Yoga Retreat Reflections

I feel so fortunate to have participated in Tama’s yoga retreat in Northern Italy this past summer. It was truly magnifico! From our lodging on Lago Maggiore (inclusive of some of the most inspired and delicious cuisine I’ve ever had the pleasure to consume), to our twice-daily group yoga sessions and our additional private classes, to our excursions (visiting le isole/the islands of Lago Maggiore + wine tasting + riding the funicular, and more!), we spent a delightful week together. Grazie mille, Tama, for everything! Let me know when you plan another retreat. I will happily join you anywhere in the world!
Namaste,
Susie

Italy Retreat Reflections8/27/08

It is hard to believe that two months have passed since our incredible yoga retreat in Italy (6/21/08 to 6/28/08). It was an amazing experience. I am fortunate to have been one of Tama’s yoga students for a long time. We were even students together before she began her own teacher training. I have always enjoyed, learned and benefited from Tama’s thoughtful instruction in Iyengar, Ashtanga and restorative yoga.

The retreat took learning to another level due to the concentrated luxury of two 1.5 hour classes daily: a physically challenging class in the morning and a separate restorative class in the early evening. We also had individual sessions on the second day of the retreat so that Tama could provide informed instruction to us for the rest of the week. This was in addition to completing detailed questionnaires prior to the retreat so that Tama understood our needs and goals.
It was another luxury to have only four students in our class. We had a beautiful studio (with a gracious hostess) in a small town in lovely Northern Italy.

Two of us were working around injuries. Tama provided modifications that allowed us to participate fully without pain, and in fact the work that we did promoted healing. I have never had the opportunity to have a vigorous class and several hours later, a focused restorative class. Tama did a lot of work with us on pranayama during restorative sessions. It was so interesting and beneficial to reflect physically on the work done earlier in the day. Closing the afternoon with the restorative class was a wonderful bridge to our lingering dinners (I can’t even begin to describe the food) on the lake front terrace at our hotel.

In addition to our yoga classes, we had many choices of interesting and serendipitous activities during the afternoons. It was very helpful that Tama, Susie and Mike all speak Italian, as we were a bit off the beaten tourist path (yeah!). Tama did a wonderful job of driving us all over the area; Rebecca was a stellar navigator, and together we had tons of fun. Rebecca and I even learned some Italian. I could go on and on, but as they say in Italy, Basta!


--Ellen 8/27/08

Yoga Retreat June 21-8, 2008 Lago Maggiore--the Real Thing!

We've returned from our wonderful week together in Laveno, Italy. Everything changed at the last minute--a long story which I will relate in another post--changing venue, city, hotel. But, like all great adventures, it turned out for the best. The photo is from my hotel room at the Il Porticciolo which was our home base. The hotel is right on the lake--we could hear the gentle lapping of the waves on the hotel foundation--and watch the sunset glistening on the water.


Susie found a Conde' Nast publication with a listing of great restaurants in Italy--guess what? Our Il Porticciolo restaurant in the little, off-the-tourist-track town was on the list! The food was delicious and beautifully presented:

And the yoga studio? Perfect! Plus the owner, Luciana, was the most beautiful person--inside and out--who went out of her way to make us feel welcome. We'd come into the studio to find lovely almond meringues, or mini pizzas, or samples of organic lotions and balms. She cooked a feast for us, took us everywhere, smoothed our way, and became our dear, dear friend.





We had a wonderful group of people: Susie, Mike, Ellen and Rebecca. More on our adventures together to come in future posts. It's great to be home--but I miss everyone!










I'll be posting recipes from Italy on the blog I created for my work:
http://winefromtouringandtasting.blogspot.com/
ciao for now, Tama

Links to Lago Maggiore

Here's some websites describing the area:

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Italy/Lombardy/Lago_Maggiore-148939/General_Tips-Lago_Maggiore-BR-1.html

http://www.world66.com/europe/italy/lombardia/lagomaggiore

http://www.illagomaggiore.com/?set_language=en&cl=en

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187843-s403/Lake-Maggiore:Italy:Off.The.Beaten.Path.html

Retreat location

The best way to locate Sarigo on the map is to use the interactive map from MapQuest:

http://www.mapquest.it/mq/maps/madAddress.do

If this link doesn't open in your browser, just go to http://www.mapquest.com and click on "Maps outside the US and Canada", then click on the "Italy" link, then enter "Sarigo"

Here are a couple of maps--note that the train station stop is in Porto Valtravaglia. The retreat center is in Sarigo, a couple people are staying at Casa Speroni in Castelveccana.