** CANCELLED
AUGUST 14 – 21, 2021 | FIND YOUR “SELF” IN TUSCANY – with UCCI, LESLEY + HOLLY
“Yoga balances, purifies, harmonizes and strengthens the body, mind and soul”
“Find yourself” in Tuscany … or alternatively ‘lose yourself’ here – it’s up to you!
Think vineyards and olive groves running down to a beautiful medieval city. Sunshine by a pool, Warmth on a shaded terrace. Peace and Tranquility. Rest and relaxation. Delicious local food and wines. Yoga flow, releasing somatic movements, yin yoga and yoga nidra, restorative practice, fun yoga in the pool Time wandering around the walled city of Lucca. Linger over aperitivi in a piazza. Try the local specialities. Optional trips. Come with friends. Make new friends. Enjoy great company in a beautiful setting.
Join Lesley, Ucci and Holly for a week of beautiful yoga in one of the most stunning parts of the world. Two to three yoga sessions a day will leave you challenged, relaxed, and restored to a place you want to be. We’ll explore Lucca – and beyond if you wish. Alternatively, you may sit by the pool, or on one of the shaded terraces, and take in breathtaking views as you relax, read, snooze, and feel the pressures of life fade into the distance. It’s your week and everything is just for you.
Location
Exclusively ours for the week, Il Borghino (little village) consists of four houses, three with accommodation, the fourth being a communal space next to the salt-water pool with an indoor studio (lit by the light from the pool), a sauna, and an eating and relaxation area. Each house has its own indoor and outdoor seating area providing lots of space and opportunity for privacy. Delicious meals of farm-to-table vegetarian Tuscan cuisine are served daily, complete with local olive oil and wine. We have access to a fully-equipped yoga studio, as well as multiple outdoor spaces should we prefer to practice overlooking the valley below
The Yoga
Our sessions will include mindful yoga flow and hatha yoga for mobility, strength, flexibility and balance, yin yoga, restorative yoga and yoga nidra, meditation, somatic movement and stretch. We’ll also be water babies in the pool. Yoga will be practiced outside by the pool, in the shala among the vineyards or in the indoor yoga studio. There is nothing quite like Sunrise & Sunset sessions where you can fully savor the serenity of the Tuscan countryside.
Optional Activities
As well as all the yoga on offer, there are a range of fabulous excursions and activities available if you should wish to venture out and explore the incredible surroundings or stay in and indulge in a massage. Examples include:
- A bike and walking cultural tour of Lucca with a local guide;
- A wine tasting excursion – a scenic 3 km walk to a beautiful local winery followed by an interesting tour and tasting
- Puccini Opera in Lucca – for the opera lovers, this is a 1 hour taste of Puccini in stunning surroundings
- A cooking class – learn from the best with our local cook who dishes up all our wonderful meals during the retreat
- Massages and spa treatments – you are most definitely in for a treat with our incredible local therapist who will be on hand throughout the retreat to offer various treatments.
About Ulrica Ask (Ucci)
For over 12 years, Ucci has been a full-time yoga practitioner having trained in various yoga traditions including Iyengar, Sivananda and Vinyasa Flow. Ucci’s continued training development has included residential courses with Donna Farhi, Shiva Rea, Ana Forrest, Tias Little, Julie Martin, Judith Hanson Lasater (Restorative Yoga) and Lisa Petersen (Somatic Movement). Based on an organic fusion of the various forms of yoga she has experienced, Ucci teaches in her own vinyasa flow style which is continually evolving and she has led a number of highly popular workshops and retreats. In June 2018 Ucci taught her five thousandth yoga class…several hundred more have been added since then. At this retreat, Ucci will offer Mindful Body Balance Hatha Flow classes. These are somatic movement classes and are a fusion between somatic and restorative yoga – a pretty unique opportunity.
