anna forest. I'mguessing and correct me if I'm

(46:09):
wrong. I also take the sameapproach that you take. I
initially, upon embarking onyoga, was very forcefully told
that you have one guru, only oneone. You don't mix, you don't
match, you don't blend. And so Iwas like, oh, okay, I get it. I

(46:32):
get it. That makes sense. I getit. I have one. I have one. And
then that particular guru didsome stuff that got him into
some trouble. And so then he hadto flee the country and run from
the karma that he createdthrough his actions. So then I
thought, Well, wait a minute.
Now, I have to worship this oneguru or be true to this one

(46:54):
guru. But Ah, man, I'm just notfeeling the vibe off that right
now. I need to find anotherguru. So then I go looking, and
I find another guru, and andthen I hear, you want to study
with me. You have to sign apiece of paper that you won't go
study with anybody else, becauseyou had to have one guru. And
you come to me, and I went, Ohboy, here we go again. Here we

(47:15):
go again. But of course, when Igo to the new guru. I don't say
anything about the other guru. Idon't bring it up. I don't come
in and say, Oh, well, I studiedwith this guru, and I stayed
with that guru, and I'm herewith you now. But I want to say
that like what they do is cool,but I like what you do too. And
I think, no, I just keep mymouth closed, because why? Why

(47:37):
would I stir that pot? Right? SoI feel like more out of respect,
like I respect you, so Ibelieve, personally, it's
possible to learn fromeverybody, to still respect
everybody at the same time. Canyou talk? I feel like you
already expounded upon this andwhat you were just saying, but I

(47:58):
want to put a little moreattention here. Can you talk a
little bit about the artfulnessof learning from many, but being
respectful of each and every onethat you are with in the moment?

Ambra Vallo (48:15):
So I think the daughter of many father and
others, and I love them, eachone of them, because they were
all so important. They gave memany, many tools, and they gave
me the and they still give me somuch inspiration. They are the

(48:37):
inspiration. And I'll bring themalways in my heart, and I share
many, many of their teaching tomy students. And I keep saying
to the students, sridharma Mitrasay that. Anna Forrest say that.
And you know, Larry shows usedto say that actually didn't
study with Larry. Larry diedjust few months before I took

(49:01):
the first training with its yogaand they just died. But I took
training with 10 differentpeople that they were, like,
really close to Larry, so I kindof put together a bit like, you
know what Larry Schultz? I usedto go in the training. And I

(49:23):
remember I used always to go tothe student disciple, that they
were the closest to him, andthey were like, just speak to me
about Larry. And I want to knowLarry as a person, how he was.
So I kind of collected all thesepieces a bit. Is like going to
the beach and bringing all thislittle shell and put the pieces
to a bit of puzzle I kind ofmade with the Lary shorts and

(49:47):
that, it was like the I alwayssay, like, I've got mama Anna,
Papa Dharma and Uncle Larry.
This is like, yes, yes, thethree pills and they are. Like,
even in the personality, theywere like, there are this
incredible character and sodifferent in between them, but

(50:07):
they make like sometime, themore serious part, the more
discipline it's part, the morehurty, the more lighter, the
more like funny is. Is almostlike I they gave me all the
color. And, of course, each oneof them let me paint the way how
I want to paint. Of course, whenyou go to a teacher, even the

(50:32):
people that they I have manypeople that they were in the
same class than me, when wewearing the in the in the
training with the SRI Dharma, orwith Anna forest, we were like
hundreds people inside thisroom, and we all came from the
same training, but we all teachso, so different. Why we cannot
say, Oh, that is the realdharma. The real Anna is like

(50:56):
each one of us with our ownlens. We saw a part of them, and
I think we all reflecting,probably the side that he was.
We were most attracted to them,and then we are sharing that
part of them. But of course,he's done sometime now. In these

(51:17):
days, there are people that theydid study with Dharma many, many
years ago. And some people, theygo like, Oh, that is not dharma
yoga now. Go like, yeah, it'sDharma 20 years ago. 30 years of
course, it's still but he waslike, in a different time, and
he was teaching different theyevolved. They are practitioners
all of these Larry's and Annaforest and Sri lanmitra, they

(51:44):
all like practitioners. So ofcourse, keep changing, and
lately I've been I've beenassisting Anna forest, but a lot
in Bali. For one month, I waswith her the 200 hour. And then
I did Vienna advanced training,and I was like in Naples. And

