Piero Urban graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy at the University of Bologna with a thesis entitled “Yoga and Sound: Observations on States of Consciousness”. He holds a diploma in “Yoga Education” from the Kuvalayananda Institute of Psychosomatics and Integral Yoga in Turin, affiliated with the Kaivalyadhama Institute S.M.Y.M. Samiti in Lonavla, India. He trained under Dr. Porrovecchio, Dr. Shrikrishna, Dr. M. L. Gharote and Dr. Vijayendra Pratap, for whom he also served as an interpreter during training courses for over ten years.
A member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, he has been teaching Yoga for 25 years. He has also worked as a consultant for the Municipality of Turin in the field of social and healthcare assistance for people with disabilities over the age of 14.
He has practised Vipassana meditation since 1993 and has trained under both Eastern and Western teachers, monastics and lay practitioners, including:
Father Andrea Schnoller
Prof. Corrado Pensa
Carol Wilson
Michele McDonald-Smith
Stephen Smith
Frank Ostaseski
Bhante Bodhidhamma
Brother Dassana
For the past 15 years, Ven. Bhante Sujiva has been his principal teacher. Piero has deepened his practice with him through long intensive retreats and has served as his interpreter during retreats, as well as translating his text on the Abhidhamma.
He has taught in professional ethics training courses for care-home staff at Alba Solidarietà, a diocesan non-profit association, and at the F.A.R.O. Hospice in Turin, focusing on the teaching and application of Mindfulness and Loving-Kindness Meditation (Vipassana and Mettā) in situations of distress and difficulty.
