21-Day Chronic Pain Healing Retreat with Yoga & Naturopathy in Piedmont, Italy

Most retreats promise a week of rest. This one gives you three full weeks to actually change how you live with your body. It was created by Elena Ravasi, a Naturopathic Health Coach trained at the College of Naturopathic Medicine in London and a Hatha Yoga teacher whose own recovery from eight years of fibromyalgia shapes everything she does. Rather than handing you a fixed programme, Elena works with you one-to-one before, during, and after the retreat to understand your history and build changes that will stick once you’re home.

The daily rhythm is simple. Mornings might start with a gentle Hatha yoga class — calm and slow enough that a guest with chronic pain could keep her centre and balance through the full 90 minutes. Three mornings a week there’s yoga, and one evening a week it’s restorative. Individual coaching sessions happen twice a week, where you talk through sleep, stress, movement, food, and whatever else is coming up. Once a week there’s a meditation session in a Mongolian yurt. Between all of that, there’s a lot of open time — time to walk through the vineyards, sit with the horses, or just be still.

The food side is different from most retreats. Meals aren’t served three times a day. Instead, you’re supported to plan, shop for, and prepare your own food, with Elena alongside you giving recipes, demonstrating things like making ghee, and helping you set up habits you can keep at home. It’s hands-on learning, not hotel catering. Dinner is provided on your arrival day and breakfast on the first morning, then the kitchen and your coaching sessions carry the rest.

The retreat is set in an 18th-century farmhouse just outside Turin, surrounded by fields, vineyards, and grazing cows, with the Alps an hour away. The building has been restored carefully — cosy, warm, and full of character rather than polished to a hotel standard. You share a private guest apartment with your own bathroom, and there’s a garden, a yoga shala, and plenty of quiet corners. Elena’s rescued horses live on the property, and guests are welcome to spend time with them; some sessions even involve being around the horses as a form of presence and connection.

What's included

- Accommodation in a private guest apartment with private bathroom - Weekly housekeeping and change of bed linen and towels - Welcome drink on arrival - Welcome dinner on arrival day (Saturday) - Welcome brunch on the first morning (Sunday) - Water, tea, and coffee available throughout the day - 3 gentle Hatha Yoga classes per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) - 1 restorative Yoga class per week (Thursday evening) - 1 online pre-retreat session (case history collection) - 1 online post-retreat follow-up session - 2 individual health coaching sessions per week - Daily support with food preparation, shopping lists, and recipes - Use of a fully equipped kitchen - Plenty of space and silence - Specialised workshops - Pre and post retreat support from the team - Free parking - Free wifi

What's not included

- Airport transfers - Flights - Visa fees - Travel insurance - Most meals (only dinner on arrival and breakfast the first morning are provided) - Additional activities not in the itinerary - Additional treatments - Optional sessions with horses or alpacas - Extra nights (available at extra cost)