TRAVELER TESTIMONY \ Arlene - Rome, Italy

We wanted to share with you a guest post of our recent guest, Arlene, who attended one of the Tuscany retreats this summer. We were so happy to have her join us and thankful for her lovely post about the experience. Born in New York City, Arlene currently lives in Rome, Italy after working for fifteen years in Hollywood as a film executive and a screenwriter. Now she spends her time in 'il bel paese' continuing her writing and working as an interior decorator with clients from around the world.

 Here's a snippet of her blog post below and be sure to click through to the full post below!

I stopped practicing yoga over fifteen years ago after I seriously injured my right wrist.  I was taking “Power Yoga” classes and I don’t think I paid enough attention to what was going on with my body.

I couldn’t focus long enough in class. My mind was always racing, thinking about all the things I had to do or didn’t do.  The injury was a convenient excuse to say, “arriverderci” to yoga.

I’ve known Erin for over eleven years.  We met via our former blogs before meeting in person and we moved to Italy at the same time.  Erin was on a sabbatical in Florence for a year or so and then moved back to the States.  She returned frequently and we would always try to see each other.  I remember when she started Eat, Pray, Move, Yoga seven years ago.  She began with one retreat in Tuscany and over the years has added more locations.  In 2014 she left her corporate job and now she holds on average sixteen retreats in nine countries, Italy (multiple locations) France, Spain, Croatia, Iceland, Morocco, Indonesia, India, and Japan.  The latter she added this year.

It’s very inspiring to see how Erin has built this wonderful life and business from scratch.  She has tapped into something very special.

Last month I had the opportunity to see, in person, what Erin’s accomplished. I was worried about the yoga.  I had asked her in the past if it would bad form to go to a yoga retreat and pass on doing the yoga (ha).  Erin assured me that all levels (including those with no experience) were welcome and that participation in all activities was optional.

It was an incredible experience and I’m already planning my next retreat. 

[read the rest of the post HERE on her blog, ARLENEGIBBSDECOR]

GRAZIE Arlene for taking the time to write about your experience and we're already looking forward to seeing you again at another retreat soon!