Remembering the exquisite simplicity of being alive on an Open House retreat at Maraviglia in Italy
Rosie Walford reviews an exceptional yoga and conscious living retreat led by Tashi Dawa on a working olive farm in Tuscany, where she finds a particularly wise yoga teacher, passionate foodie hosts and a reminder of the pleasures of living well
When I encountered Maraviglia’s website, I was tired and disconnected from myself . Yes I was doing my yoga - well, following online classes mechanically. But brain fog was making normal functioning hard. In the way of the body’s knowing, this unpretentious, home-style retreat appealed more than elaborate promises of transformation.
As soon as I had arrived and my fingers were sweeping through wild grasses beneath olive trees, I knew Maraviglia was the right place to unravel. The farmhouse was stylish yet informal, the garden thriving and unmanicured, rolling out to a large infinity pool and then iconic Tuscan views.
“Tashi is a loquacious Australian who radiates pure enthusiasm for the experience of being in her strong physical body and for the nomadic life she has created. Yoga with her was much more than organised poses on a mat – it invited me to truly attend to my own body and notice how I feel in my life”
The whole week’s programme fit on one tiny blackboard: 8am yoga, 10.15am brunch, 3pm snack, 5pm yoga, 6.45pm dinner. A daily rhythm. In the absence of complexity, I noticed the rustle of trees and bees.
All I needed to do each day was get myself to the shala, sheltered by oaks, where the two -hour classes unfolded with ease. Lifelong yogi Tashi Dawa led us from asana into breaks where we’d swing limbs or sway as our own body dictated. We’d progress gradually from the ground. Each class had about 45 minutes of intensity - some vigorous moves I’d never encountered before – and Tashi made these fun with irreverent names, sound effects and a boundless enjoyment of her own body’s dynamism. I loved how we focused on the felt sense of being in an awake body, rather than on particularly perfect shapes.
Brunches on the terrace were delicious and sociable affairs. The laden buffet, and real quality of cooking meant I ate a lot - but this was nutrient-rich, organic vegetarian food and it set me up perfectly for the long, unstructured days which followed.
On day one I wanted nothing more than that pool , the jasmine air and those views of Tuscany. But time in nature invites us to be what we are – and on the second day I felt familiar discomfort with doing so little. Yet there was nothing I was supposed to do.
As if mindreading, Tashi began to speak less of yoga’s biomechanics and more of its world view. I was scrutinising my upturned ankle at one point, when she started to extemporise on the rarity of bipeds (there’s us, birds and a few marsupials), and the adaptations that allow for vertical life. Then she moved on to the unlikely marvel of any life-form on this planet. Her Buddhist upbringing somehow permeated this description so I had a sense of my continuity with all that lives now, and those who lived before. A pigeon cooed overhead and awe tingled right through my bones.
Tashi is a loquacious Australian who radiates pure enthusiasm for the experience of being in her strong physical body, and for the nomadic life she has created around retreats in Europe and her own annual yoga study in India. I appreciated her mature expression of yoga asana. I found her provocations on contemporary life were digestible because they were always offered with self-deprecation, jokes, and an un-culty invitation to take-it-or-leave-it.
Yoga with Tashi was much more than organised poses on a mat – it invited me to truly attend to my own body and notice how I feel in my life. Once, mid shoulder stand, Tashi mentioned how cynicism kills vision, and I actually flinched. I’d been more jaded and stuck than ever before, but hadn’t linked the two. This insight stirred useful reflections later, staring up from the pool at dissolving clouds.
During a blessed rest between sequences next day, she spoke of peaceful presence. I felt the phrase resonate. Never mind just doing things at slower pace. This presence occurred as a very different sort of goal for a person – me! - to hold. I pictured it rippling out through my health and relationships – knowing it’s just what I need at this phase in my life.
By Wednesday I was ready to roam. With a bright and curious Canadian executive, I headed towards Monte San Savino through vineyards. The heat beat down. We had no time constraint. A wide and deep conversation unfolded - different life stories bouncing off the ancient city walls. I also scored some airy linen clothes.
That night, our group – an unlikely mix of professionals, corporates, and humanitarian aid workers from eight countries – gathered at a restaurant in the iconic town square. I felt my imagination expand as we shared experiences from radically different lives. Next day I craved the solitude of my cool apartment room and the shady hillside woods. Having settled in, it was a blessing to have uninterrupted daytime in natural surroundings.
I found it inspiring to witness the engaged life that owners Francesco and Francesca have crafted in this beautiful landscape. Francesco was born in this house and, after a period running a branding agency in New York, he has returned with artisanal zeal. He farms everything organically, producing award-winning olive oil from heritage varietals and a novel range of misos for export. Francesca, meanwhile, takes groups to see disappearing food traditions at cellars, barns, stills and mills round Tuscany.
I have always found artisan foods deliciously appealing. But once I saw how they sustain unique cultures and rural communities (the things I prize most when I travel) I loved Maraviglia’s Open House even more. It’s a dip into the good life – a more beautiful world my heart knows is possible.
As the week rolled gracefully on, yoga sessions included chanting, qigong and self-massage without prior announcement. Yoga at Open House is not one thing, there is no one right way. Tashi was encouraging us more and more to wiggle on the mat as our bodies instructed. She gradually increased the periods of self-practice until on the last morning, we were equipped to move for an hour, unprompted, happy on our mats alone.
I was no longer shoving myself around the mat as a form of toning. Attention had shifted from age-old drives around doing and self improvement. Instead I was orienting towards that sense of peaceful presence, listening deeply to my body, and actively wanting to practise true yoga at home.
