Yoga Retreat Hosted by Monteluce Wellness in Association With Yoga Will Save the World

Three yoga lessons in and Friday is already a distant memory. I'm writing these sentences in my head as I hear our teacher, Rebecca, telling us to “clear our mind of thoughts.” Oh! Well, they were good thoughts.

I don't know about you, but a beach holiday doesn't work for me until day five. Here I am on Monday morning, having arrived on Saturday, and all the stresses and strains of work have already been banished.

A glorious villa in Le Marche, called Casa Benessere

I'm in a glorious villa in Le Marche, called Casa Benessere, which is Italian for House of Wellness; how apt. It's May and the hedgerows are alive with wild flowers, poppies abound and the scent of the acacia trees hangs exotically in the air.

There are 15 of us on a ‘yoga retreat' coordinated by part-owner Caroline (Austrie) with Rebecca (Wilson) as our yoga mentor. Up until now the very word ‘retreat' would have sent me running for the hills at the thought of an alcohol-free, raw-vegetable-and-salad week of yoga at 07:00. This is just as serious about yoga, or as serious as you want it to be, but it's relaxed too.

Although I'd been taking weekly yoga lessons for two years, this was my first foray into a whole week of sun salutations and vinyasas. I was a little nervous about being in a class of much younger and more supple students, but I needn't have worried. Rebecca takes immense pleasure in helping each individual to achieve poses that at first seem impossible. I was no exception.

Guys, don't be put off. Warren had flown in from Australia especially. He's a yoga addict, in spite of having spent the first 50 years of his life convinced it was a ‘girl' thing. Now he's on his mat and ready at the beginning of each session. He swears it has given his back a new lease on life.

Yoga isn't a competition but a continual and personal journey. At home I always feel a sense of well-being after a lesson. It irons out the kinks of both body and mind, often giving me the energy to tackle the next task of the day when I might have just gone to my fridge for yet another snack, that oft practiced work-delaying tactic.

Seven days of yoga took me to a new level and is something I believe we should all treat ourselves to. I came home feeling totally renewed and amazed at how far I had progressed. The positive energy of the classes and Rebecca's patient and tireless instruction act like a tonic. Her gentle manner and belief in her students' capabilities - from beginner to the more experienced - kept us returning for more.

Rebecca teaching at Casa Benessere

A few years back, Caroline and a group of five friends decided to buy in Le Marche and came across Casa Benessere, which was in the early stages of being restored. Just an hour's drive from Ancona on the east of Italy, it seemed the perfect spot for a mix of family holidays combined with group holidays to help fund the villa.

Whether for yoga, pilates, leadership or art weeks, 16 can be accommodated on a double-room basis. There's a studio above the pool, two doubles beneath the classroom/studio and five in the main house, which has a large open plan kitchen/dining room with separate living room with open fire. We gravitated towards the latter due to an unseasonably cold and wet May.

Caroline, hostess and pilates teacher, makes everyone feel totally at home in a very relaxed manner. Everyone mucks in to wash the dishes, tend the fire, make cups of tea and chatter.

There are plenty of guide books and a series of well-planned walks and cycle routes for those wanting to take off for yet more exercise mid classes. It's hilly country, so even the 6km loop when walked is a mini workout!

The countryside is stunning--undulating hills and fields of wild flowers interspersed with the odd ancient olive tree. The roads are virtually empty of traffic, and our nearest cafe, Bar il Girasole in Corsciano, for a cafe correcho (espresso with sambuca) pick-me-up is a 20- minute walk away.

At night the flowers of the acacia tree, which can be deep-fried and are delicious, are picked up by the headlights, giving a magical quality to the journey into San Severino, known as the City of Art, for dinner at Ristorante da Piero. Here, mother and son put on a culinary feast accompanied by wines from the family vineyard.

Another evening Francesco opened up his palace, Palazzo Castiglioni, in the nearby village of Cingoli for us after a banquet in the original kitchen. As fourth generation, he has plenty of stories to tell as we wander through his faded ancestral hom, complete with milk-glass chandeliers and all manner of references to the popes that have come from this long line of Castiglionis. When asked where he lives, he opens a small and insignificant door into his bedroom, where a black lab has left telltale depressions in the lace cover of his matrimonial bed.

Rebecca helping with a pose, Casa Benessere

When at the villa Max, his first daughter Lisa and partner cook for us, as three-year-old daughter Lara takes up residence as though she was here in another life, so at home is she amongst us despite a total lack of language compatibility.

One evening we all take part in the preparation of the meal. Full-time chef Daniela is our teacher while husband Max translates. From tiramisu to homemade tagliatelle we all take a turn to master the arts. Opera, La Traviata, courtesy of bubbly Scot Shelley seems an apt background to our attempts to master the family pasta recipe.

All too soon we are into Wednesday, and time starts running away again. One of only two men, Patrick, is the lycra cyclist amongst us, mapping some serious rides for future guests (bikes are provided). My roommate Emma comes back from 60km with a sore backside but plenty of stamina for more. Indeed, she is off and out the next morning to run the loop not once, but twice, before our daily ten o'clock yoga session. Me, I prefer to walk and later in the day at that.

Rebecca, together with Caroline, made the week happen. She gathered together friends and friends of friends, including Karen, who added her own particular blend of restorative yoga in the afternoon, as well as throwing in an art class for good measure. In my head I'm an artist, but somehow my brain and hand just didn't connect when it came to life drawing. Still, it was fun trying.

On Thursday, papers I bought on the way out lie unread, and my beloved Mac has not seen the light of day since I arrived. Mobiles and blackberries are left strewn on window sills by folk who have left work behind and are becoming increasingly unbothered by the lack of communication.

This is serious chill-out time, due in no small part to our yoga classes. The mood of the Casa is becoming more and more relaxed by the day.

Six weeks after I return, I discover that Shelley is making the weekly trek across London to Rebecca's Putney class, so hooked is she. Becky is worried if she puts in less than an hour's practice a day (having been a yoga virgin on arrival in Italy). I've mastered the dreaded utthita hasta padangusthasana pose without falling on my face, which seemed as unattainable as climbing Mount Everest just six months ago.

The fact that six of us have already signed up for next year (21-28 May, 2011) speaks volumes. The cost is a very reasonable E845 per person, double or E1,145 single per week, which includes all meals, yoga (and pilates if available), two dinners out, wine-tasting and a cookery class. Flights, transfers and insurance are not included nor provided.

If you want to join one of Rebecca's lessons before signing up for a week check out her website, www.yogawillsavetheworld.com, and/or come along to the next Let the Yogis Eat Cake session, where you may come across one of the Casa Benessere class of 2010!

As you can see, this is all about having fun and living healthily. If next year seems too long to wait, how about Rebecca's The Long Sweet Yoga Weekend at Casa Benessere, 22-26 September, which includes a personal health and fitness consultation and costs E420 in a shared room. To book either contact rebs.wilson@gmail.com or caroline.austrie@montelucewellness.com.