OCTOBER 1 – 8, 2016: Yoga + Relaxation + Food + Culture in Tuscany with Chiara Guerrieri & Jen Mitchell
After a week of nourishing your spirit with Chiara and Jen, we think you’ll return in the most blissful mood!
Take a deep breath ….. You’ve just finished your yoga practice with a view of the Italian countryside. Next you might decide to explore neighboring villages or simply rest, anticipating the authentic Tuscan meal you’ll enjoy among your new friends before heading to a magical local winery or healing hot springs. Later, you’ll head to your SoulMat session, a unique therapeutic offering designed to unwind your back & neck in true Italian style.
Italian native turned Seattle-based yoga instructor Chiara Guerrieri has teamed up with Jennifer Mitchell and Twist Yoga for a week of unforgettable discoveries, transformational yoga and living the good life in the Tuscan countryside.
Example Daily Program
Relax by the pool at our restored villa, enjoy a massage, and delve into our daily yoga and SoulMat classes. We will begin each day with a vigorous morning practice and conclude with SoulMat sessions. Created in Italy but making its way worldwide, the SoulMat is a purposefully designed mat that follows the length and contours of your spine, allowing you to experience a slowing down of thinking and more vivid connection with your body and breath.
After practices, we will explore the local region through walks, bike rides and day trips to experience the beauty of this ancient region and its rich culinary heritage. Meals made from the freshest of local ingredients will be prepared for us by our personal chef and enjoyed around a traditional family-style table.
About Chiara Guerrieri
I began studying Yoga in 1983 as a way to rehabilitate and strengthen myself after a car accident. What I learned then was how to breathe, how to use the breath to connect with my body, how to track physical sensations from moment to moment, and how to find an internal wisdom to guide my movement and choices toward well-being.
When I teach, I aim to bring students’ attention to a place of presence and wonder. This is particularly helpful when students are working with injury or physical pain. My classes and workshops focus on wellness through discovery, guided by the extensive study I’ve done into the body’s inner workings. I focus on keeping instruction lively, accessible, encouraging and compassionate, with a dedication to work deeply and specifically, as well as with humor and irreverence.
Experience
Not only have I studied a wide-range of bodymind disciplines–Hypnosis, Neuro Linguistic Programing, Massage, Meditation, NonViolent Communication–but I’ve worked to master the material deeply enough to teach in each of these areas. Teaching itself is one of my greatest joys. A long-time mover and shaker, my passion for movement forms has enriched my entire life with dance, yoga and daily walks in nature.
Influences
Several teachers have cast a huge and loving influence over my growth as a teacher, practitioner and human being. I began under the guidance of Bob Smith. Ana Forrest introduced me a really radical approach to yoga, and to my first teacher training certification. Shari Friedrickson and Donna Fahri brought me into a softer, feminine inquiry. Currently, Rod Stryker challenges and guides my development as a student and a teacher
About Jen Mitchell
Jen began practicing yoga in 1997, with the goal to be able to touch her toes…. for the first time in her adult life. From those humble beginnings, Jen’s yoga practice has been transformational in her life and has provided tools for contemplation & perspective for self and others. Jen teaches with humor and humility, weaving life’s challenges with asana… ultimately so we may live a sweeter life off the mat.
Influences
She counts among her influences, her daughter Claire, her high school students (past and present,) teacher Melina Meza, and early in the early 2000s, NYC’s Om Yoga & Cyndi Lee. Since then, her teaching (and practice) has evolved by encounters -brief or lasting – at Kirtan Camp with Jai Uttal, exploring loving kindness with Stephen Cope and drop ins with great Seattle teachers Eiric Orvid & Amber Tande.
Jen is further influenced by Ashtanga teacher Maty Ezraty (and her assist, James Browne!) during a 2012 trip to India, and Judith Lasater, with whom she studied Level I and II Restorative Techniques in spring, 2011 and summer, 2013, respectively.
Style
Jen’s classes combine creative and physically challenging asana sequencing, with gentle, restorative poses. Expect japa mantra, pranayama and kriya in addition to asana. As an instructor, she invites individual exploration of the body, breath and mind as she believes that each student is their own best teacher. Most of all, Jen feels blessed to be part of Twist Yoga in Edmonds as she loves the energy, inspiration and unity that a yoga studio creates within the community.
Retreat Pricing
Room Type 1 – $2,095 USD Twin share room (two single beds) with shared bathroom (i.e 4 people sharing one bathroom)
Room Type 2 – $2,295 USD Twin share room (two single beds) with private bathroom (i.e 2 people sharing one bathroom)
Room Type 3 – $2,395 USD Single room (single bed) with private bathroom (i.e 1 person sharing one bathroom) Limited availability
All prices listed are per person, include early registration discount, and are valid until April 1, 2016. Add $150 if registering after April 1, 2016.
* Take $100 off your rate if you pay the remaining balance (after initial deposit) by check or money order
Registration
Register and leave a $300 deposit to secure your spot. You will be invoiced for two additional payments – one on May 1, 2016; balance on July 15, 2016.
For more information or if you have any questions please email: Jen on jen@twistyogaedmonds.com or Chiara on chiara@chiarayoga.com
What’s Included?
- 7 nights accommodation
- Twice daily yoga most days
- 3 delicious vegetarian meals per day (excluding one lunch out on Wednesday and one dinner out on a day to be decided)
- Tours and exploring: Italian cooking class, local winery tour & tasting, excursion to Pietrasanta Village, Guided bike tour to Lucca and Villa Grabau, day trip to Sienna or Pisa.
- Fresh home made juice at breakfast
- Unlimited fruit, water and herbal teas
- Local Wine at dinner
- Aperitivo with Prosecco, and pizza baked in wood-fired oven on the last night
- Use of salt-water swimming pool (without heating)
- Guided hike
- Use of Wi-Fi
- Laundry facilities
- Transfer to/from Lucca (one scheduled pick up and drop off only)
- Tourist tax
What’s Not Included?
- Entrance fees (not listed in inclusions
- Airfares
- Travel insurance
- Applicable tourist visas
- Airport transfers and taxes
- Optional excursions other than those specified as included in the price
- Optional Massages and Healing Arts Therapies
- Tips or gratuities
- Incidentals
Transport Options – Getting to and From Il Borghino
- The nearest airport to Lucca is Pisa international Airport “Galileo Galileo” – 18 Miles from Lucca
- Florence International Airport “Amerigo Vespucci” is 50 Miles from Lucca
- If you are flying into Rome, Fiumicino Airport is 162 miles from Lucca.
- Regular trains and buses run from both Pisa and Florence airports to Lucca and are very reasonably priced. Trains also run regularly from Rome airport but the trip is much longer and takes around 4.5 hours.
Check-in and Check-out
- Check-in at Il Borghino is strictly 4pm on the day of arrival.
- When booking your flights, we recommend you plan your arrival time in Lucca for around 15:30pm, to coincide with the group transfer to Il Borghino. There will be one scheduled pick-up only. Please email your arrival details to info@yogainitaly.com as soon as they are available. If you are unable to make the pick-up, we can arrange for a taxi to bring you to Il Borghino.
- Check-out at Il Borghino is strictly 09:30am on the last day. Please plan your departure flights accordingly.
