Holistic on the Hill

Holistic on the Hill

Italy is more usually associated with la dolce vita Emily Hynes finds a haven of holism up a hill

I’m walking up the Hill, not any old hill but 'The Hill That Breathes' in Italy. It is the name of a new holiday centre in the rolling hills of Le Marche, just over the mountains from Tuscany. Mud clings to my trainers and it’s raining. The Hill may be breathing but frankly I’m rather puffed out. A walk to explore the site seemed a good idea when I arrived, but now I’m not so sure. It’s a steep walk up said Hill back to the house, and I am dearly looking forward to the promised pumpkin risotto and maybe a glass of local red wine. It’s muddy because we arrived to a huge rainstorm, the first in three months. Its cleared the humidity and encouraged new grass to grow, but I’ve only brought one pair of socks. Still, I am hopeful that the brochure will live up to the promise that this holiday will ‘satisfy every bit of you, from your deepest spiritual side, to your need-for-pizza side!’

‘The Hill That Breathes’ is so called because the centre is set in 100 acres of untouched woodland with thousands of pine trees, which are the most prolific producers of oxygen, so the hill literally breathes. Even though it’s only an hour’s drive from Ancona airport, the region remains wild and untouched by mass tourism. From the top of The Hill all one can see are fields and trees. There are a few abandoned houses dotted around, properties crying out for renovation and my imagination for my own ‘place in the sun’ is sparked.

The next morning, the sun comes out and we can enjoy our first class outside. We assemble in front of the big tipi with a breathtaking surround view of the valley with our teacher John Parkin who owns the centre with his wife Gaia Pollini. “This is really easy,” John promises and as a beginner to tai chi I was happy to find that John has a very open, relaxed approach and we were not expected to learn the whole form in one short week. After some gentle chi kung movements to warm up, we experimented with free tai chi in other words, doing tai chi as we imagined it should be done. ‘Playing with chi’, as John called it, was as much fun as it was remarkably powerful. In this place where the air is clear, the silence deafening and nature is up close and personal, I found it surprisingly easy to find stillness and become aware of the chi (the life energy), flowing through my body.

The practice is very complementary to yoga. The focus on the breath is the same, but the breath is in through the nose and out through the mouth. This took me a while to get the hang of but I remembered a yoga teacher once telling me that it’s good to challenge ones habits every so often, even the good ones.

John’s approach to tai chi was identical to his approach to yoga, it was the yoga with no name, it was free yoga. The idea was to keep flow and movement in the postures and not get fixed by working from the principle that the body knows best what it needs. The simplicity and power of tadasana, the mountain pose, was well suited to standing in the morning sun on top of the hill. The only sign of other human life being the farmer in his tractor way, way in the distance ploughing his huge field slowly and methodically.

John pointed out that the mind is busy with the past and the future and is rarely concerned with the present. The practice of tai chi, like yoga, is an effective way to still the mind and to promote a deep sense of relaxation and focus. I wondered what the farmer was thinking, about lunch or the end of the day. Or maybe he was content with the simple ebb and flow of ploughing his huge field.

This philosophy carried over to the zen photography session the next day. Following our morning chi kung and yoga stretches, John explained the idea of doing any activity with a zen-like approach, with an attitude of non-judgement, expectation aiming to accept ‘what is’.We then set off on a silentmeditative walk, upTheHill and Italy is more usually associated with la dolce vita.

Emily Hynes finds a haven of holism up a hill through the tangle of woods, in one small corner of the 100 acres. Observing with an enquiring mind, our beginners mind, it was, as John had suggested, a new way of seeing. In the forest I took pictures of twigs, pine cones, gravel on the pathway, shadows and tiny unexpected flowers. It was like going into a micro-world where even the smallest, insignificant thing seemed to inspire a feeling of curiosity, appreciation and childlike wonder. National Geographic may not agree, but I was rather pleased with the results. For me a scarier proposition was the breathwork class run by John’s wife Gaia. So, my way of bailing out was to skip the first session and opt for a well-deserved lie in. The truth is, I was more than apprehensive. The idea of getting so deeply relaxed, using conscious breathing,movement and sound, (and the possibility of tapping into deeply buried emotions) seemed too much like hard work to me. So, lying in my comfy futon bed listening to the drumbeats, the pumping music, the yells and occasional wails, I decided I had made the right choice. But later when everyone trooped out of the room smiling, clear faced, bright eyed and full of joy I vowed to put my cynical side firmly aside and join in.