(52:05):
then I did the Ibiza with ourmany and she's so different than
10 years ago. Everything is sodifferent, but it's normal
because, like, they keepevolving, they keep changing,
and Sri Dharma is exactly thesame. It's very, very different.
When it comes to London, like, Ilove one thing that I love being
with a student. I love being astudent. I think it's really

(52:28):
important to completely getlike, you know, taking off the
dress of the teacher and going,like, teaching me everything
back again. I know nothing. Tellme back again. I think it's
quite important, and I quitelike it. And I remember, like,
some people go, like, you haveyour own training. You do your

(52:50):
own things. Why you shouldn't dothe assistant? I was like, I
need to be an assistant, becauseI need one. I need to control
that color as well the ego,because it's good that sometime,
and two, you need to be fed andsomeone need to tell you
sometime, because you cannotsee. And I think it's good these
new things, you know, not alwaysyou completely agree with them,

(53:13):
you know. But of course, thereis such a deep respect, you
know. And Anna, she's like thecurandera. She's the healer. She
is the one that she's healingpeople that they are in such of,
you know, she come out oftrauma, and she's still helping
people to walk in beauty. Irespect Anna for all the work
she's doing. And Jose Calarco aswell. That is, like, you know,

(53:35):
the husband, and he was heactually, Jose, did the training
with me when we were in, like,in Chicago, and this the part of
you know, like the ceremonialparty come actually from, from
Jose. I think they are helpingpeople to live a better life,
even though they come from hugetrauma. And the Dharma is giving

(53:58):
me the way of living well formany, many life, because he's
teaching us, and it's such aneasy way, such a complex
concept. And I remember studyingwith other people and going
like, I don't really understand,but I will just learn it from
the book and then just repeatit. But then with Dharma, he was

(54:19):
like, he explained it with somany metaphor and it was so easy
to understand. It was like hewas speaking to children's the
way, how he spoke to us. Andsometimes he didn't even need to
speak. We just understoodbecause we were next to him. And
then somehow, I don't know how,but you just knew it. You know,

(54:40):
it's like, very like, you know,for me, there are these amazing
character, these two that theyare like, they are almost the
yin and the yang, but together,they are like, so complete. And
I feel like I'm a bit I've gotthese two sides. You know. And
then, of course, Larry Schultz,for me, is like, you know, I

(55:02):
used to come from Ashtanga, andthen coming from all this
modification and make it like apractice, which was easier for
the Westerner. And, you know,invented the power yoga, the way
I may remember his manual. 200hour of Larry short. So they
were beautiful. It was a poet,you know, on the flower power,

(55:24):
kind of era of San Franciscothat he was speaking to the
people that they were there. Itwas incredible. It was reaching
those people. And it's a bitlike Anna. It reached the right
people with the right analogythat they need. You know, when I
come back from teacher trainingwith Dharma, was teaching Dharma
all the time, even with KarmaYoga, I was doing quite a lot of

(55:46):
karma yoga, and I realized in acertain point I couldn't use the
same word and the same analogyfor everyone. With certain
people I need to transform andmake it okay. Is Arjuna, and
he's like with Krishna, and he'sasked the two family, and is the
good and the bad level betweenbut how these are Luna that is

(56:07):
like in London, that is the realJuna, that is a tomb that is
with a family, that is with afriend, that is like in the red
light, and someone is crossingand someone is doing something
that you shouldn't do. So howcan we bring it in a very easy
way, in a way that everybody canunderstand? And sometimes, if
you have, like, three four wayto explain, it is much easier.

(56:30):
So maybe you cannot reacheveryone with only one lineage,
but with different lineage. Youknow, you have got many tools.
And in the end, the yoga islike, you know, and it's not to
yoke, because we are neverseparated. We forgot that we
were separated, but is to bringit together the moment that we
said there is only that, or thisone is the real, like lineage,

(56:56):
and the other one is not. Ithink we are separated. We're
not doing yoga anymore. So Ireally hold the flag that
they're all incredible. I loveeverything. Sometimes people
laugh because they say, like,every time you speak about
something, you go like, Oh, Ilove that. I love that, of
course. And if I go in thestudio, artist with the owner,
even if he's a lineage that Inever did. I love Kundalini, you

(57:20):
know, I did. You know, if Alango and do like big, grand class,
if I'm in the Austin and I won'tdo like big, you know, anything,
you know, because I think isimportant
that we are open. Of course,there are some practice that
they feel like they get us morebenefit, or they make us feel

(57:48):
better than other. Is completelynormal that I think is very
important to be open to tryeverything. And you know, and I
always encourage the students,it's like they are not my
students. There are no onestudents like, please go and
try. You need to try many, manythings. You need to do that.

