AM ALUMNI
Liana (aka Lilo) Ventura | @lilomoves
V200 - Dec 2020, V300 - July 2021
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil š
Hi, Iām Lilo, she/her/hers. Iām an avid practitioner and I consider myself to be an enthusiastic and high-spirited yoga and creative movement teacher from and based in Rio, Brazil. Owner of a curious mind I have a great interest in both intellectual and practical activities. Studying and movement have always been my greatest passions and part of my journey for as long as I can remember. The truth is: Iām a nerd. From dance to handstands, which by the way Iām passionate about, Iāve been exploring lots of different movement modalities. I have a long story with contemporary dance which has been part of my life for almost 30 years now, including an unfinished graduation at Unicamp Dance School in SĆ£o Paulo. Due to many issues I had to interrupt my studies in dance in 2015 which, almost by chance, led me into a Graphic Design degree in 2010 and a MA in Design in 2018. Even though I had never stopped my own personal practice exploring various modalities, I felt the call to return to my roots and take my practice more consistently. So, in a nutshell, thatās kinda how I fell into the yoga world. My first experience practicing yoga was around 2011 on YouTube with some very popular teachers, including Steph, Erin, Patrick Beach, Leigha Butler and so many others. I also had a few studio experiences, but most of my yoga and movement experience were the result of a self-taught student carrying an insatiable beginner’s mind. In 2019 I decided to delve deeper in my yoga personal practices taking my first 200h YTT with Yin Yang Vinyasa School, a school strongly influenced by Rocket Yoga style. Right after graduating from this, COVID-19 pandemic hit us all pushing almost everyone into the online world, including me who started teaching online right away. It was also because of the crisis that I got the opportunity to join Authentic Movements for my second 200H YTT and first 300H YTT, both in online modality. I am an avid practitioner and student, so Iām constantly finding ways to expand and challenge my knowledge. Movement is my opium, in a good sense, and Iām passionate about understanding the intricacies of the body and the movements itās capable of doing. Thatās why I love studying anatomy and biomechanics as well as exploring ways I can combine both movement science logic and fun and creative language with a pinch of sense of humor, adding my personal touch. Iām a strong believer that most movement modalities can provide a mindful and meaningful embodied experience of freedom and creativity, allowing us to connect with our most authentic selves with joy and kindness acceptance. The more authentically we allow ourselves to be, the more meaningful, creative and joyful our lives can become. Plus, if we can add some fun to it in the meanwhile, why not?
Reflecting on the AM YTT Experience
| Why did you choose Authentic Movements for your YTT? | |
| Ā | Iāve first met Steph and Erin and AM School through Instagram way back in 2016 and from day one I knew I wanted to study and learn from them. Their movement were so graceful and strong and their classes were so creatively different from everything I had known! It really opened my mind for other possibilities with movement and what yoga could look like without losing its roots. Yoga could look like something so much different from everything I had ever learnt. That was mind-blowing. Besides that, they offered me a broader perspective on the science of movement by shedding light on different ways of understanding the body both anatomically and biomechanically, inviting me not only to think outside of the yoga box by creatively combining movements from other modalities, but also to reflect upon standardized alignments concepts by going beyond the āright versus wrongā approach, so common in the yoga and fitness world. Understanding the whys behind the hows allows me to expand the ways we can explore movement possibilities as well as for creating opportunities for playful and creative movement. If you think itās just about movement, you might want to take a look further. Bianca, Steph and Erin can take us really deep into critically thinking over almost about any subject such as philosophy, history, sutil body, politics and more. And donāt underestimate the online modality. This is by far one of the most complete top notch content courses I know. As soon I started the 200H I was already enrolled in the the 300H because I didn’t want to miss any of the things this amazing team had to share. Okay, I admit. Iām a big fan. And I can arguably say that I’m probably the number 1 fan. |
| How did the online training platform work for you? | |