The next morning I took the first of many deep breaths gathered my courage and entered the tipi. Starting in a circle with what Gaia called conscious breathing (deeply, and through the mouth in a circular fashion), this method is a quick way of going inside to access the feeling of chi energy flowing through the body. My lungs expanded and the heat built up, with John as DJ, turning up the music. Gaia has a way of seeming both soft and strong, creating a feeling of safety in the room while being able to take whatever came up for people. Her own fearlessness encourages the same in others. Dancing, moving and breathing, we yelled and sighed, up in the green tipi on the Hill to drumbeats and club tracks. Doing yoga stretches and downward dog with a jiggling bottom was a revelation. Fortunately as well as cleansing food for the soul there was a lot of nourishing food for the body, with some of themost delicious and abundant food I have ever had the good fortune to enjoy on a holistic holiday. The delicious Italian vegetarian fare included grilled aubergine and wild garlic pizza, divine risotto, and spaghetti with capers and lemon; vegetables bursting flavour and there was wine for those who wanted it at every meal. One guest bought a truffle at market, which we enjoyed as a starter on bruschetta. Another guest worried that there would be no chance of losing weight with so much pleasure to be had. We always had seconds, I confess once I had to have fourths, the mushroom gnocchi was so delicious. The accommodation and heart of the Centre is a cool and comfy farmhouse, which has been carefully renovated, seamlessly blending original features with modern design elements. Each bedroom has an impressive raised mezzanine, giving guests space to themselves, even when sharing. Rooms were kept spotlessly clean including the light airy bathrooms, so although they were not en-suite it

The Hill That Breathes offer HolisticWeeks with activities such as tai chi, chi gong, yoga and breathwork classes.Those who prefer a more focused yoga holiday can opt for a Yogalicious week, where international guest teachers offer twice-daily classes and variety of yoga styles. The centre is open year round. In the winter months, Hibernation Holidays include many of the same activities and crisp morning walks in the woods and cosy evenings relaxing in front of the huge fireplace.

A week at The Hill That Breathes costs £450 per person for one week including sharedaccommodation (some singles available), full board and all holistic activities. Pamperingtreatments are also available. Flights are toeither Ancona or Rimini. Ryanair offeralways felt like you were the first person to use the shower. If you ignored the tipis and wind chimes, it felt more like a boutique hotel than a holistic centre, especially with the crisp white sheets and abundant hot water. The hilltop saltwater pool is straight from a dream perched on a ridge, offering spectacular views, it was like something from a glossy magazine. I spent a totally dreamy afternoon poolside on the pretence of writing this article. I wasn’t really. I was daydreaming. Of ice cream mostly. When I did peel myself off the sun bed, it was only to lie back down again on a massage table somewhere else. There are always holistic pampering treatments at the Hill, so I had to sample a massage from the lovely Senka, all in the name of research, you understand.

Nearby is the Renaissance town of Urbino where we went to enjoy art, architecture and ice cream. And indeed I managed to pick up the biggest ice cream I’ve ever had (fourflavours no less) for only two Euro. The cobbled alleyways at the Saturday market were full of the usual tourist nik naks, fake designer shoes and bags, as well as peaches the size of grapefruits, huge plum tomatoes, stalls selling freshly fried fish, breeze blocks of pungent parmigano and everywhere lilting, singsong Italian voices. We passed very agreeable hours wandering the streets with frequent café stops for Parma ham rolls, another cappuccino or café macciato (pure rocket fuel) watching the world go by in designer clothes. We even managed to fit in some culture with a visit to the fascinating Raphael’s House. As well as being a museum dedicated to the life of the artist, it is also a fine example of Renaissance architecture boasting a stunning interior courtyard and endless rooms with wooden panelled ceilings filled with art in homage to Raphael.

Urbino’s crown jewel is the amazing Palazzo Ducale (Duke’s palace), home to a nationalgallery filled with masterpieces by Titian and Raphael among others. Sadly it was shut by the time we left the café, but was impressive enough from the outside.We went instead to the Cathedral. The cool, calm interior was an escape from the hustle and bustle outside with panelled walls painted the exact same colour as my pistachio ice cream. As the week drew to an end, Rob, a guest teacher, invited the group to take part in a shamanic journey, essentially a guided meditation to encounter our spirit animal, which may give guidance or an answer to a question. Lying under a blanket, cosy and warm in the big tipi with candles twinkling and special sage incense burning, it was quite inspirational. The Hill is planning to build a hot tub and sauna, already having a sweat lodge. This, plus the immediacy of nature all around and the skill of the facilitators, will surely make for the most powerful space for shamanic work. The night was clear and crisp and we danced freely under the stars to pumping drums and rhythms, letting go of whatever tension remained in our bodies in front of a roaring fire. Afterwards, tingling all over we came back to earth and sat round the glowing embers watching the fire and sipping red wine a perfect end to the week. What remains with me after my week on the Hill is a sense of balance, of deep powerful workshops, balanced bymuch laughter and acceptance. John andGaia certainly walk their talk and their enthusiasm and joy for life is infectious. Gaia’s classes are about cleansing and releasing they can be deeplymoving; John’s are about filling oneself up again with good stuff, both nourishing and nurturing. All in all there are plenty of opportunities to blow those city cobwebs away, expand ones inner and outer horizons, to relax deeply and to breathe.