How a busy university student went from sleep deprived to energized
“I really can tell the difference in my mind and in my body: more energy, more focus.”
Between lectures, assignments, and the pressure of finishing her Master's degree, Vittoria found herself running on empty. This is a story of how she's rebuilding her energy, focus, and relationship with movement- one mindful session at a time.
I'm a young human of 26yo and I will graduate with a Master degree in Literature, in a few months. This life I've been living for five years now is made of lots of studying, reading, writing, listening... which is great! I consider myself very lucky for having the chance to study so much, but that also means a lot of sitting - which sucks! If I have to describe one casual day of my life, it'll be like this: I get up as early as I can, I do my breakfast with intentions (I love breakfasts), I spend the morning reading, then I try to move myself a little before lunch, then I cook some lunch, and I dive straight into writing and reviewing some literature until dinner time. Then I try to move a little more before my after dinner hobbies and try to get the most restful sleep possible.
To be honest I've grown some consciousness about movement since the high school years, more than 10 years ago. Also I've been knowing Manu since two years when I started the Hips Like Honey program. In September 2025 I turned to Kaya with trust and hopes after seven months of chronic stress and personal traumas that led me to sleep deprivation, lack of energy, anxious moods, tachycardias, and of course I wasn't able to move my body because I felt so stuck.
I knew Manu was going to launch her app and I was waiting for that day like Christmas. It was the right thing at the moment I needed it most. I was sure that entering Kaya was the right thing to do, because I was craving for some mindful movement that would help me get over my traumas and regain that confidence and sense of well-being that I had lost.
Starting again from where I was it hasn't been easy and I'm still on my way of recovering. But Kaya made it easier. Now I'm creating a stable morning routine where I wake up and follow some lessons from the "Rise and Shine" journey. Before lunch I try to do some spicy lessons (Shake the Past, Hip Spice, for example, or The Purge, and by the way the launch of the "I am Strong" journey was the best blessing). Before dinner or after dinner I try to include some more minutes of movement: something that help me to slow down or focus on some areas (Gut Feeling, Hip Rinse, Spinal Energy, Core Care and the new Core Therapy)
I really can tell the difference in my mind, first, and in my body as well: more energy, more focus. But the thing I enjoy the most of my life with Kaya is the knowledge that Manu offers in every lessons: that is something I'll be carrying in my life forever and that actually changed my attitude versus movement's practices.
Hey you, out there. Here's what I'll tell you: you can find tons of youtube channels, instagrams pages, sites or gyms where they might tell you the newest secret to move your body, that magical routine that will get you to the best shape of yourself. But if that is something I learned from these years, following Manu, is that movement is not fitness, movement is live and therefore is a complex theme: you might find yourself actually moving your body, without doing something good for yourself because it was a harmful way to move. It's not your fault: everyone wants to sell their movement recipe. I cannot know if Manu's recipe is the one that you're looking for, but I can tell you that it is probably one of the best you'll ever find.
