Who We Are

From opposite ends of the Earth, Emma and Carlos weren't searching for each other—or anyone at all. Yet, in the quiet of his evening in Canada and her morning in Germany, they found themselves silently connected through meditation. Using the Insight Timer™ app, their simultaneous practice was no coincidence but a serendipitous crossing of paths. A simple message popped up: "Thank you for meditating with me." And with that heartfelt note, a remarkable journey began...Emma began her meditation practice over 30 years ago, she is a certified MBSR trainer (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) and a trained teacher for Mindful Self compassion (MSC).For the past 20 years she has taught mindfulness and self-compassion courses, coached individuals and run workshops in her own practice in Munich/ Germany (Practice for Mindful Living) and at various public Organizations and private Corporations.In 2018, she became, along with Carlos, a certified Shinrin Yoku practitioner in England, and later at the University of Munich in Germany. She is a co-designer and practitioner of our Shinrin-yoku (Forest Therapy) program in Europe.Carlos comes from many places. Italian genes, born in Argentina, Canadian by choice and now living in Europe. No matter where he has lived, nature has always been a pivotal part of his life. Growing up in a vineyard, part of his family farming business in Argentina, he always spent most of his free time outdoors, among (and often on) trees.Forests have always been his passion and fortunately he’s had the chance to “mingle” with a very diverse range of trees, like ancient eucalyptus specimens in his childhood in Argentina; maple, birch, oak and a extensive selection of conifers during his 3 decade life in Canada and now, the European families of beech, chestnut, linden together with spruce and fir in his new life in Bavaria. His instinctive attraction to trees was then strengthened by learning about the Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku or Forest Bathing.He studied Shinrin-Yoku techniques in England, Germany and Japan. He developed a Forest Therapy program influenced by his mentor Dr. Yoshifumi Miyazaki and his 30 plus years of research showing the overwhelming evidence on body and mental health benefits of “Forest Therapy” (Dr. Miyazaki coined this term himself back in 2003).Carlos co-founded Universe Mindfulness with his wife Emma, with the idea of offering wellness escapes throughout Europe with the main theme of Mindfulness in Nature, guiding participants to become reacquainted with nature and to reconnect with it in a deeper and more healing manner than ever before.