My name is Adamo and I have been practicing yoga since 2010. I've trained and taught in Thailand, Toronto and in PEI where I am now living. I am certified in Hatha yoga and enjoy learning and practicing various types of yoga, including Vinyasa and Iyengar. My passion is sharing yoga with people from all walks of life and creating a community through practice. My classes are accessible for all skill levels, so whether you are a new or experienced practitioner, I look forward to working with you and exploring the practice of yoga together!
Hey Adamo! Tell us a little about yourself - where you're from, what you do for work, what your hobbies are, etc.
I’ll come clean up front…I’m a come from away! I’m originally from Toronto and came to the island a few years back. The perfect refuge in the storm. I fell in love with the Island (as many do) and now I live here fulltime. I grew up a child actor in Toronto and spent much of my career in media, which was rewarding in many ways but also ran its course. After some career hoping, globetrotting, and personal exploration, I found the island and my island stride. My hobbies include north shore beaches, City Cinema, yoga, Golden Girls and coffee by my wood burning stove.
What got you started in yoga? What kind of a role does yoga play in your life?
I started doing yoga about 10 years ago to improve my physical health. I was living a little too hard and fast in the city and needed to slow down. While exercise brought me to yoga, the mental and emotional benefits is what has kept me practicing. For me yoga is about accepting stillness--- to be still long enough to see yourself and be aware of yourself. Which I really needed at the time. I think stillness is the most radical thing we could do in this day in age. It’s something I am still working on in both mind and body and that’s what keeps me practicing. In the end all asana is a means to accepting stillness and accepting oneself as-is.
If there's one thing we've heard in the past few years, it's that there's no such thing as work/life balance anymore. How do you keep your balance with hectic schedules?
Like many of us, I do my best! I am able to experience periods of balance in my life, but it’s seldom balanced for very long and I’ve learned to accept that. I try not to be balanced for balance’s sake. There’s this Oscar Wilde quote --- which TBH I read in a book by Alan Cumming --- that says, “everything in moderation, including moderation.” I see balance in a similar way. Everything in balance, including balance. A general sense of balance is important, but there are phases in our lives where we need to work overtime to survive, or we need to care for others more than ourselves, or we need to have that second (or third) day at the beach because summers in PEI are too short. That’s ok! We shouldn’t feel guilty for that. For me what matters is acting with intention. Being aware of what I am doing and why I am doing it. And if I am tipping the scale in a harmful way or in a way that is not filling my pot, I keep it short and return to my yoga mat for a moment of stillness.
The market has seen a major shift towards health and wellness in the past few years. Why do you think that is?
I know it sounds like a broken record, but this pandemic has been hard for a million reasons. However, one positive is that it’s forced us to stop and confront ourselves and to take better care of ourselves. I think now more than ever we have this natural, instinctual urge to reconnect with the planet and the nature of things and to feel a sense of ourselves within it all. It’s funny because while we’re incredibly more educated on physical, mental, and spiritual health than generations past, past generations had the luxury of a purer, cleaner, quieter planet. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case for us. We’re contending with a lot and “self-care” needs to be a priority to simply survive the current state of things. For me, moving to this island was an act of self-care. For my mind, body and spirit. It’s shown me firsthand how the choices we make in our lives also play a huge role in our health and wellness.
Anything else you'd like to say?
I hope you enjoy the digital yoga class! I teach classes at the Wood Islands Visitor Information Centre with “go! East PEI” for those folks on the eastern part of the Island. Send me a DM if you’d like to come practice with us!
Instagram: @adamoaruggiero
Thanks so much for chatting with us Adamo, join in the yoga session below!
Adamo Ruggiero's 15 minute Yoga Flow - Libra Dry January from Libra Non-Alcoholic Craft Beer on Vimeo.
