Yoga in the Roman Hills of Italy

A trip to the yoga retreat at In Sabina is a must-have for anyone who feels that life is skipping along that little bit too fast and you want a little ‘me time’. This Italian yoga retreat invites you to unwind in a space that is warm, welcoming and unpretentious, where the thought of saying ciao at the end of the trip is as gut wrenching as letting your Italian lover walk out of the airport departures lounge.

“Spectacular views and magical setting” are the words that greet you when you visit the website for In Sabina (www.insabina.com) – a yoga retreat set in the grounds of a fifteenth century farmhouse in the hills outside Rome. Having spent a long weekend there, magical is the only way to describe the experience.
Divine intervention - it seemed – had entered into my world. After a hectic, and hideous, couple of months of London life the suggestion to go on an Italian yoga holiday came my way. Not taking more than a nanosecond to say yes, and Pino the driver was collecting us from Stimigliano train station after a 40-minute trip from the centre of Rome. The sun was burning through the windows of the minibus as we bumped our way through the lush and winding verdant Roman countryside. Arriving at In Sabina in a dishevelled heap of exhaustion and battered yoga bags, we were told that our first yoga class was about to begin. With no time to think of how we’d arrived and indeed why we were there, we found ourselves following our teacher down a steep and winding country path through fields before arriving at the ‘outdoor yoga deck’. This was where we were going to do yoga twice a day over the next four days. And what a place for it. A magnificent ordered space of dark wood flooring with breathtaking views of unspoilt nature. Under the burning afternoon sun, amidst the sight of a wild horse and gurgling frogs in the background, where better to salute the Roman sun?
Our teacher for the duration was our ‘guru’ from our weekly London classes, Jean Hall, who teaches at Triyoga plus others (check her out on www.yogajeannie.com). Jean took us through our paces for 90 minutes in the morning and 90 minutes in the evening, before breakfast and the evening meal, respectively. Aside from the yoga, we hung out by the pool in the intense heat or lazed in hammocks, feeling totally relaxed and rejuvenated in very little time. The food on the retreat was all vegetarian and local fresh produce, unfussy and rustic. Activities are there if you wish to partake, including trips to nearby villages and hot spas and olive oil groves.
Words do not suffice for this fabulous retreat in true Italian style. Try it out for yourself and enjoy, but let’s just keep it between us! It’s too good to share….

juliet rowe