7 Days SWT, Muay Thai, Fitness, and Crossfit in Sezzadio, Italy

For those who practice or teach yoga, Muay Thai, or meditation, it’s a unique opportunity to comprehend and explore how these disciplines can be integrated, complementing each other on all levels: physical, mental, and spiritual during a great week of practice and experimentation in the endless search for the perfect balance between Yin and Yang.

Example of a daily schedule

• 07:30 - 08:15 Meditation
• 08:15 - 09:00 Running or muscular work-out
• 09:30 - 10:15 Breakfast
• 10:30 - 12:00 Functional training and sparring
• 12:30 - 16:00 Lunch and free time
• 16:00 - 18:30 Functional training, sparring, and yoga
• 20:00 - Dinner

Hari Om Yoga School

Hari Om is a Yoga School for who chooses to become a yoga teacher, for who wants to deepen the knowledge of yoga and for anyone desiring to learn, practice, understand what yoga is and to find out more about oneself. The Hari Om Yoga school has been founded by Marco Mandrino. Marco has studied and practices the diverse approaches to yoga in conjunction with other elements belonging to different spiritual traditions and the school plainly reflects this intent.

The school, in fact, avails the collaboration of many disparate teachers, each one of them teaching what they most love, at the best of their knowledge and in accordance to their approach, experience, and point of view. The school has many branches all over Italy, but the center and heart of Hari Om is at Cascina Bellaria, Sezzadio (AL), in the beautiful countryside of the northern region of Piedmont.

At Cascina Bellaria, besides the yoga teacher training, many other annual and ongoing events are organized and take place: Ayurveda workshops, yoga holidays, yoga therapy courses, retreats and seminars and seminars treating different themes and topics, and also pilgrimages to the sacred sites of the East.

Muay Thai

Muay Thai or Thai Boxing is the national sport and cultural martial art of Thailand. It was developed several hundreds of years ago as a form of close-combat that utilizes the entire body as a weapon. Today its definitive origins are debated by modern scholars, as much of the Muay Thai history was lost when the Burmese ransacked Ayudhaya, Siam’s capital city in Thailand, during the 14th century.

Most written Muay Thai history was lost when the Burmese looted the temples and depositories of knowledge held in Ayudhaya, and what volumes were saved are now national treasures that are preserved and protected as documentation for Thai culture and heritage.

Bellria Farmhouse

The retreat is held at the Bellaria Farmhouse, which is a classical Homestead built in the traditional Piedmont style. Part of it originated as far back as the middle of the 19th century. It is located in the hilly countryside of South Piedmont nearby the cities of Alessandria and Acqui Terme.

Situated far away from towns and main roads, the farm sits in a quiet and relaxed atmosphere characterized by the rhythm of Nature. Foxes, squirrels, wild boars, and many different kinds of birds live in the surrounding countryside and can be spotted near the farmhouse or by the small lake also located in the premises.

Piedmont

Piedmont is in Italy's northwest and borders Switzerland and France. True to the meaning of its name (foot of the mountain), Piedmont is a land of mountains. It is surrounded on three sides by the Alps, with the highest peaks and largest glaciers in Italy. Monviso, the Piedmont side of Monte Rosa, and the other spectacular mountains in the region create incredibly beautiful landscapes, and ski resorts abound.

The Alps form the background for sweeping, picturesque valleys. The landscapes of the Langhe and Monferrato are hilly, rather, but just as beautiful, a succession of cultivated hills and vineyards that are dotted with small towns and castles. Expenses of water and rice paddies, long rows of poplars and old farmhouses make up the typical scenery of the plains around Novara and Vercelli. Lake Maggiore is the most sought-after tourist resort, including Stresa and the Borromean Islands, charming as they are with their ancient villas surrounded by beautiful lawns and gardens.

Yet, nature is only one of the many attractions in Piedmont. This region has many other facets: from Turin – the Italian car manufacturing capital – with its history and remarkable cultural heritage, to other cities such as Cherasco, Alba and Ivrea. Next up are the intriguing Medieval castles - like the imposing fortress at Ivrea - and prized works of architecture - the famous Residences of the Royal House of Savoy and the Sacri Monti (Sacred Mountains) certainly deserve to be mentioned. The famous spa resorts of Acqui Terme and Vinadio offer treatments and therapy for a relaxing, reviving holiday.

Daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included in the prices. Students will enjoy authentic Italian cuisine made from simple, delicious, organic, local (zero kilometer when possible) and fresh raw produce and grains. Most of the vegetables come from the farmhouse's own gardens and are grown naturally, following the seasons of production, keeping intact their fragrance, flavor, and nutrition.

It is enhanced by careful and skillful cooking and ensures the preservation of the health properties of the ingredients. There is a great variety in each meal, keeping the buffets healthy and flavorful, using vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, spices, and much more, all prepared in many ways. They cook for everybody's taste, surprising diners daily with desserts.

There is a vegan menu available, which is free of animal products and their derivatives, not for fashion or for fundamentalism, but to be consistent with a path of transformation that involves our whole life. And that includes a more mature and conscious relationship with food which also affects the quality of our health, sense of well-being, and does not compromise taste.

• 6 nights accommodation
• All yoga, Muay Thai, meditation sessions
• Food

• Airfare tickets
• Miscellaneous expenses
• Travel insurance