ect peace


DESTINATIONS ITALY | EUROPE


‘


f travelweekly.co.uk


ar above the convent stands, leans a monk with folded hands, placid, satisfied,


serene,’ wrote American poet Henry Wadsworth


Longfellow in his poem Amalfi, published in 1875. A century and a half later, that same sense of peace pervades the air as we lie back on yoga mats for a breathwork session in the cloisters of the original 13th-century monastery that Longfellow referenced, now transformed into the atmospheric heart of a five-star hotel. The breeze drifts in from the


Tyrrhenian Sea, bringing with it the occasional blast of a car horn from the streets of nearby Amalfi town – this is still Italy, after all, and these coastal roads have more than a few hair-raising bends – but any everyday stresses float away as we focus our energies on mindful breathing techniques with psychotherapist and breathwork coach Maria Betteghella.


“Breath is actually a way of enlightenment,” she says. “The Eastern religions are more familiar with this as a way of enlightening body and mind at the same time. We in the West need this as an answer to our frenetic lives, but it’s free from religious tones so if you don’t believe you don’t need to – it’s something you can learn and take into your everyday life.” As she encourages us to


slow our breathing down to a more relaxed pace, I’m not sure whether it’s the spiritual setting or the simple act of concentrating on something we normally do without a second thought, but I emerge feeling calmer than ever. The breathwork session is among a new series of wellness activities introduced to the resort this year, along with outdoor yoga and meditation in the cloisters plus a new treatment menu in the spa, bringing together this historic setting with the modern-day desire to disconnect from our busy lives.²


16 JANUARY 2025


45


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64