Note from Uncle George

Nine years passed and I’ve been asked again what Spiti Yoga means to me. Hard to say. If you ask me why I created it, I'd tell you so I won't be alone; so that, in my power, no one is alone. So as for me to have somewhere to go when things are going well and when they are difficult; both when I am lost and when I find and love myself. In my mind, this place was my idea of life, of relationships, of how the world could become more beautiful. In creating it I gave it all I had and all I learned along the way, and I made space for others to introduce what they had, and what they believed, and we all fitted together comfortably.

Everyone there has their own schedule, either daily or every now and then; their own reason for coming, their own missing piece. (Almost) no-one ever came feeling happy and fulfilled. (Almost) no-one really completed their personal puzzle just by being there. But they did their exercise, became strong, embraced each other, were listened to and felt safe. Everyone was loved as they were, imperfect and human. Me too. Some of us stayed, some of us left and some returned. And this space has acquired its own soul, its own way, it has grown and can go on without me. But it accommodates me completely and is there for me to leave and return to as I wish. And everyone else as well as me.

I am proud of what we have built there and even prouder that I succeeded in the end and made my own family, found my own people, built my own home, warm, colourful and welcoming as my heart is after all. At the end of the day what Spiti is cannot be put into words, but everyone feels it when they step inside, whether immediately or shortly after.

George Androulakis