| Ā | To begin with, if it wasnāt for the online format I probably wouldnāt be an AM Alumn. Since the first day I found about this school I wanted to be a part of it. However It was still out of range since I didnāt have the means to afford this, neither financially nor in time dedicated exclusively for this. When they decided to launch the online format I decided to take the shot and apply for a partial scholarship which they have generously granted me, and I can thank AM enough for this invaluable opportunity. This format allowed me to study and practice from the comfort of my own house during the pandemic and also allowed me the freedom to do it at my own pace, revisiting the content as many times as I wanted. This is especially useful when you have long classes fully packed with dense content such as anatomy and biomechanics. Another very positive aspect of this format is the possibility to allow yourself time for digestion and rest when needed and also to better prepare for the assignments, which can be really demanding. Talking about this, all the feedback provided by the teachers, both for the recorded assignments and the live classes were extremely careful and detailed. They really go into the work of providing the most detailed and helpful feedback as possible. Itās amazing how they put time and dedication to it. I honestly couldnāt recommend the AM V200H and V300H more. Donāt underestimate what this online format can both demand and provide to your personal practice and teaching experience. This experience has really provided a huge turning point into my yoga and movement journey. The only down side of this is that at some point it has to end. Or notā¦ It depends, right? |
| How has your teaching changed since completing the AM YTT? | |
| Ā | This training is absolutely invaluable both to my personal practice and teaching experience. As I have mentioned before, most of my yoga and movement practices comes from a self-taught and exploration experience. I mean, this is not 100% true because most of what I have learnt come from people who were generous enough to share their knowledge on books and on the internet for free. I was just curious enough to do the research to satisfy my personal curiosity. And for most of the time this was enough fuel to feed my mind. However, if you really want to dig deeper at some point you have to be willing to study for real. And this is what I did. Taking the 200h and 300h YTT with Authentic Movements was a real game changer, and itās not because it provided me with so much good content or because it showed me a clear path to teach. It was in fact the opening to embrace nuance and welcome doubt instead of right vs. wrong approach that exponentially expanded my teaching approach and tools. By opening myself to challenge my certainties I can keep a curious mind towards constantly learning new things and perspectives. By having a deeper understanding of the whyās behind the howās I have way more freedom to design classes that are more meaningful and efficient for my students. I can better understand their needs as well as provide both more accessible or challenging ways of approaching movements depending on where they are on their own practice, and so I can find ways to be more of service for helping each individual in their own movement practice in order to find embodied freedom and creativity. Iām also constantly learning to refine my language and cues in order to assist students in finding different sensations and activations through their own bodies, rather than thinking about shapes and adjustments. By accepting that thereās no right or wrong way of doing things and that the body is resilient I can acknowledge that all bodies are different and make room for creative and critically thinking when offering movement options and modifications. I am also learning to slowly develop my authentic voice and teaching style by allowing myself to bring together many movements modalities I love to offer a well rounded creative and joyful movement experience. |
| How have you engaged with the AM community of alums and students during and after the training? | |
| Ā | During the 200h YTT the only opportunities I had to meet with other students were during the live teaching assignments, which wasnāt so many. So I just had the chance to meet a handful of people. Some of these people I had the chance to meet again during the 300h ytt. During this last one there were more opportunities for meeting people since we would regularly meet every weekend for 2 months. It was an amazing experience. I have made some very good friends who I still keep in touch and I also had the opportunity to build the 300h ytt practicum together with a partner and an ongoing project. Since I live in Brazil, Instagram is pretty much the main channel I have to keep communicating with some of these friends. |
| What was your favorite part of the course content? | |
| Ā | It is really hard to pinpoint one thing I have most enjoyed about these two trainings, both the 200h and 300h ytt. So I will list three which are highly intertwined and which I believe encompass most part of the foundations of the AM school. The first thing I really appreciate about this training is the stimulus that teachers give to students for the development of critical thinking, encouraging us not to take concepts and theories for granted but rather trying to keep a curious open mind to embrace different perspectives and approaches, understanding that thereās no right or wrong way of moving, but many different ways that can be explored by many different bodies and needs. As a teacher I want to learn to see my students so I can offer them more possibilities for movement and growth. This leads me to the second thing: nuance. Since there isnāt one way of doing things or thinking about things, we can be more open to understand everyoneās individuals needs and perspectives, challenge our own certainties, learning from others and offer more meaningful possibilities for thinking and moving. The last thing I loved about this training was the exploration for logical creativity. By understanding the whys behind the hows I can have more freedom and clarity to design meaningful and efficient classes that could better meet students needs and desires. |
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