Thursday, July 22, 2010

Yoga Retreat at Santa Maria del Sole 18-24 Oct 2010


Venue:
The Santa Maria del Sole is located in Puglia, the heel of Italy, in the countryside of Martina Franca, Cisternino and Ostuni. The place is a masseria, typical puglian farmhouse, completely dedicated to yoga practice and meditation.
Their farmhouse, Santa Maria del Dole (St. Mary of The Sun) is nestled on a hillside with a panorama view of the Itria Valley. It is on 15 hectares of land, full of hundred year old oak trees, olive trees, fruit trees, lavender, rose gardens, pure air and sunshine.

All rooms are en suite

The nearest airports are Brindisi Airport (45 minutes) and Bari Airport (1h30min.). There are several airlines fly to those airports.

There is transport service by the venue with an extra cost of up to 70 Euros (per car/ up to 4 persons). There are bigger vehicles, if enough people arrive at the same time and the cost would be less) which can be shared with others if arriving around the same time.
If you would like to share the transport with others to cut the cost, let me know.
Please enquire for more details on this.

On 18th, we will begin with a short orientation meeting, followed by a gentle stretch / restorative / pranayama class just before dinner time.
So if you can arrive by mid to late afternoon, that’d be ideal.
There are some flights from UK that arrive around 2:30pm. See if you can get on one of those. However, flight times vary and that may be difficult, then that'd be fine.
Once booked your flight, please make sure you inform me your details.

(please see the bottom of this post for more flight information.)

For more photos of the place, please go to their website, www.santamariadelsole.it



Cost:

£500 (sterling pounds) + €250 (Euros)
If booked by 31st July 2010, there will be a discount of £50.
(If you are not a UK resident and difficult to convert the currency into pounds, please let me know.)

The cost includes:
1 x Meditation / Pranayama /day
2 x Yoga sessions /day
3 x meals /day
Accommodation for 6 nights
Bicycles
Yoga mats, bolsters, blankets, yoga straps are available for you to use - if you wish to use your own, please bring them.

A range of massage treatments are available at reasonable rates not included in the cost.


Booking:

A non-refundable £250 deposit will secure your space.
The payment will be accepted either by cheque/cash or bank transfer.
To book, please contact Aki (email: aki2002@gmail.com or call: +44(0)7966 204 842) for a booking form and more details you will require.

The remainder will be paid in 2 stages.
The first part:

£250 is due by 31st August 2010.
(or £200 if you are entitled for the discount. See above)
The second part:
The remaining €250 (Euros) will be paid in cash on the first day of the retreat upon arrival.



About my retreats:

Many yoga teachers run yoga holidays under the flag of "yoga retreat".
Following my teacher's footsteps, I run yoga retreats, not holidays.

The difference is mostly in spirit: our intention is to deepen our practice.
It means that we see the time away as a conscious 'retreating' away from busy-ness of life to dive into yoga, have some moments of quietness to properly rest and reflect, cultivating mindfulness, giving yourself a chance to see what's really going on in your life and start making clear choices rather than being carried away by the momentum of unconscious, habitual thinking patterns and being lost in the conditioning that are no longer serving your true values.

A cocktail of asana (physical movement), pranayama (breathing exercise), meditation and restorative practices will give you the strength and mindfulness you need to explore an inner journey.
We will keep part of each day in silence to give ourselves space to be quiet and restful and have more contemplative time.

You will of course have time to chat and play, have fun and also to take short or long walks to explore the beautiful scenery surrounding Santa Maria del Sole. (see their website for more information)

The week will be a combination of dynamic and quiet practices.


More Flight Information:

On 18th, I suggest you take the flight from UK that arrives at Brandisi or Bari in early-mid afternoon.
So there will be more chance of sharing the transfer with others, and you will have time to relax once arrived at the venue before our orientation meeting / gentle first session before dinner.

On Sun 24th, we will finish the retreat with a morning practice followed by lunch.
So ideal time for travelling would be in mid-late afternoon.

I have listed some flights from UK to Brindisi / Bari below. These are just examples, so you can, of course, take flights that are not listed here.
There are several airlines who fly to those airports.

Brindisi is about 45 min, Bari is about 90 min from Santa Maria del Sole.
The cost of the transport organized by Santa Maria is 70 Euros for a car that carries 4/5 people and 100 Euros for a mini bus that carries 6/8 people.
So the more people arrive near enough time (some may have to wait a bit), the cheaper it gets per person.

If you are planning to make a holiday before or after the retreat in the area, it may be a good idea that you hire a car at the airport.

Please do let me know when you booked your flights.
So I can have your transport organised.


Flights from UK to Brindisi / Bari, October 2010

Brindisi Flight options

Alitalia (around £170-185)
Outbound
6:00 Heathrow via Rome 14:30 Brindisi
6:50 Heathrow via Milan 13:10 Brindisi
12:20 Heathrow via Rome 18:30 Brindisi *
* this one arrives maybe little too late. so try to avoid it if you can,
Return
17:20 Brindisi via Rome 21:45 Heathrow
14:25 Brindisi via Rome 19:10 Heathrow


Bari Flight options


Luft Hansa (around £160)

Outbound
7:00 Heathrow via Milan 14:10 Bari
8:50 Heathrow via Milan 14:10 Bari
Return
15:05 Bari via Milan 18:30 Heathrow

Alialia (£140-160)

Outbound
6:50 Heathrow via Milan 14:25 Bari
7:00 Heathrow via Milan 14:25 Bari
Return
15:20 Bari via Milan 19:10 Heathrow
17:20 Bari via Milan 20:50 Heathrow
















Next Retreat / Workshop

Retreat:


September Friday 19th - Sunday 21st SOLD OUT

A weekend in Surrey

Limited space available.

Please email me for details.

mail.akiomori.com


September 29th - October 6th

Suleyman's Garden, Turkey SOLD OUT


Next Workshop

Friday 12th September @ Triyoga Primrose Hill

"Adventure in Primitive Reflexes"

7:45-9:45pm

Book Here


Next Class

Friday 6:15-7:30 Restorative Yoga

@ Triyoga Primrose Hill