Our Italy yoga retreat was a dream come true. Honestly, it had all my favorite things: excellent weather (80s during the afternoons, zero humidity and cool mornings and evenings), fresh, delicious food, and incredible company. Every time we wrap up our retreats, Lauren and I always look at each other and ask how in the world we got so lucky to be blessed with such an incredible ground of individuals and this trip was no different.
Everyone brought such great energy, which you can see in this little boomerang gif I made!
Our hotel was on top of a giant hill that overlooked the city of Bolzano, Italy. What I loved was that it really had the best of both worlds - you could chill by the pool and relax if you wanted, or you could go down the hill and explore the city.
The city was big enough that you could keep yourself occupied for days if you wanted, but not so big that you felt overwhelmed or unsafe.
Morning view 😍 pic.twitter.com/A1sBnzfZn8
— Candace (@yogabycandace) August 9, 2016
In fact, many of the girls made quick solo trips down to the city during the afternoons and remarked how safe and secure they felt the whole time.
Here are some moments Lauren captured during the retreat:
Blindfold yoga class
We had a comprehensive yoga program that included a blindfold yoga practice (you can do a blindfold practice with me via youtube if you want!) which is a really amazing way to go inward, and test your sense of balance and self trust.
Crow pose
We worked with arm balances and integrated them throughout the vinyasa classes.
Candace spotting a forearm stand
We worked our way up to forearm stands and...
Handstand workshop
We ended the week with a fun handstand workshop, in which we practiced getting comfortable being upside down, building upper body strength, and a bunch of different ways to get into handstand.
Handstand practice
Yoga Paws
The amazing ladies over at Yoga Paws sent us some of these 'portable mats' for your hands and feet - which are great for travel and adventure. The old decorative cobble stone streets made it difficult to use them in old downtown but the level ground at the hotel worked just fine to get some playtime in.
Candace in yoga paws
Per usual, the team here at YBC worked hard to put together an incredible swag bag for our students! We included:
- environmentally friendly totes from Sweaty Betty and we also stuffed them with these really unique marbled colored yoga blocks!
- Tea crystals were provided by Pique Tea. They take organic loose leaf tea, brew it to perfection and crystallize it. All you have to do is add water and enjoy - super for traveling. You can use code YOGABYCANDACE15 for 15% off your first purchase.
- Woodzee sent over some eco-friendly bamboo toothbrushes - plus, it's always nice to have a spare brush on hand for your travel bag.
- Having some gum handy when I travel is a must. Train Gum sent us their all natural gum using only four ingredients.
- I love myself some spare chapsticks so when Hurraw sent over some of their moon balm, I was pretty excited to take it along for the trip.
- BoKu Superfood sent along Super Food to help keep our students energized and focused throughout the retreat. Use code YOGABYCANDACE for 50% + FREE shipping.
- Kuli Kuli provided our students with some Moringa Superfood bars - each student either got black cheery, dark chocolate or almond.
- We also included some other interesting things like Mushroom Hot Cacao, Chaga Elixir and Mushroom Coffee from Four Sigmatic. I know what you're thinking...but trust me, nothing about these taste anything like mushrooms!
- and lastly, an eye-mask from yours truly
Candace putting the Sweaty Betty blocks to good use with some fun core work!
Overall, it was such a wonderful trip - so much so that we are planning to go back next year! Stay tuned for details! <3