(58:09):
Yes, you know, because there isno one way to do things, you
know, like a bit like GoogleMap. You put Google Map A to Z,
and then there is the way thatyou can go through the little
road and you see thecountryside, the way that you're
exploring the coastline, and theother one that is straight
motorway you're getting there.
So there are many, many way.
There is no way that is betterwhat you like doing and how what

(58:33):
is your road. Because even likethe guru dharna, always say that
the real guru is within us. Sowe know what we You always say
that again, dharma sometimessay, like, I don't know what I'm
doing here. Like, why you'rekissing my feet. You're that my
feet make you feel better, thenhe's okay. That the the Guru,

(58:55):
the real guru, dharma said, iswithin everything is within you.
You just need to seal the mindin order to hear the answer. But
the answer, they're not outsideus. They are inside us. It
doesn't matter if they'redifferent than someone else
answer, but if they are, youranswer. That is guru is bringing

(59:16):
the light, is not dragging youlike someone is just telling you
that is the way, and that'swhere you might find different
way. But the path is your thereis the end of the path is the
same Self Realization, which isrealizing our real nature. And
if he is with a yoga practice,if he is true, sometimes people

(59:42):
can be surfing, and you get to asuch a high state that you
become one with the ocean.
You're doing the same. You'regoing back to the greatest
source there is exactly thesame, or is being like in the
not dream time, but is like, youknow, getting. Closer to what is
the parallel state that is inbetween this life and other

(01:00:03):
stages or life in there areparallel, yeah, where we have,
like, you know, different, like,layer of existence there beyond
what can be seen in by the humaneye, because we are vibration.
That is yoga as well. It's therealization that we are a soul

(01:00:23):
that is incarnated into a body.
And we go back to themothership, like there is a big
ship, mothership. And then wecome and do what we need to do.
Then we finish. We go back home,we put back again, like the
electric like you know, like youknow, so that we charge back

(01:00:44):
again. We realize what we needto do, back again. We detach
back again. We go back and dothe mission. And then we go
back, we have a little rest, andthen we go back, back again. And
the T we are speaking about thesame things, yeah, even though
they seem like differentdiscipline or different things,
but we're doing the same thing.

Todd McLaughlin (01:01:03):
I think so.
Ambra, and I love that youbrought attention. I haven't
thought of it like this, butearlier in the conversation, you
had mentioned, if you have like,instead of having a whole
bookshelf full of books that youdon't read, and then you but if
you take, like, a couple ofbooks and you reread them, and
you reread them, and then everytime you read you you get more
out of it. Or, like you said,with a movie, you watched a

(01:01:26):
movie over and over, you seemore. And I love how you brought
up when you assist, and somebodybrought up, why would you need
to do that again? Ambra, youalready are good at this. Why
would you need to be humble likea student like this again. And I
think maybe you said, or maybe Iread into this, that if we treat
our teacher almost like we'rereading that same book again,

(01:01:49):
I'm a brand new this is a brandnew chance for me to now read
this same book again. What am Igoing to pick up? I've really,
never really thought of a bookand a teacher as the same thing.
I mean, maybe I have, but thatjust really dawned on me when
you said that, that the teachingof the teacher what we're gonna

(01:02:09):
pick up on in the moment and thetime that we're with them, when
we go back five years later andwe're re reading the same book,
like we're meeting the sameperson again, but no, it's like
I'm reading it all over again.
There's so much more meaningthat I just couldn't have picked
up on five years ago, right? Andthat is so cool. That is so
amazing. And I do love youranalogy of the spaceship, where

(01:02:31):
we come down and we do what wedo, and we go up, I know we
remember what we do, and we comeback down again and we go up.
Because, I mean, we I think lifeis really exciting and fun when
you start to see some more abigger picture, when that bigger
picture. So instead of like noknown to just one teacher, one

(01:02:51):
teacher, you have to stay withone. That's the way you're you
show you're good and you'reseeing the bigger picture.
Everybody's good, everybody'spart of the one. So let's learn
it all. So I really appreciateyour enthusiasm. I I love it.
Thank you so much. I have somuch fun meeting other teachers
and practitioners. And I really,I love how passionate and

(01:03:14):
excited you are. It'sinfectious. So I think keep
doing that, keep keep doing it,because it's really, I really
enjoy hearing your enthusiasm.
It's, it's really important, andI, and I'm, I'm excited. Do you
know, in the attempt to berespectful of your time and to
try to steer us toward a closingof our conversation together? Is

(01:03:34):
there any I hear birds? But Ithink that's on my end. Sorry.
Is there any thing you want toleave us with? Ambra?