More details about Ucci at www.ucciyoga.com
About Lesley Roberts
Lesley has been practising yoga for 15 years and teaching for 10 and loves to share her practice with anyone who wants to explore its benefits for them. She teaches groups and individuals, now in both English and Italian – though the latter is still a work in progress!
Qualified as a Sivananda Yoga Siromani, she has studied Yoga as Medicine, with Timothy McCall, at level 1, Yoga Anatomy with Ray Long, and is part of the ‘Intelligent Yoga Rebellion’ of Julie Martin’s. She has been a follower of Ucci for almost 15 years. Lesley’s teaching focuses on movement, and her more dynamic sessions will complement Ucci’s approach to somatic movement with flows that reflect a mindful practice through balance, fluidity, resilience, and functional strength.
About Holly Greenwell
Holly started her yoga journey in 2000 when she returned from travelling and found that she was stressed while studying for a Masters Degree. She was so amazed at the power her yoga practice gave her to overcome stress and take control of her life that she trained as a teacher with the British Wheel of Yoga, achieving her teaching diploma in 2007. Holly has studied with Shiva Rea, Uma Dinsmore Tuli, David Sye and Sarah Powers amongst others. Holly teaches a spirited Hatha flow and her grounded and humorous approach is very inclusive. She also leads Yin yoga and meditation, and she will offer these at Il Borghino, blending them with Ucci’s restorative approach. Holly and Ucci have run a number of highly successful retreats together in the UK over a number of years.
What’s Included?
- 2 – 3 Yoga sessions every day including use of yoga mats, blocks, blankets, belts, and bolsters, plus additional yoga mats for use outdoors
- 7 nights’ accommodation at villa, linens and towels
- 3 delicious vegetarian meals daily (minus one lunch and one dinner when we head out to explore)
- Fresh detox fruit / vegetable juice at breakfast
- Local wine at dinner (1/2 bottle per person, per night)
- Unlimited fruit, water, and herbal tea throughout the day.
- Transfer from/to Lucca to/from the retreat centre on the day of arrival and departure (one scheduled pick-up and drop-off only). Transfers outside of the scheduled pick-up and drop off are not included.
- Outdoor salt-water pool and large communal areas
- Steam room / sauna (first session complimentary, thereafter €70 per session)
- Pool Towels, Hair dryers and use of laundry facilities
- Free Wi-fi
- Tourist tax
What’s Not Included?
- Airfare from/to your home city
- Travel insurance
- Ground transportation outside the scheduled pick-up on arrival day and drop-off on departure day *
- One lunch and one dinner out when we are out out on excursions.
- Any other additional meals you choose to have outside the retreat centre.
- Massages and Optional activities other than those specified as included in the retreat price
- Other travel-related expenses
* Transfers outside the scheduled pick-up or drop-off can be arranged for an additional fee
Retreat Prices, per person
Room Type 1 – Twin room + shared hallway bathroom. twin beds / 2 people per room €1625 (EUR) per person
Room Type 2 – Twin Room + Private bathroom. twin beds / 2 people per room. €1725 (EUR) per person. Note that some bathrooms are not ensuite and are located just outside the room.
Room Type 3 – Twin Room + Private Bathroom. double bed / 2 people per room. €1725 (EUR) per person. Note that some bathrooms are not ensuite and are located just outside the room.
Room Type 4 – Single Room + Private Bathroom. single bed / 1 person per room. €1825 (EUR) per person
Terms and Conditions
We ask for a 20% non-returnable deposit and will give you all details of what to pay, how to pay and when, when you contact us via email, wishing to book.
Spaces are very limited and accommodation will be assigned on a first come, first served basis.
All prices listed are per person and assume double occupancy (except for the single room). If you would like to turn a twin or double room into a single room so that you can have it for yourself (the beds will make a king size bed) please add the single supplement fee of €300 (EUR) per person for rooms with a shared bathroom and €500 (EUR) per person for rooms with a private bathroom.
For more information, click on the button “Reserve Your Place” or contact Lesley at myogalife100@gmail.com
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 at 3:45pm. 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.
