YOGA – retreat in nature (1 or 2 Weeks)
I am happy because I choose to be so.
June 7 to 13, 2010 and/or June 13 to 19, 2010
July 5 to 11 and/or July 11 to 17
September 6 to 12, 2010 and/or September 12 to 18, 2010
or request your own dates
group minimum 6 /maximum 16
(all levels welcome from advanced beginner to instructor level)
The total cost of the Yoga Holiday Tour will be waived in part or in whole for yoga teachers who bring 10+ students with them.
Deepen your yoga 
practice and explore the inner you while staying in a beautifully refurbished hermitage in the Umbrian mountains near Spoleto. (Detailed description at the end of this page.) Each room has a private bath. And there is a swimming pool as well as hiking trails.
This is a full yoga retreat, that is: a very physical class in the morning, optional nature adventures or quiet time in nature in the afternoon, followed by a quieter evening class to include mental exercises, diverse 
pranayama (breathing techniques), and meditation.
While I would like to provide a very tranquil and peaceful environment and ask all guests to be respectful of one another, this retreat should also be a fun and enriching experience where talking and indulging in the 5 senses is encouraged (not prohibited).
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Included:
2 yoga classes daily
Theme meditations
Guided hike
Cooking class
All meals at the hermitage
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.Extras:
Horse-back riding
Rafting
Guided tours of nearby towns (see Umbria Daytrips)
Daytrip to the Marmore Waterfalls and Lake Piediluco
Festival outings
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Cost of Retreat (not including extras):
Prices per person / per week
Suite for 2 people: euro1900 = $2850 (only 1 available)
Jr. Suite for 2 people: euro1740 = $2610 (only 3 available)
Double for 2 people: euro 1700 = $2550
Single in a double: euro 2030 = $3045
Single: euro 1675 = $2512 (only 1 available)
Day 1 – Evening theme:
According to the Dalai Lama, the goal of life is to search for happiness. But what is happiness? And what is the difference between happiness and pleasure?
Day 2 Evening theme:
Light attracts light. But how does one eliminate the darkness?
Day 3 Evening theme:
Defend your convictions: What does Krishna say?
Day 4 Evening theme:
What determines happiness? Who has more power: the mind or the situations?
Day 5 Evening theme:
Gratitude, Positivity, and Creation of a ‘Mantra’ for your life.
Day 6 Evening theme:
The candle ritual: letting go of worry and creating light.
Day 7 Early morning class followed by breakfast and departure. Arrivederci!
STRUCTURE
10 AM – 12.30 AM – Active morning class, breathing techniques and light meditation.
1pm – 6pm – lunch and free time / nature adventures.
6pm – 8pm – quieter evening class, mental exercises, respiration techniques, and longer meditation.
8pm – light dinner
Meals: Vegetarian meals available upon request; if you have any food allergies, please let me know in advance of your arrival. You should indicate your food requirements under Comments on your Travel Form when you register.
How to arrive:
If you prefer airport pickup in Rome, please let me know (and if we can arrange for the whole group to be picked up, the cost will be less). Private pick-up service will obviously cost more. Buses and trains are also available from the airport. Let me know your flight arrival time and I will help you to arrange for the best possible option.
If you arrive directly at the Perugia airport or train station, you can rent a car, take a taxi, or I can arrange a car service for you.
Time to arrive at the retreat location:
preferably between 11:30am and 5 pm on the first day of the retreat. The first yoga class and retreat introduction begins at 6pm.
About Yoga Maestra: Marena Lobosco
Marena is a teacher of yoga, pilates, qigong, and meditation and she also practices reiki and ayurveda. She was a university instructor in New York. She was also a dancer and choreographer in the Equinox Dance Troupe in California as well as in Notes in Motion in New York. She studied oriental disciplines in diverse Ashrams in New York and India.
Her principle philosophies:
• Krishnamurti
• Patanjali
• Dalai Lama
The type of Hatha Yoga she teaches: Vinyassa, Iyengar, and ISHTA
• Vinyassa: every movement goes with a breath
• Iyengar: very precise movements for maximum benefits and to protect the body
• ISHTA: to open the meridan canals of the body and the balance the chakras
Certifications:
• for yoga: Yoga Works (NY) and Yoga Alliance (USA)
• for reiki: The International Center for Reiki Training
About HERMITAGE / RESIDENCE
History: At the end of the 5th Century AD, Saint Isaac of Antiochia chose Monteluco as the place to re-establish, with his followers, the hermit lifestyle that he had to abandon in Syria due to persecution. Immersed in the sacred wood of Monteluco, the Hermitage through the centuries became a centre of spiritual and ascetic life; in 1547 Bishop Fabio Vigili established the ‘Congregation of the Hermit Friars of Monteluco’, and the Hermitage of Santa Maria delle Grazie soon become their spiritual home.
On the 18th of September 1556, Michelangelo, by that time in his 80’s, aware if the imminent invasion of Rome by Spanish troops led by the Duke of Alba, hid “in the mountains of Spoleto” not only because of his close relationship with the then Bishop Alessandro Farnese, but also for the great spiritual prestige that the community around the Hermitage of Santa Maria delle Grazie had earned. In a letter addressed to Vasari, he wrote that he had experienced “great pleasure in the mountains of Spoleto visting these hermits..” and “that truly only in the woods is there peace”, which has become a motto that can be found repeated many times around the Hermitage.
The bishop of Spoleto, Sanvitale in 1591 and Cardinal Cybo (1613-1700) were so fond of the place that they expanded and enriched it with beautiful decor. In 1806 the army of Napoleon occupied the Hermitage, leaving signs on the walls of their presence, showing that the Hermitage may have been used as a hospital. In 1860 the heritage of the Congregation of the Hermit Friars of Monteluco passed to the local Charitable Congregation and the Hermitage was subsequently sold to a private owner. In 1918 it was bought by Professor Arrigo Piperno, a famous dentist who had amongst his patients noted public figures such as Pope Pius XII, members of the royal family, D’Annunzio and Mussolini. In 1952 his nephew, Professor Pio Lalli, bought the Hermitage from him and continued the conservation and refurbishing work with the same passion with which his beloved uncle had started it. In 1991 it was listed as a ‘Historic Residence’ (the first of its kind in Umbria) with the aim of bringing attention to the antique building and its historical importance, both in Italy and abroad.
Details: This hermitage/historical residence is really a special place. It includes its own private chapel, wine cellar, library, walking paths in the wooded mountain area around the hermitage, and the house contains its original furniture so that you really feel like you are living in another epoch.
The rooms are former ‘cells’ where the monks lived (although they have opened up 2 or 3 cells for each room). There are not private terraces, but rather there are private sitting areas for each room. However, because there are only a few rooms in the entire residence, you should feel quite ‘private’ on the large shared terraces (there are two). While the rooms and bathrooms have been modernized, the ‘hermitage’ now aristocratic summer residence of a family from Rome (dentists for the Vatican, which is thus how they came to acquire such a sacred space), there are no TVs in the rooms and the one TV in the public area (which is cozy and accommodating) does not have access to all your favorite programs. It also may not have some other modern conveniences such as safes, air-conditioning in every room (although it won’t be needed at this time of year), Internet service, etc.
The desire they have for their clients is to enjoy the tranquility of where you are – which is no where like you have been before.