Ambra Vallo (01:03:49):
Then maybe, like some advice with people you
know, like when they start intheir journey, I think what is
important that's they shouldn'trush. And they shouldn't like
treat yoga, especially when theyare new. Because we say that

(01:04:09):
generally they are. They getthere, they arrive into a yoga
studio, and they think a bitlike is in other sports. So they
shouldn't treat yoga is anotherachievement to chase. So in the
beginning, is really easy, Ithink, to get caught up in the
physical practice, which iscompletely normal, or comparing

(01:04:31):
ourselves to other people, orthinking that we need to master
certain poses. But Yoga is notabout performance. Is about
presence. It is about beingthere. Is about the breath, is
about feeling every instancethat we are. There also, I think
people that need to be carefulof attaching their self to

(01:04:53):
external validation, becausesometimes they want the teacher
to tell them if he's the guru orif he's so. Someone else, you
know, whatever is it can be froma teacher, or maybe like even
the person that is next to them,you improve a lot, or how
flexible you are in thatstructure, or how many classes
you are doing in a week, thenyou must be better than someone

(01:05:16):
else, or the deeper work theyneed to understand there is not
about the position, but is thedeeper work is actually
internal, and I think, is what alot of people they are missing
in these days. So one of thepitfall I experienced was
ignoring also the rest, andtaking time for yourself, I

(01:05:37):
think.

Todd McLaughlin (01:05:38):
And that's great advice, especially

Ambra Vallo (01:05:41):
in the beginning, I was seeking to do more. It was
always the more I do, the betterI become. And it was even with
the meditation, the more I do,pranayama, meditation, the
better we become, and the more Iwill get to that stage. And then
at a certain point, I was like,It's not that. Now I know that
some of my most profound testshas come from the stillness, or

(01:06:03):
from chanting mantra, or fromsimply, like sitting with my
breath, simply just with thebreath. So I would encourage
anyone that is beginning toexplore this inner practice as
early as they can, of course,alongside the physical practice,
because I know how enthusiasticthey can become and how

(01:06:25):
attractive they can get to thephysical practice, and they need
to trust that the path willunfold for them exactly as it
should. There is not everybodyhas a different path, so just
follow the one that is theheart. He's telling you, because
in the end of the journey, nomatter what you're doing, the

(01:06:48):
connection with your realnature, which is the spirit that
is your path, is rememberingback again in this lifetime that
we are a spirit incarnated andnot a body with it, with their
mind and a soul inside. But weactually an incarnated soul. But

(01:07:11):
we are a spirit that is insidethe body with the mind. And we
try to bring the body and mindinto stillness so that they can
be the better version ofourself, and then we can leave a
better life for ourselves andfor other as well.

Todd McLaughlin (01:07:28):
Yes, so yeah, I agree. I second that motion that
is well said, and I appreciateyou pointing out pitfall and and
what to avoid, because you'reabsolutely right, and I agree.
I've my experience has been verysimilar. So think it's so good

(01:07:51):
to hear somebody else say, Yes,this is what I did, and I've
learned from it. And I think ifyou're new, then you could just,
if you can just kind of slowdown like you're saying, oh my
gosh, umbrella. Well, thank youso much for for joining me. I
really appreciate yourgenerosity with your time. It's
very kind and and I appreciateyour willingness to jump on and

(01:08:15):
having not even not knowing me,but trusting that you do enough
to be honest and tell me, tellyour story to us. I really
appreciate it.

Ambra Vallo (01:08:25):
Thank you, Todd, for having me. It would been a
pleasure. Thank you. Thank you.

Todd McLaughlin (01:08:33):
Native yoga.
Todd cast is produced by myself.
The theme music is dreamed up byBryce Allen. If you like this
show, let me know if there'sroom for improvement. I want to
hear that too. We are curious toknow what you think and what you
want more of what I can improve.
And if you have ideas for futureguests or topics, please send us

(01:08:54):
your thoughts to info at Nativeyoga center. You can find us at
Native yoga center.com, and hey,if you did like this episode,
share it with your friends. Rateit and review and join us next
time you

Unknown (01:09:31):
Oh, yeah.