Holistic holiday in Italy

We run a holistic centre in the heart of Italy where you can enjoy a holiday that satisfies every bit of you: from your deepest spiritual side to your need for pizza side. The holistic philosophy is at the heart of what we do: that we are whole beings, part of a whole universe… and that it’s important to accept ourselves and others as we are.

So what’s the appeal? - A programme of fabulous weeks from yoga to tai chi to world famous masters. All set on a 100 acre wooded hill with Italian farmhouse, panoramic pool, geodesic dome in the woods and close to the renaissance hill-town of Urbino (birthplace of Raphael and a world heritage site).

Then there’s the fact that we’re light-hearted about spirituality: if you want a mantra-chanting, nut-eating serious kind of place, please google these words. We’re holistic in the true sense of the word (it means ‘whole’): you don’t have to be peaceful, at one with yourself or sorted – just come and be yourself.

Our food: Our food is vegetarian but most of our guests aren't! So why do they all leave raving about the food? Well, it's Italian, it's delicious and it's plentiful. Lemon and fennel risotto - grilled aubergine and garlic pizza - wild mushroom lasagna.....enough said! 
 
Our accommodation: Our recently renovated farmhouse is beautiful and eco-friendly - we take our heat from the sun and our water from the hill. You’ll love where you eat. You’ll love where you sleep. And you’ll love where you swim: we have a large salt-water pool which emerges from the deep woodland and has the most amazing views across the hills.

Free time: Whatever’s on in your week, life is easy here. A light breakfast is followed by the morning session and then into an early lunch. The afternoon is then free until the session before dinner. So there’s time to sunbathe, sleep, go for a walk or have a massage. There’s also one full day off to venture out to Urbino or wherever you fancy.
7 – 14 May 2009, F**k It week
Our F**k It weeks are legendary. Saying ‘F**k It’ means releasing control, taking your hands off the steering wheel, and starting to enjoy life. It represents the eastern ideas of letting go, giving up and finding real freedom by realising that things don’t matter so much (if at all). Led by Gaia and John, founders of the centre, this is a deeply relaxing and fun week of release, sleep and freedom using Chi Kung, meditation, breathwork and lots of funny stories. Plenty of people have come to The Hill, tried saying F**k It, then gone home to see their lives transformed. The differences and the changes might be subtle… or they might be earth-shattering. But you’ll go home a F**kiteer and be glad for what’s hit you.

14-21 May 2009, Finding Your Centre in a Topsy Turvy World with Dr. Bisong Guo
Dr. Bisong Guo is an amazing teacher, a Master in the true sense of the word. Trained in Qigong (the Chinese energy art - pronounced ‘chi kung’) by Taoist monks, a Chinese medical doctor, an acupuncturist and western doctor, she has truly found her place on the planet. In her Qigong, she teaches how to feel, find and build your own internal energy (qi), so that you become clear, strong and calm. This is deeply healing stuff: in fact, Bisong is one of those teachers who creates healing and peace, simply by being around her.

28 May – 4 June 2009, The Enlightened Bitch/B*stard
This is the first new week Gaia and John have developed since they introduced their now famous F**k It week in 2005. If they’ve learned one thing over all these years of teaching, it is this: You are okay, as you are. On this week they’ll create a space and a group where it will be a whole lot easier for you to see this. They’ll help you experience and express the whole you, and to see that, whatever comes up, you are okay: from bliss to blubbing your eyes out. They’ll create experiences with energy work, music, breathing, talking, expressing and feeling… until you undeniably conclude that you are okay at all times.

4 – 11 June 2009, A Fool on a Hill with Barefoot Doctor
After a fabulous sell-out week with us last year, the great Barefoot Doctor is back. “I will be taking you gently through various Taoism-based techniques for releasing your inhibitions and self-limiting blocks, to free you momentarily of the constraints of adulthood and the weight of responsibility, to unleash your genuine inner playful spirit… It will be fun, it will be challenging, it will be daring, it will be informative, it will be useful, it may be crucial and it will be special.”

18 – 25 June 2009, The art of Invincibility with Karl Grunick
This year, Master Karl Grunick adds a new element to his amazing energy teaching: the sword. Over the last few years, Karl has been transforming lives here at The Hill - teaching how Ki (energy) allows you to be in a clear and a powerful place. In fact, in an invincible place. Karl’s sessions are always great fun. But underneath the great exercises, something deep is always going on… something you can rarely work out with your mind. You’ll be doing simple exercises with the sword and Ki, but underneath deeply ingrained patterns will be being changed and you’ll find yourself feeling more alive, strong and powerful, no matter what’s going on. You will, in fact, feel invincible.

