Awakened Heart Retreats founder, Lily Russo, is a compassionate and experienced yoga and meditation teacher and Ayurvedic Wellness Coach. “Awakened Hearts Retreats arose naturally out of the interweaving of my passion for wellness, my love of movement, and my years of experience in travel and event planning. I am here for you throughout your retreat so you can relax and fully enjoy the incredible destinations and experiences you find yourself in.”

Lily has been practicing yoga most of her life. It has been a tool of transformation, health, and empowerment since her teen years. Her initial practice of yoga asana led her to study all the other facets including pranayama, meditation, and yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda, as well as other influential wisdom traditions, primarily Buddhism, the Tao, and plant medicines. Through these experiences she has come to an understanding that all systems of life are intricately interconnected, and practices which lead us to recognize our relations to our higher selves and to all other beings as well as the natural world create a life of harmony.

“I have been passionate about meaningful travel and cultural connection for as long as I can remember. I began organizing group trips when I was 15. As president of the high school non-profit Circle of Friends, I coordinated groups of students to travel from Illinois to a Native American reservation in South Dakota to bring school and art supplies and run an art and music summer camp for the youth in the reservation. I also organized concerts and other events to fund the trips and pay for the supplies we donated. Since then I have had the blessing and privilege to have traveled in every continent except Antarctica. My experiences have given me great appreciation for travel and connection with others as one of the most powerful ways to expand our world view and develop compassion, resilience, patience, and resourcefulness.”

Credentials:

B.A. in Arts and Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Major in International Studies with a focus on Human Rights in Developing Nations. Graduated 2008.

Master of Science in Maharishi Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine at Maharishi International University.

300 Hour Certificate as an Ayurvedic Wellness Coach from Shakti School. 2020.

I attended the Shambava School of Hatha Yoga in 2008 for my initial Yoga Teacher Training, and in 2015 completed a Prana Vinyasa training led by Monica Mesa, developed by visionary Yogini Shiva Rea. Over the years I have participated in over 700 hours of teacher trainings and now lead 200 Hour Prana Vinyasa Teacher Trainings as an affiliate of Shiva Rea’s Samudra Global School of Living Yoga.