Creativity & Yoga Retreat: June 11-16, 2024
with Lauren Mouat & Rachel Zitin
We are excited to announce our second retreat in Tuscany! Join Lauren & Rachel on the coast of Tuscany for 6 days and 5 nights of yoga, writing and creative workshops, practicing somatic awareness and exploring the culture and natural beauty of the Tuscan coast region.
Discover the Tuscan Coast
We want to share one of the most beautiful and non-touristic parts of Italy with you. The coast of Tuscany boasts historic destinations like Pisa & Livorno, a wild and rocky coastline dotted with castles and fortresses, and some of the most dynamic and exciting new initiatives in Italian wine. On our six days together, we’ll be going inward to get in touch with our bodies and our creativity but we’ll also be sharing some of the best food & wine experiences in this beautiful corner of Italy.
We’ll be hosted by Agriturismo Alberelli, a converted 17th century monastery planted between rolling Tuscan hills and the Tyrrhenian sea. The property spans across 42 hectares of the Monti Livornesi (a government protected Nature Reserve). The farm is run by the welcoming family of Sara, Nicola, their two children and parents plus their dog Prugna. They are a home that encourages mutual respect between travellers, neighbours and the surrounding environment.
They cherish their shared responsibility to protect the earth that nourishes our bodies and minds. Their facilities are constructed and maintained to coexist in harmony with nature. Through mindful consumption of resources and locally sourcing and growing their food, they teach by example that a sustainable lifestyle cna be abundant and beautiful.
Retreat Includes
- Daily yoga and meditation practice led by Rachel, using your body and it’s natural intelligence to somatically connect with your creativity
- Daily creative writing workshops with Lauren
- Daily journaling exercises with Lauren and Rachel to help focus on your creative goals and get in touch with your creative side
- Light breakfast & two delicious plant based meals per day, prepared with seasonal, organic and locally sourced products
- Understanding Italian wine: We’ll talk soil, terroir, biodynamic wine, different wine regions in Italy and food pairing
- Tuscan hikes through the surrounding forest and time to reconnect with nature
- Afternoon at the seaside
- Nightly themed group circles for community building and connection
Does Not Include
- Flights
- Transport to and from Agriturismo Alberelli
- Optional massage or healing treatments
Example Itinerary
Day One
Afternoon arrival and check in. Opening circle with some gentle yoga and creativity intention setting before group dinner.
Day Two
Morning writing and meditation. Creativity workshop, biodynamic wine tasting and yoga & somatic movement practice.
Day three
Morning writing and/or meditation. Yoga practice. Free time for hiking, writing, relaxing. Writing workshop.
Day Four
Morning writing and/or meditation. Excursion to Livorno for food tour and canal boat ride. Yoga & Writing Workshop.
Day Five
Morning writing and/or meditation. Seaside excursion to Castiglioncello or Quercianella. Yoga practice.
Day Six
Morning writing and/or meditation. Closing circle and farewell lunch.
Some moments from our retreat last year:
Accommodation & Rates
Alberelli consists of 5 distinct lodgings. All the rooms are meticulously decorated with love, celebrating comfort and rustic simplicity, uniquely furnished in the classic Tuscan style and artisan touches. Every lodging has access to a private garden equipped with tables, chairs, deckchairs and benches as well hammocks in some gardens.
Immersed within the forest just a few steps from the farmhouse, the pinewood yoga studio is lined with window walls, extending your spirit across the panoramic view of the woods, sea and sky.
Choose your desired room and write us to book. We will send a request for a nonrefundable deposit of 50% that will go towards your final balance due May 1, 2024
Quadruple Room, Shared bath
Early bird pricing: €1,295
Pricing after Feb 15: €1,395
Enjoy maximum savings on our female-only quadruple room with shared bath and a view of the garden.
Double Room, Shared bath
Early bird pricing: €1,895 per person
Pricing after Feb 15: €1,995 per person
Revel in more privacy while still getting one of our best rates! This room can accommodate a couple or can be arranged as two single beds.
Double Room, Private bath
Early bird pricing: €2,295 per person
Pricing after Feb 15: €2,395 per person
This room can accommodate a couple or can be arranged as two single beds.
Private Room, Shared bath
Early bird pricing: €2,295 per person
Pricing after Feb 15: €2,395 per person
Affectionately titled “the monks cell,” this cozy little room with a single bed is full of light with a view over the property. Perfect for a meditative getaway.
Private Room, private bath
Early bird pricing: €2,595 per person
Pricing after Feb 15: €2,695 per person
Savour your alone time with this room featuring a double sized bed with ensuite private bath. Can accommodate one couple or a single.
Entire Private Apartment, private bath
Early bird pricing: €2,895 per person
Pricing after Feb 15: €2,995 per person
For privacy and luxury, we offer an apartment with a double bed, private bathroom, kitchenette and private front garden.
How to book:
Write Lauren at infounlockitaly@gmail.com to claim your spot!
Meet Lauren & Rachel
Lauren Mouat is an author, teacher, editor and tour guide based in Livorno, Tuscany. In over a decade in Italy, she has pursued parallel careers: one in tourism as a private guide and trip planner, the other as a writer. In addition to publishing travel related pieces in newspapers and magazines in Italy, she is the author of the short story collection Intermezzo, published by Ali Ribelli Edizioni. Published in parallel text, both Italian and English speakers can both enjoy the book.
Navigating the “intermezzo” or the liminal space between cultures, language, and identity are one of the subjects she returns to again and again in her writing. It is also one of the aims of her work as founder and editor in chief of the Open Doors Review Literary Magazine. This online and print magazine publishes short stories, poems, essays and visual art in English and Italian.
Lauren works as a professor of Travel Writing, teaching American students in Florence how to navigate the essentials of storytelling, hone their craft and how to find their story (as well as market it) within the world of travel essays and travel journalism.
She is a tour guide specialized in Florence and Tuscan art and history as well as the co-founder of Unlock Italy: A guided tour and travel planning business. In 2021, she and her partner launched Uncork Italy, a weekly wine newsletter and video series all about Tuscan wine.
Her aim is to create a space for writers and creatives to connect to each other and to their craft.
Rachel Zitin: Rachel is an American retreat leader, yoga instructor, and somatic coach based in Rome. She has been practicing yoga for over a decade, following and learning from different physical yoga styles (Bikram, Hatha, Yin and Vinyasa). She did her 200hr YTT in Bali in 2018, where she was able to deepen her meditation practice and connect to the more subtle aspects of yoga. In 2022, she completed a 100hr yin yoga training, with a focus on myofascial release. Through yoga, she has reconnected to her own joy and exuberance, an experience that continues to inspire her to teach others. Her background as a professional tour guide in Rome ties in perfectly with her teaching style. Rachel has worked extensively with international luxury clients and has a wide range of experience in the tourism industry, most recently focused on leading wellness retreats in Italy.
She writes and reflects extensively on the long-standing connection between Italy and the global wellness movement.
Her objective is to truly nourish others, finding a combination of movement, meditation and body-oriented coaching to allow them to find a space where they can flow, trust themselves and follow their own inner guidance.