25 June – 2 July 2009, 9 - 16 July 2009, 30 July - 6 August 2009, F**k It week
Our F**k It weeks are legendary. Saying ‘F**k It’ means releasing control, taking your hands off the steering wheel, and starting to enjoy life. It represents the eastern ideas of letting go, giving up and finding real freedom by realising that things don’t matter so much (if at all). Led by Gaia and John, founders of the centre, this is a deeply relaxing and fun week of release, sleep and freedom using Chi Kung, meditation, breathwork and lots of funny stories. Plenty of people have come to The Hill, tried saying F**k It, then gone home to see their lives transformed. The differences and the changes might be subtle… or they might be earth-shattering. But you’ll go home a F**kiteer and be glad for what’s hit you.

13 – 20 August 2009, The Masters, Feeling Good No Matter What with Dan Brule
Master Brule (Guchu Ram Singh) is a breathwork master, and was one of the founders of breath therapy in the US in the 1970s. He teaches that – by using breathing and consciousness – you can relax into anything; heal yourself of anything; feel unimagined states of bliss and well-being, no matter what’s going on. Dan combines vast knowledge with love as deep as an ocean to create a week that will inspire, move and ultimately change you.

27 August – 3 September 2009, Infinite Tai Chi with Jason Chan
Master Chan created Infinite Tai Chi over twenty years ago. It is an extremely graceful, flowing form designed to bring practitioners into alignment with the natural elements, as well as with their own hearts, wisdom, inner strength and vitality. Learn sequences from the Infinite Tai Chi and Chi Kung forms and learn how to meditate with a true master of meditation. The forms can improve your physical health, raise your vibrations, calm your mind, lift your emotions, and connect you to the light that dwells deep within all of us. This will be a fabulous week of true relaxation, inspiration, fun and laughter.

10 – 17 September 2009, Mind, Body and a Punch in the Face with Chris Crudelli
Chris Crudelli is an exceptional martial artist and is now well-known in the UK, mainly because of his BBC series. A long time Kung Fu, Qigong and Tai Chi teacher with over 25 years’ experience under his black belt, Chris is as tough as they come. But at the same time, Chris is open, funny, human and down-to earth. This makes his teaching different from other martial arts training: he mixes the human element with amazing martial arts techniques, so you don’t just learn the moves but you learn about yourself. You’ll experience what it feels like to be fully in the present, you’ll find out how you respond to adversity and challenge… All in the very real and immediate arena of kicking, punching, jumping around… and breaking bricks.

17 – 24 September 2009, F**k It week
Our F**k It weeks are legendary. Saying ‘F**k It’ means releasing control, taking your hands off the steering wheel, and starting to enjoy life. It represents the eastern ideas of letting go, giving up and finding real freedom by realising that things don’t matter so much (if at all). Led by Gaia and John, founders of the centre, this is a deeply relaxing and fun week of release, sleep and freedom using Chi Kung, meditation, breathwork and lots of funny stories. Plenty of people have come to The Hill, tried saying F**k It, then gone home to see their lives transformed. The differences and the changes might be subtle… or they might be earth-shattering. But you’ll go home a F**kiteer and be glad for what’s hit you.

1 – 8 October 2009, The Enlightened Bitch/B*stard
This is the first new week Gaia and John have developed since they introduced their now famous F**k It week in 2005. If they’ve learned one thing over all these years of teaching, it is this: You are okay, as you are. On this week they’ll create a space and a group where it will be a whole lot easier for you to see this. They’ll help you experience and express the whole you, and to see that, whatever comes up, you are okay: from bliss to blubbing your eyes out. They’ll create experiences with energy work, music, breathing, talking, expressing and feeling… until you undeniably conclude that you are okay at all times.

8 – 13 October 2009, The Immortality Week
Energy Master Karl Grunick, who’s also teaching ' The Art of invincibility'in June, has put together this new workshop just for us at The Hill. Karl says ‘In Eastern culture, the fountain of immortality is always found inside the body’. So, during this 5-day course, Karl teaches simple but very deep exercises drawn from thousands of years of Eastern wisdom, bringing together movements from Chi Kung, Yoga, Sufi, and Ki with stunning music… These movements will ignite the source of your vitality and make you feel so full of energy, creativity and joie-de-vivre that you feel like you can live forever (and actually get closer to this possibility). Karl is a true master and therefore able to transmit the energetic core of these Eastern energy movements and combine them in a way that this experience will be a real feast for the body, a true chill-out for the mind and dynamite in your life. You will find out about the roots of many of the Eastern teachings - the quest for immortality - and learn the energetic techniques that have been used to pursue this possibility. Karl’s teaching always pushes the bounds of what seems possible, and in this course, he takes us right to the edge… the possibility of immortality.