I just returned home from a week long healing women’s retreat in Tuscany, Italy. We had a fabulous group of eight women on this retreat and stayed in an amazing villa in the country which was breathtakingly beautiful! There were four private bedrooms upstairs with private baths and three bedrooms on the main floor.

I needed to move beyond my fears about spending money on myself even though I had received a small inheritance from my dad which more than covered the retreat – Thank you, Dad, for this amazing vacation! It seems like I need to walk that delicate balance between spending money and preserving it for my old age.

Every morning we spent 10 minutes doing conscious journaling followed by yin yoga. I had the privilege of teaching Kundalini yoga two mornings which was a new practice for four of the women.  I also had the privilege of doing Shamanic Reiki healing sessions for all the women and that left me feeling energized!

The first full day of the retreat was spent at Rapolano Terme which is a beautiful spa with thermal mineral baths. My massage was lovely, but very different from the massages I receive in the States. There are no blankets used for draping and we start out with a paper bikini. The massage therapist massaged my stomach and breasts and I was thankful that I had a female therapist.

The next day was spent at Montepulciano and Pienza where we had a delicious lunch and spent time in the shops helping each other spend money. In the afternoon, we replenished our energy with gelato. Did I mention that the food is incredibly delicious in Italy?!

One of my favorite days was an excursion to Montalcina-Locanda Demetra and we learned to make homemade pasta, pumpkin ravioli, eggplant appetizer and tiramisu. The best part was eating what we made with plenty of wonderful Italian wine to wash it all down! The owners of the cooking class/restaurant were very hospitable and charming – especially the 28-year-old man that gave us a tour of their vegetable garden and told the story of renovating the house/restaurant.

I am so glad that I decided to go on this amazing women’s healing retreat. It will live in my memory forever and I hope to remain friends with the women I met.