How Lume began.

Lume didn't begin as a studio. It began as an idea that wouldn't go away — the idea of a place where I could work the way I would have wanted to be worked on.

Ten years

I worked in wellness centers, in gyms, in larger studios. In each one I learned something, and in each one I felt something else missing. Sometimes it was time. Sometimes it was attention to the individual. Sometimes it was simply a quiet room.

The schools

I trained at Diabasi — one of the most rigorous schools in Italy — and then at over twenty-five other courses across Italy and Europe. Deep tissue, myofascial, sports, lymphatic drainage, holistic, prenatal, Wat Po Thai. Every certification was a different way of reading the body. They all converge, in the end, into a single practice.

The decision

When I decided to open something of my own, the easy option would have been to join an existing center. More walk-in traffic, lower fixed costs, an existing clientele. I chose the opposite: one room, in a residential neighborhood, away from the tourist center.

Coverciano felt like the right place. It is a lived-in district, neighbors who greet each other, close to the Franchi stadium and the local sports clubs. There is little noise and a great deal of natural light — the afternoon light from the window is what gave the studio its name.

Lume

Lume means light, but also presence. The presence of the one who listens, and of the one who allows themselves to be listened to. It is a short, old, Italian word — fitting for a place that tries to be those three things.

The studio is open by appointment, one person at a time. And it is exactly as I had imagined it.