“Riding” towards the inner being

Auroville Today: This is not your first interview?

Francesco: No. By now I am quite used to doing interviews. It all started when I was 15 years old and passionate about snowboarding.

I began doing it professionally, which meant being in front of the camera quite often. We had to do interviews for magazines and big snowboarding events. Coming from a small mountain village, I was very shy. The first few times, it was nerve-wracking. But after getting exposed to it repeatedly, one just gets used to it.

How did you get into snowboarding?

I was born in the mountains, so the options were either to ski or to snowboard. Skiing was the more popular choice, but I was drawn to snowboarding, which, at that time, was quite unconventional. I remember feeling like an outcast because it was such a niche thing. All the other kids were skiing, and they would tease me for choosing snowboarding instead.

I went to a special high school that catered to people involved in winter sports. It was this pilot project that allowed us to dedicate ourselves to our chosen sport while still attending school. We had the flexibility to pursue our sports seriously. I even got to travel to the U.S. for a month without following the regular school programme. That was a very good deal for a high school student.

I went there for training and for what we called “shooting”, which meant getting the best photos and videos of us on the most diverse types of terrains. Shooting is a big part of the snowboarding culture. It wasn’t just about competing; it was also about capturing those moments and for me was a means of self-expression, similar to an art form.

At that time, did you imagine snowboarding would become your career?

To be honest, I never really thought much about what my life would look like in the future. I was simply following my passions. At that time, it was all about snowboarding. I didn’t have a long-term plan yet. I was just fully immersed in the moment, enjoying the process. But that changed during my last year of high school when my brother got seriously ill. That experience shook me. It was like a wake-up call. It made me reevaluate many things. Until then, I was hardly studying.

I would show up to lessons, pay intense attention while in class, and do well on tests without much effort. Then I decided to put my energy into my studies to prove myself capable of good results, through more dedicated effort. That’s when I realised I had an aptitude and love for learning. I wrote my final high school paper on the limits of Western scientific thought, exploring how intellectual and scientific pursuits often reach a point where they confront something infinite, something beyond human understanding. It was surely a philosophical stretch, and it felt relevant to everything I was going through at the time.

That sounds like a deep shift at a young age. What happened next?

That was definitely a turning point. I was grappling with all these existential questions, especially about the limitations of what we can know. Around that time, I met someone named Yudi (a family friend, and Aurovilian cartoonist Emanuele’s grandmother), whom we often call the ‘magic grandma’. She was this older woman with a fascinating presence. She was always carrying around a pendulum, using it to measure energy. At first, I was skeptical, but when I saw the pendulum swinging wildly whenever she held it close to her body, it was hard to deny that something was happening.

How did your connection with her influence you?

One night, I had this vivid dream where she appeared and she seemed to blow into my heart, which caused it to open up. It felt like an inner opening, which in retrospect I can classify as psychic, due to the permanent effects it had on my life. From that moment, everything became clear to me. I had this newfound certainty about my life’s direction and purpose. There has been no hesitation nor doubt about it since then —it was like a switch had been flipped. That experience set me on the path that eventually led me here.

Was it after that experience that you decided to leave snowboarding behind?

Yes, but it wasn’t an immediate shift. I actually had a snowboarding accident that played a decisive role in my decision. I was doing a trick on a half-pipe and fell hard on my clavicle. I should have been in a lot of pain but instead, I felt a strange sense of peace. It was like everything around me was chaos, but inside, I was completely calm. That accident made it clear that I needed to change my path.

At the time, I was studying education at university, but my experience there was really dissatisfying. Then, one day I felt the wish to call my friends who were living in Auroville. They invited me to come and volunteer at a kindergarten. They even managed to get me a one-year work visa, which was an interesting little miracle in itself.

I decided to take the leap, and within weeks of arriving, I found myself fully immersed in this new world.

And that’s when you got involved with ATB?

I basically landed on it! I had only been here for about three weeks when some people from the ATB team noticed me. They saw how I naturally connected with children and with that type of work, so they invited me to join them at the Kindergarten. I then got to know Aloka and Joan, started attending workshops and classes and, before I knew it, I was part of the team. It felt like a natural fit, almost like something I was naturally built for.

Can you explain why ATB became such an important part of your life?

ATB has really been a crucial part of my life for the past 10 to 12 years. It’s a comprehensive practice that integrates all the various aspects of the being through an all encompassing awareness. It’s based on Integral Yoga and aligns deeply with the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. For me, ATB is surely not just a set of exercises; it’s a way of life. It’s about bringing consciousness and embracing all aspects of oneself and of life. To me, it’s like a container that can hold the most diverse experiences and perceptions in a cohesive manner. It allows me to explore this integration in a very practical way.

And you work with a wide range of people, from children to the elderly. How do you adapt your approach based on their needs?

A key aspect is understanding the rhythm and pace of life. With young children for example, the sessions are very dynamic, full of games, imagination, and quick changes of pace. It’s like go, go, go, with sudden stops for moments of stillness. But with someone who is, let’s say, towards the end of their life, the approach would need to be quite different. In that case it would be more about stillness, presence, and letting go. A beautiful aspect of ATB is that it can be adapted to suit anyone exactly where they are.

You’ve been living here since you were about 19. What was it that drew you to Auroville in the first place, and what keeps you here?

