Bay Area Yoga Teacher Highlight: Amanda Giacomini
Name: Amanda Giacomini, aka 10,000 Buddhas
Practice with me at: Point Reyes Yoga in Point Reyes, CA
How long I’ve been practicing yoga: 26 years
How long I’ve been teaching yoga: 19 years
What kind of yoga I teach: Gentle & Yin
My mantra these days: My mantra these days is “go slowly and choose wisely.” There is a wonderful teaching from the Dhammapada that inspires me. It says, “It is better to live one day virtuous and meditative than a hundred years immoral and uncontrolled.”
A posture that has been resonating with me lately is: Pretty much any heart opener. I particularly love to melt over blocks, with one block behind the heart and one behind the head.
How I like to practice yoga off the mat: Painting Buddhas is my off-the-mat meditation.
Favorite way to celebrate the season: Gathering flowers and sharing meals with family and friends.
My sign: Virgo sun, Virgo moon, and Scorpio rising to mix it up!
The last book I read was: Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory. I love historical fiction. Before that, I read Circe and Song of Achilles, both by Madeline Miller.
Where I go for a nourishing meal: Lunchette in Petaluma for a grain bowl or Uchiwa in San Rafael for ramen.
What’s on my yoga playlist right now: I’m loving MC YOGI’s new single “Golden State of Mind.” I put it on every time I need an energy boost.
A few of my favorite yoga teachers are: MC YOGI, Sianna Sherman, Janet Stone, Peggy Orr, Sharon Gannon, and Rod Stryker.
A ritual I love: I am a huge fan of ritual baths. I feel as though I can get through any challenge if there is a reward of a long, goddess-style bath at the end of it.
What I am letting go of this year: Coffee! Yikes, did I say that out loud?
What I am embracing this year: Cultivating balance between effort and ease.
My website: 10000buddhas.com.
My instagram: @10000buddhas.