Francesca Vanegas is a devoted student of yoga and eastern contemplative practices. She founded the Florida Yoga Institute (FYI) she pioneered this region’s first Classical Yoga Mind-Body Sciences teacher training program. This is a Yoga Alliance registered, yoga teacher training (YTT).
At seven years old, Francesca got her first yoga lesson from her dad. Years later she immersed herself in a meaningful journey of yoga, meditation, and personal development. She is a certified Kripalu Yoga instructor and is certified at the foundational and advanced levels of Forrest Yoga. She has studied with Yoganand (Michael Carroll), Ana Forrest, Guruatma Khalsa and Gurmuk Khalsa.
Francesca is drawn to the teachings of Siddhārtha Gautama or the Buddha and the path of liberation through meditation. She has participated in silent meditation retreats and has studied with Hyon Gak Sunim, Larry Rosenberg, Tara Brach, Lama Surya Das, Jonathan Foust and Mr. Goenka.
Francesca has devoted two years writing Teaching Down Dogs New TricksTM: Yoga’s Top 25 Poses Unveiled. The book delves deeply into yoga’s foundational poses. Each pose is studied from its philosophical roots, therapeutic aspects, and anatomical, physiological, and biomechanical characteristics. The book also demonstrates how to render the poses accessible students no matter their flexibility or range of motion. To receive a free sample chapter*, click here.
Before embracing yoga full time, Francesca worked in the field of marketing communications, public relations, and TV news. She is a native of Italy and lived in Colombia, South America. She speaks three languages fluently.
