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Two-Day workshop in Tuscany, Italy

Art, Feet, and Heart

Florence, Septiembre 11 and 12, 2026

Join us for two days in Prato, Tuscany’s capital of contemporary art, just outside Florence, for a meeting of art, shamanism, and science. Guided by a local artist, we will visit Medieval, Renaissance, and contemporary expressions of creativity and craftsmanship at unique sites. We will walk historic streets, enjoy authentic trattorias, and engage with the artist community in their studios, learning to see not just with the eyes but with the whole self and energy body.

 

Artists, like warriors, learn to see beyond ordinary appearances. Anyone willing to pause, observe, and pay attention can learn to

see with their whole body by shifting attention to internal processes, enhancing sensory information, and improving perception. This is a unique event where we learn to appreciate Art everywhere, strengthen our connection to the earth and revitalize our uprightness, and to allow vulnerability, joy, and kindness to be experienced and expressed.

Workshop Purposes

The purpose of these gatherings is to discover the beauty within by observing beauty outside; to explore whether the paths we are walking and the decisions we are making are aligned with our hearts; and to cultivate greater vitality, awareness, and enjoyment of life.

“Does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn’t, it is of no use. One path makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you.”
— Carlos Castaneda, quoting don Juan

Over two days and four gatherings, we explore the relationship between Art, Feet, and Heart. Through movement, observation, breathing, and recapitulation processes, we learn to receive support from the Earth through our feet, expand perception through beauty and art, and reconnect with the heart as a source of purpose, direction, and conscious living.

What we will practice

  • Exercises for your feet to alleviate foot pain, back pain, and restrictions
    • Mindful breathing practices to expand the chest, perception, and sensitivity
    • Techniques to calm the mind and direct attention intentionally
    • Recapitulation exercises to reconnect with your inner artist
    • Encounters with local artists and their creative journeys
    • Visits to unique museums and cultural sites away from the usual tourist routes
    • Reflection on your own life journey: where your feet have walked and what steps you dare to take next

Who is this for?

Everyone! Anyone can benefit from this knowledge. 

 

The workshop offers an inclusive, safe, and dynamic space for individuals of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds, including those recovering from physical or emotional challenges.

 

• People interested in improving posture, mobility, and overall movement quality

• Those exploring somatic education, shamanic movement, or energy perception

• Dancers, therapists, artist healers, or anyone curious about aligning their feet with their heart.

Anyone interested in expanding perception, improving movement, reconnecting with creativity, and living with greater awareness and vitality.

 

 

Benefits from participating

 Improve posture, balance, and walking efficiency
Increase body awareness and sensory intelligence
• Reduce unnecessary tension and move with greater ease
• Enhance breathing capacity and chest mobility
• Restore the connection from feet to hips to heart
• Awaken creativity, intuition, and appreciation for beauty
• Cultivate a sense of belonging to yourself, others, and the Earth

Friday Day 1 - Art and Feet

Patro, September 11 from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm 

 Morning: We will visit the heart of Prato’s historic center, including the Museo di Palazzo Pretorio, the Palazzo del Comune, and the Duomo if time allows. We will then enjoy lunch at a unique trattoria closed by. 

Afternoon: After lunch, we will visit the atelier of one of Prato’s most renowned artists, where we can see her work in progress and purchase exquisite artworks. 

We will visit a garden dedicated to contemporary art and then meet at the BE workshop site for our mind, body, and spirit practices. The studio was handcrafted  by carpenters specially designed for restoration and mindfulness practices. This session ends at 8:00 pm, when we will gather for a light dinner at a restaurant nearby. 

Saturday, Day 2 - Art, Feet + Heart

Prato, September 12, from  10:00 to 6:00 pm 

Morning: We plan to visit the Nistri 33 gallery, which is hosting an exhibition dedicated to human rights, and meet with other artists if time allows. Know that the schedule is subject to change. At noon we will have lunch in a wonderful trattoria. 

