ABOUT
SANDY & GIANNA & THE POWER OF CREATIVITY
Sandy and Gianna are long time entrepreneurs with diverse creative backgrounds.
Sandy’s first book, Your Idea, Inc. (2010) inspired other first time entrepreneurs to turn a product idea into a business. In Breathe to Succeed (2019), she’s now focused on Workplace Wellness and shares her 30 years of experience utilizing the power of breath & mindfulness in business. Sandy has become a leading voice in breathwork, sharing a variety of simple yet powerful breath techniques to help enhance lives and change mindsets. She works with an array of groups, catering to corporate brands, entrepreneurs, parents, leadership/wellness retreats, conferences, and team building programs. She creates unique & bespoke breath/mindfulness experiences from one session to a series, in order to help clients reach goals.
Gianna, a figurative oil painter trained primarily in Florence, Italy, moved back to the Washington, DC area and launched Vallefuoco Contractors, a residential stone and tile company in 1999 with her husband. Based on principles of centuries old Italian artisanry, their company grew into an award-winning family business in the tile industry. As Gianna weaved mindfulness into her life, she began teaching construction clients how to create artful and intentional spaces in their homes. As an MMTCP mindfulness teacher, she now teaches her art and mindfulness programs to private companies, non profits, trade associations, and throughout the wellness community. Her students base includes psychologists, police and first responders, corporate teams, and community leaders. Her program is designed for anyone seeking a mindful approach to the creative mindset.
As fellow creatives, Sandy and Gianna consider creativity to be an essential human need. This can include the need to create meaningful relationships, careers, opportunities, fine art, or anything that brings a sense of accomplishment and connectedness to community. Their mutual desire to promote sustainable joy, wellness, and the innate power of creativity brought them together to create a program specifically designed to nurture the creative mindset. Their deep connection as childhood friends allowed them to expose a level of vulnerability about the fears, passions, and dreams of their own creative journeys. In 2019, the seed was planted for Align, Breathe, Create. When the pandemic hit, they were given the opportunity to teach their first workshop at Canyon Ranch. Since then, Align, Breathe, Create has gone global, with their first two programs launching in Italy in 2022.
GIANNA & SANDY
The ceom
SANDY
Sandy provided this beautiful garden to the chef at Canyon ranch Woodside. Giving and receiving gratitude are part of the creative mindset. Sandy’s Breath & Mindset techniques are for “in the moment” empowerment. No need to master the art of stillness or reserve chunks of time. Her tried and true advice fits right into your busy day; enhancing your thoughts, energy, creativity and clarity that lead to better decisions, more meaningful business relationships, optimal energy, success and wellbeing. Sandy works with a variety of groups, designing breath and mindfulness experiences to help you reach goals. She has had years of experience with corporate brands, entrepreneurs, parents, leadership/wellness retreats, conferences, team building, 1:1 Coaching. Even these herbs are flourishing from Sandy’s powerful tools!
The artist
GIANNA
Gianna’s artistic journey began in Florence, Italy and lead her back to the suburbs of Washington, DC, where she and Sandy grew up. As an artist, mindfulness teacher, and undeniable science geek, Gianna is known for weaving neuroscience into her art workshops and creativity retreats, teaching how to optimize the mind for creativity, motivation, and thriving within our communities. Gianna’s experience as the Co-owner of a custom tile and stone business in Maryland for over 24 years, has given her the opportunity to help thousands of clients design intentional spaces. Once she began teaching mindfulness, she realized she could also help her clients design better lives. She now teaches to groups across diverse industries, and continues to share both the most ancient mindfulness tools and newest science-based principles for creativity. She completed her 2 year MMTCP practicum with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield through The Awareness Training Institute and Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley and her Interpersonal Neurobiology certificate with Dr Dan Siegel. Gianna’s insight includes ancient wisdom, neuroscience principles, and a good dose of laughter and curiosity!
The creative PATH
MINDFULNESS MEETS ART
To access the creative mindset, Sandy and Gianna unite their passions for breathwork and fine art. Sandy, the breathwork guru, and Gianna, the artist, are both long time mindfulness practitioners. They teach mindfulness as fitness for the mind, as a means for becoming skilled in using the conscious mind, or simply evoking awareness. This awareness encompasses strengthening the traits of compassion, curiosity, gratitude, presence, and removing the obstacles to these traits. Learning how to minimize judgement, shame, and blame is a crucial component in fostering the creative mindset. The intention is to make creativity accessible at any time. To sustain any mindset, it takes practice to make that mindset become reflexive or habitual. This practice includes breathwork, spontaneous drawing, journaling, and other empowering mindfulness tools.