The picturesque village of Dolcedo in northern Italy

This year I went on my first ever yoga retreat in Italy. The retreat was run by Australian Senior teacher Pixie Lillas. I’ve been to quite a few workshops run by Pixie as well as interviewed her for the IY(UK) magazine. It was an amazing experience, and one I hope to give to others at some point! I’ve written about a typical day on this yoga retreat to share this experience with you.

5:30am: The alarm goes off. I descend in silence to the bathroom, feeling a little glazed with tiredness. I make a cup of decaf tea and stare out the window at the soft, misty morning light on the hills behind the converted mill where we’re staying. My ‘flatmates’ drift about doing the same and we slip on our birkenstocks and pad up the studio.

6am: In the studio a few people are already there, lying still on their pranayama support, specified by Pixie and laid out in readiness from the day before. This small organisational effort makes a big difference in the early hours, and feels like a gift to ourselves.

6:15 - 7am: Pranayama. Often back home I will drift off to sleep during pranayama sessions, but here, in the cooler early morning air, I stay with Pixie’s voice and with the breath, finding odd moments of inner quiet to match the outer.

7 – 9am: We are still in silence in this break between yoga sessions. In our flat we have more coffee or a light breakfast of yoghurt, fruit and nuts, bought at the little shop in the village. After eating I sit and look at the view or read a book. The silence gives you time to sit with yourself.

9 – 11am: Active āsana session! These sessions often started with the same poses, such as Uttanasana (Forward fold) and Utthita Hasta Padangustasana (Standing hand to big toe pose). We would do them several different ways. The poses build throughout the session, but with plenty of time to cool down. Pixie has several key themes which are repeated throughout the week, such as ‘draw a line between the buttocks’, and ‘small floating ribs move back’. It feels like her instructions are specifically for me.

11:30am: The all-important LUNCH. Each meal is a veggie feast. E.g. stuffed peppers with coleslaw, green salad and authentic bread, with fresh fruit and cheese for pudding. Meals are communal, in the shade of a persimmon tree in a small courtyard. Each day we take turns to lay the table and clear. Conversation flows and overflows after the meal.

1ish – 4pm: A few of us walk down the hill to the village to have a one-euro coffee. We stroll past the village church, decked out inside like a Fabergé egg. Then a more strenuous walk back up the hill to have a dip in the mountain pool, dappled with light and dragonflies. I head back to my attic room for an afternoon sleep, setting my alarm for twenty minutes before the next session starts.

4 – 6pm: I get into Supta Baddha Koṇāsana in the silent studio. Pixie comes in with the sound of the bells rolling up the valley. The afternoon session is quieter. We hold Śīrṣāsana (headstand) and Sarvāngāsana (Shoulderstand) for long periods. I notice how my body responds differently to these poses every day. By the end of the day my body sinks into the final śavāsana like a stone.

6:30pm: SUPPER. The regular eating times mean that my stomach is cued up and ready to digest the next spread. Before supper I nip up to my room and apply bug spray in a vain attempt to dodge being a feast for the mosquitos that come out at dusk.

8ish – 10pm: I head out with a small group for a circular walk that starts sharply uphill towards an abandoned chapel. As night falls the river frogs’ chorus notches up in intensity. We stop on an old stone bridge which spans the stream. We admire an old lady’s immaculate vegetable garden as we loop back to the mill.

When we get back to the mill a flatmate calls us outside to watch the fireflies sparking. Then bed. I set the alarm for 5:30am.