Afternoon: Around 2:00 pm, we will return to Being Energy studio to continue deepening the practices to restore proprioception and awareness in the feet, enhance balance, and clarify your connection to the earth. We will integrate the breath, spinal movements, and your vision into these somatic processes to expand your way of thinking and describing reality. We will weave and merge the art experience while discovering the inner artist awaiting to emerge in you. 

"Anything is one of a million paths. Therefore, a warrior must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if he feels that he should not follow it, he must not stay with it under any conditions. His decision to keep on that path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. He must look at every path closely and deliberately. There is a question that a warrior has to ask, mandatorily: Does this path have a heart?"
- Carlos Castaneda

Workshop Art Guide

Assunta Sabina Preziosi

Born in 1957, Assunta Sabina Preziosi is an Italian artist, art therapist, and educator whose work has explored the relationship between creativity, nature, and inner transformation for more than four decades. She began painting as a teenager, inspired by dreams and an innate drive for artistic expression.

After years of self-directed study, she continued her training with teachers at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, later expanding her artistic practice to include ceramic decoration. Throughout her career, Assunta has combined artistic creation with education and community engagement. She founded artisan studios dedicated to painting on fabric, glass, and silk, creating paintings, mirrors, and handcrafted objects. After moving to Prato in 1994, she collaborated with the Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art and developed creative painting programs for children, adolescents, and adults, as well as expressive art workshops for psychiatric self-help groups in collaboration with healthcare professionals. Her paintings and ceramics have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout Tuscany and Naples.

Since 2015, her work has increasingly drawn inspiration from the Earth, incorporating natural pigments, sand, shells, stones, and sea glass. Today, she continues her artistic practice and works as an art therapist in Prato, Italy.

Workshop Facilitator

Movement Awareness for Lifelong Vitality

For more than 40 years, Aerin Alexander has taught movement as a pathway to health, vitality, and self-awareness. A student of art and movement, kinesiologist, somatic educator, dancer, writer, and international workshop leader, she holds a Master of Exercise Science and a second Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology.

A certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner since 2004, Aerin is also certified in Yoga, Gyrotonic®, Sounder Sleep System®, and is a Balanced Body® Pilates instructor. Her work reflects decades of study and teaching across multiple movement disciplines, integrating the science of biomechanics and nervous system function with refined practices that foster learning through movement and the development of embodied awareness. She has a gift for weaving the wisdom of ancient cultures into practical, everyday life, offering a global perspective shaped by years of teaching in different languages and countries.

Aerin is the founder and director of Being Energy®, where she shares the practices she learned during her apprenticeship with Carlos Castaneda and the knowledge of the shamans of ancient Mexico. For the past 17 years, she has created and guided the ongoing weekly Path with Heart classes, through which thousands of participants have explored movement, awareness, and self-discovery in a dynamic, respectful, and inspiring community dedicated to personal growth and meaningful human connection.

Two-day Workshop Schedule

PLACE

The workshop and all sites take place in Prato, 15 minutes from Florence.

DATES

Workshop begins on Friday, September 11 at  10:00 am and ends on Saturday, September 12 at  6:30 pm

TUITION

WORKSHOP DEPOSIT to reserve your spot is 50 Euros ($60 Dollars)

WORKSHOP ONE DAY 95 Euros ($115 Dollars) 

FULL WORKSHOP TWO DAYS – Early Bird before August 10: 175 Euros ($195 Dollars)

After August 10:  215 Euros ($245 Dollars)

Contacto y Registro

Contact Assunta Preziosi 

WhatsUp +39 333 318 4068

Register directly through this website. 

For a detailed schedule of teh two days in Prato, please email Aerin, click below. 

Art, Feet and Heart

Prato, Tuscany, Septiembre 11 and 12, 2026

Join us for four unique gatherings in Tuscany exploring the relationship between art, movement, perception, and the path of the heart.