THE BEST SPIRITUAL RETREAT IN ITALY

Is Italy the most healing place for a retreat?

I don’t believe that it is helpful to think about places as the “most” spiritual. Like us, places have their own unique healing energy. I do, however, believe that there are places in the world that are more conducive to healing than others; having traveled all over the globe, I find the Italian Alps to be one of the most supportive and incredibly clearing pace for many people who are ready to do the work of healing with nature. 

What is the energy of Italy like? 

There is a very ancient, pre-Roman, pre-Celtic even, healing energy in Italy. You can see it in the light, feel it in the mystical mineral rich mountain lakes, and taste it in the delicious, nutrient dense food. From soul to skin, I have always found Italy to be incredibly regenerative. I feel this perhaps because my maternal ancestors hail from this land that my Sun, Venus, and Mercury lines run through. But it’s more than just my perception of Italy that makes it so healing. Anyone can see the ancientness everywhere you go - in the ruins and pre-religious sacred sites, waterfalls, seas, holy wells, rivers, and lakes. Though Italy is so ancient, it is also a place of great agelessness. 

What makes Italy so healing? 

For the most part, Italians revere childhood. And I think that this is why a spiritual retreat to Italy is so regenerative. Because without even noticing it, or getting into some painful narrative about your past, by immersing yourself in the energy of Italy, you are opening up to and mending your inner child. 

What is the inner child and why is it important to heal the inner child?

I think that part of being our own healer is removing layers of energetic calcification that builds with age. If we don’t practice balance as we age, we become less flexible in every way, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. When we work to heal the inner child, we remove these hardened layers and rejuvenate ourselves. When our inner child gets to express themselves, we gain a sort of wise innocence. 

How might a retreat affect our physical health? 

In one of the first Element Retreats I ever led in Italy, a woman came who had every autoimmune issue you could think of and she tried every way to heal. But it was as if everything she reached out for just made her feel more sick. I noticed her eyes, skin, and aura had a muddy grey tint. I see this in folks who are really suffering. Her hair was very thin, she was bloated everywhere, and her belly was distended, making her appear much heavier than her natural frame seemed. In just five days of Element Retreat, her eyes, skin, and aura were glowing, her hair was shiny and lustrous looking, and her belly relaxed and she looked strong and healthy. As if in five days she lost five years. I believe that her healing had a lot to do with her inner child. She maintains a sense of playfulness to this day. 

Why do people associate Italy with romance and love?

In addition to the beautiful people and melodic language, what seduces us about Italy is also the romance stories that come from this land which often include a sense of agelessness, like an older woman and a younger man falling in love, or an immortality of sorts. 

Why do people travel to heal?

I have led healing retreats all over the world and I believe when we visit different lands, if we listen close enough, we can hear stories the land has to tell. Italy’s story is that aging is a gift but the way we age is an illusion. With centennials abound who have a spark in their eyes that shows their inner twenty year old, Italy’s people know this story. 

Is healing a lonely path or can we find friendships in healing communities?

I love my work. Especially the way covens of friendship are formed around what I do. These covens potentially add to reclamation of one’s innocence on Element Retreat, similarly to the way we see such an anti-aging effect that the emphasis on community has on Italian elders. Responsibility to a tribe gives us a sense of purpose and keeps us young. 

Is a retreat a place to bring children? 

One of the aspects of my work I love the most in my annual Element Retreat where I see the most friendships form is the Children’s Retreat. Because the retreat attracts a global network of folks focused on being their own healer by connecting to the elements of nature, the children make lasting friendships from all over the world. I notice that the children who come spark the memory of the inner child in the participants and add to a deep layer of healing in their own way. 

Element is a women’s retreat and one part of being a woman can mean being a mother. I think it’s sad that often women feel they have to choose between their spiritual journey or motherhood when motherhood is a spiritual journey! I created the children’s retreat so that  mother’s can weave themselves together, un-compartmentalized. Under the guidance of caring folks who I have trained, the children immerse themselves in the elements of nature in a fun and applicable way while mothers do their own healing. The mothers and children get a special bond from this shared experience of being nurtured by nature. 

Is it difficult to create and facilitate a retreat? 

Element Retreat is a lot of work for me. It takes a year to plan, is extremely expensive to produce, and I facilitate energy work for a week straight. You would think that by the end of it I am wiped out. And yes, at the end I feel physically and psychically tired, but I also feel fulfillment, balance, and joy. I don’t think it’s just because Italy is a vegetarian's paradise or because there are a plethora of fairly priced, handmade linen dresses, or even because of the delicious gelato (fresh fig gelato is my soul food). I think it is because as I facilitate healing on this land I receive so much healing. Maybe offering this retreat has a bit to do with why I am often mistaken for younger than I am. Every year I drink from the ever flowing, sweet fountain of youth on Element Retreat in Italy. I feel younger and wiser, stronger and more flexible all at once.

Perhaps my ancestors have summoned me back to the cerulean blue seas of Italy. I have heard their call. It is for my healing, for the healing of my lineage and the women and children who attend, and it is also for the land. Italy speaks to me and I listen. I wield the magic of the regenerative medicine in the spirit of Italy into all that I share on Element Retreat and my hope is that it is felt by all. So it is.