Italy retreat

Portals to the Infinite –  Meditation, Yoga, Movement and Breath-work Retreat Immersion w/Patricia & Surya
Monticello Amiata, Southern Tuscany, Italy  September 29 – October 5, 2024

Pause… come into the Tuscan hills…far away from distraction…renew and deepen into your soul. Flowing Yoga asana, Meditation, and Breathwork sessions for healing, insight, and expansion of consciousness…and an authentic Italian cooking class to taste La Dolce Vita, the sweet life of rural Tuscany.  This will be our 7th retreat in Tuscany.

You will be immersed in the beauty and slow pace of Tuscan life at Le Pianore, an 800 year old villa in the magnificent hills of Monte Amiata in Monticello, southern Tuscany.  With its spectacular views, fabulous walking, swimming pool bordered by cypress trees, and sumptuous cuisine, Le Pianore offers an environment of conscious sustainability, and an experience of the Italian way of living life where ease and enjoyment reign.  Reviews of Le Pianore may be found here on “Trip Advisor.”

For a short video of Le Pianore click here.

Each day there will be three sessions. The focus of our sessions is to open energy pathways, expand awareness, quiet the mind and experience the stillness and ease of our True Nature.

FEE  
Shared twin room w/private bath $1,895 per person 
Single w/shared bath $1,995 
Single Large Yurt w/private bath $1,995  
Single w/private bath $2,295 

Yoga sessions invite deep listening, fluid unwinding, and awakening sensation as guide back to body’s innate intelligence. This approach to practice, shifts the habit of “doing” asana to an unfolding, by feeling and sensing our way thru the practice. Sessions will be guided with periods for self exploration and discovery.

Meditation and self inquiry sessions encourage becoming familiar with the rest and ease of our essential nature. The meditation sessions offer mindfulness and breath awareness based on Vipassana meditation as well as non-dual, open awareness meditation, and self inquiry.  

Movement explorations allow for slipping thru the cracks of our conditioning, experiencing a different vibrational energy to directly embody Essence and True Home.

Breathwork is a rare offering in yoga and meditation retreats and is an experience of healing, enhanced well-being, insight, and the direct experience of expanded consciousness.  It is a profound dimension of our retreats.

The ancient, rural beauty and the slow pace of life at Le Pianore, create a rare environment for restoring the soul and remembering what truly matters. To enhance the benefit of this breathwork, meditation and yoga retreat silent periods will be observed.

On the first day of the retreat, October 16, 2024, you will be picked up in Siena at the Hotel NH Excelsior on Via Tozzi at 3PM for the 40 minute ride to Le Pianore. Between inspiring practice sessions, enjoy walks on the sacred land and environs of Le Pianore, and to the nearby hill town. Perhaps you might plan to arrive a few days before or stay a few days after the retreat to enjoy Florence, Siena and the Tuscan hill towns, opening the heart to the slow, sensual way of life that is Italy and it’s unique gift of evoking both inner and outer beauty. All meals are prepared from the organic gardens at Le Pianore and imbued with long loved art of Italian cooking.

On the last day of retreat, October 21, 2024 we will leave Le Pianore after breakfast, arriving at Siena by 10AM from where you can make your connections to airports or embark on further travel in Italy.

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

September 29 –  Pick up in Siena at the N.H. Hotel on Via Tozzi
(* note you may choose to fly into Florence, Pisa or Rome. However the ONLY pick up and drop off is in Siena.  Many people arrive a day or more earlier to tour Florence, Siena other areas of Tuscany or Italy)
3:00 PM meet at N.H. Hotel  on Piazza la Lizzie in Siena for the 40 minute drive to Le Pianore.
6:00 PM Dinner
8:00 PM Orientation and Meditation

September 30 – October 4 
7:30 Coffee, tea, fruit
8 – 10  AM  Meditation, Yoga Asana, Movement & Breath
10:00 Brunch
4 – 6:00 PM  Yin and Restorative Yoga, Breathwork, Meditative Movement
6 PM Dinner
7:30 – 8:00  PM  Meditation

October 5
Departure after breakfast with shuttle to Sienna arriving 10 AM
Most convenient flights are into Rome, Pisa and Florence with many transportation options to Siena.  

Fee includes
-Transportation from the Siena to Le Pianore on the first day and from Le Pianore to the Siena bus station on the day of departure.
-Six nights private or double accommodations in family run 800 year old Tuscan Villa 
-All of the sessions mentioned above
– Organic, locally sourced Italian meals prepared by a professional chef served each day
– Personal time for walking to villages and through the surrounding olive groves and vineyards

The fee does not include
– Pick up or drop off on the first and last day from any point other than the Siena Hotel NH Excelsior at the appointed times..

NOTE: Important Travel Information

Choose a flight schedule to arrive in SIENA at Hotel NH  on Piazza La Lizzie no later than Sunday, September 29, 2024 for the 3PM pickup. Train and bus service is quick and easy from all major airports in Italy into Siena. On the day of departure, Saturday October 5, we will have transport to Siena  from where you can connect to other buses or to the Siena train station for travel to any airport, to Florence or to other areas of Italy. 

Further travel information on the FAQ link here and below.

To Register:

First please contact us to determine if space is available.  A deposit of $500 is due in full upon registration.  To register click here. Indicate that you are registering for the Tuscany Italy yoga retreat and your choice of accommodation.  Payments are non-refundable and non-transferable.   Balance is due June 15, 2024.

There are 18 spaces for this retreat.

For further information about this retreat please see FAQ page here.

To go to website of Le Pianore Retreat Center click here.

Link to video of Le Pianore here.

To read more about the style of teaching here.

For a page with information on “Why take a Retreat” click here.

Testimonials:
I’ve just returned from a 6 day yoga retreat at Le Pianore and can’t recommend it enough. The location is simply stunning and the whole place has vibrant warmth and heart running through it. The passion that exudes from Elena, her family and all her staff is infectious. Elena is a wonderful host, full of life, passion and crucial local knowledge. The rooms are spacious and comfortable and the home cooking using local organic ingredients including vegetables grown on site and wine from Elena’s vineyard is simply divine. The ethos of using local organic ingredients extends throughout: bottles of olive oil and lavender oils from the garden were a real treat. Location wise, it’s suitably hidden in the Tuscan Hills, perfect if you want a respite from the hectic tourism of city life while a short hike into a rural local village. I left recharged and relaxed after 6 days under the Tuscan sun and wrapped in the warm glow of outstanding Italian hospitality. I’ll definitely be back for more. Bellissimo!

Click here for Italy Retreat Gallery