My connection to Auroville was something that I always felt at a deeper level. From the very beginning, I knew that this was where I needed to be. But it was never about the physical place or the particular social-environmental conditions. For me, Auroville is primarily a state of consciousness, a certain way of being which is only relatively dependent on the location. I felt a simple inner calling to stay here, and if I’m ever guided to leave, I will. But until then, this is where I feel called to be.

You mentioned earlier that Auroville is not just a place but a state of consciousness. How does that philosophy influence your daily life here?

For me, touching a deeper state of consciousness is not an optional extra – it’s a basic need. If I don’t connect even just a little with that inner depth, my day feels incomplete, almost like I’m living in an unreal dream. I make sure to touch that space every single morning, even if it’s just for a few minutes. I need to feel something real within myself before I engage with the world outside. This has become a daily practice that grounds me. And because I spend so much time working with children or leading workshops, it’s essential for me to remain centred. I need to tune my entire being to be as fully present with others as possible, especially when guiding them through ATB.

You’ve also been involved in projects outside of Auroville. Could you tell me more about that?

I’ve been working on spreading ATB beyond Auroville. I go to Italy twice a year to lead workshops, and I also travel to South America, particularly to support the work my colleague Rosa is doing there. At the moment she’s based in South America and conducts workshops throughout the year, while I join her for some of the bigger ones. The idea is to train enough people so that the work there can become self-sustaining in the coming years. With my partner Vega, we also conduct seminars for Korean groups who come to Auroville and we’re planning to go to Korea in the future. It is rewarding to see how ATB can take root in different cultures and how each of them is responsive to some particular aspects of it.

Do you conduct these workshops in English, Italian and Spanish?

Yes. I actually learned Spanish here in Auroville, which was quite an experience. Being able to conduct workshops in both languages has opened up many doors. It’s also allowed me to connect with people in a much deeper way because language is such a powerful bridge. While working with Koreans, I rely on the connection with Vega, who translates and guides along with me.

You’ve co-authored a book recently. What is it about?

The book is a collaboration with a friend and colleague from Italy. It’s called Come rinnovare la tua Ruota, which translates roughly to How to renew your Wheel. The metaphor behind the title is about updating our inner tools, much like updating the software on a device. The book is a practical guide for educators and parents who want to educate themselves in order to better assist others. The idea is that personal growth and self-awareness are essential before we can truly guide or teach someone else.

The book is divided into four main sections. The first is on personal work, which focuses on self-awareness, attitude, progress and habits formation. The second is about daily life, which includes tools from Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and other approaches to enhance how we relate to ourselves and others. The third section explores an approach to education which integrates both traditional methods and alternative practices, while the fourth is about defining one’s ideal, setting goals and translating them into actionable steps, whether on a personal level, in a group setting, or even in a school environment.

And you are also starting a podcast related to the book?

Yes, that’s another exciting project! We’ve recently recorded the first few episodes here in Auroville. The podcast is an extension of the book’s concepts, and it’s aimed at reaching a wider audience. The idea is to create more conversations around these topics and inspire more people to embark on their own journeys of self-education.

You’ve clearly been very busy with all these projects. How do you manage to balance everything?

It’s definitely a juggling act. My work with ATB takes up a lot of time, especially since many mornings and afternoons are dedicated to sessions or workshops. But I make sure to integrate physical activities into my day that also involve conscious presence, like hatha yoga, Somatics or other psychophysical exercises. At the end of these sessions, I take the opportunity to connect once again with that deeper part of myself. Taking those few precious moments gives me a sense of coming back home within, after a whole day spent somehow outside myself.

With everything you’ve learned and experienced, and with the changes going on in Auroville, how do you see your connection to Auroville evolving?

My relationship with Auroville has always been mainly internal. As I mentioned before, Auroville, to me, is more of a state of consciousness than a physical place. This very morning at the swimming pool someone asked me if I was happy in Auroville, and I replied, “I am happy, that’s it. If my happiness would need to depend on Auroville or anything else, I’d often be in trouble.” My main sense of peace and fulfillment comes primarily from the inner connection to that infinite consciousness that permeates everything. So whether I stay here or move elsewhere, I make sure that the focus remains on that inner connection, regardless of the particular setting or circumstance. On the other hand, I’m fully aware that we are living in an interwoven experience, where we all play our part and have our share of influence and responsibility.

The cooperative games we use in ATB are perhaps a suitable simile to illustrate how I perceive what’s going on in Auroville and the world. In the game as well as in real life, there are groupings of people, with goals to achieve, problems to solve and limited resources at their disposal. At first, everyone is usually trying to push their way through, but slowly they realise they have to collaborate to succeed. These games naturally bring out people’s tendencies – their habits, attitudes, and relational dynamics. Here’s where the great opportunity lies: because of the game itself we have the chance to become aware of our dysfunctional patterns and start to intentionally change them. It is exactly because of the difficulties created by the challenge that frictions become more evident. Once conscious, these dynamics can be deliberately worked upon, towards something more harmonious, functional and complete.

In a way, life in Auroville – or anywhere – is like a cooperative game. It’s like a microcosm of the larger world. We’re all here with certain tasks, limited resources and specific challenges. Just like in cooperative games, we need to work together to achieve something greater. During our workshops or classes we often see participants go through the same relational dynamics they face in everyday life. But when they reach moments of genuine cooperation, where everyone is fully present and united, it’s truly magical. That’s when one gets a glimpse of what Auroville – and life – can really be about.

For more information visit: https://www.innervita.it/podcast.