A man called Toto....

Its an underpass, covered in Graffiti, the kind found in a lot of Italy, bold, aggressive. A little look closer however, and you realise its actually artwork, images and words I'm sure the local community understand much better than me, that said I'm uneasy in this rabbit warren but somethings different, I can hear opera, loud, glorious, unapologetic and compelling, I can also smell incense. Its then I'm introduced to Toto, he's a man that's lived several lives in one, he is homeless, I'm not sure if he lives in the underpass but he directs the ambiance, the hustle and the bustle with the elegance of a concert pianist. He makes an area you would normally rush to get through an oasis in the blindness of day to day routine. He hands me some incense, a gift from a stranger to a stranger and I am deeply humbled and feeling just a little foolish in Florence.

So here I am in a city I once visited 20 years ago, I've barely breathed since my divorce came through. I hate flying, I'm anxious in groups of people I don't know, I don't know where I'm staying or how to get there and I'm not sure I want to spend two days thinking about Pilates, and then I meet Toto and everything finds its place. I'm here to study with +DeborahLessen courtesy of  +FrencescaBertoni of https://www.facebook.com/www.bodybalancestudio.it . I'm the only participant from the UK, everyone else is Italian or Dutch. Deborah is here post knee surgery and amazingly sharp and generous given the jet lag she must have been feeling and the challenges of a recovering knee. I'm staying in a B&B which is actually a delightful couples house where they let rooms, no hotel anonymity for me, just a delightful rotund cat and a toy poodle living in fear of her. Its a strange thing taking yourself out of your comfort zone, forgetting that others will find my being vegan odd and simply say so. Cue the Prosecco and a tantrum when the waiter serves it in a sherry glass, 'Please bring me a grown up glass' I heard myself say (I'm a little stressed!). Francesca is a delight and a truly passionate Pilates soul with a beautiful studio, generous spirit and could not have made things easier for me and those attending, although I have to say moving equipment via a horse box (straw included) was a unique, magical and somewhat surreal moment.

After two days taking in the wisdom of Deborah http://www.deborahlessenpilates.com/green_street.php and learning albeit with creative hand signalling from the other participants I spent a third day just walking through a magical city, taking in its beauty, its warmth and its elegance. I'd survived taking myself out of my comfort zone, no harm done. I met new people, collided head on with other cultures (yes I can really help lift a reformer), I drank Prosecco in grown up glasses and waited 45 minutes for a bath to fill (who knew the art of learning patience was in the bubbles all along), I learnt I could fly alone without the Captain having to divert the plane due to passenger hysteria. I learnt that being a vegan is confusing to some, And?! but most of all I learnt that a man called Toto was the lesson I was really meant to take, that in the places that often fill you with fear, where there are so many exits you don't know which one to take, where sometimes you have to go underneath where you are comfortable and feel safe to cross to the other side, that all you have to do is stop and listen. Because music to lift your soul is playing somewhere, you just have to tune the rest of the noise out to stand a chance of hearing it.

Pilates love and energy as always....

Suzy x
www.seraphinapilates.com