The trip begins in Turin. Arrive by 2pm, drop your bags at a four-star hotel across from Porta Nuova Station, and walk around the city or rest. The group meets for an aperitivo on the rooftop, then has a home-cooked dinner with a local family, depending on group size. The next morning is a walking tour through Turin's 2,000-year history that ends at an artisanal chocolatier's workshop. Lunch is your pick of the local specialties at the Centrale food market.

On the way out to the countryside, the group stops at Martini & Rossi to see where the brand began and take a private mixology class at its Bar Academy. From there it's on to the villa in the Roero, where a private chef cooks that first night's dinner. The villa is home for the remaining six nights, and it has a wine cellar, a gourmet kitchen, an outdoor yoga shala and an infinity pool.

A typical day starts with yoga and breakfast, then an outing. On day three you e-bike the hills to Monteu Roero and its medieval church of San Bernardino, stop at a vineyard for a birbet and seasonal fruit tasting, and have lunch in Canale. Day four goes to Bra, the birthplace of the Slow Food movement, and then to Pollenzo, where you visit the University of Gastronomic Sciences and walk through the Bank of Wine in its cellars. Dinner that night is a walk away, at a family-run restaurant with centuries of history.

What sets this apart from a typical yoga week in Italy is how hands-on it is. You drive goats into their pen with the help of a shepherd and his herding dogs, then work on the cheese made from their milk. You also cook with the chef using food you picked out at the market, and a local pizzaiolo comes to the villa to make dinner one night. There's real free time as well: day five keeps the whole morning open for swimming, booking a massage or doing nothing much, before a winery cellar tour and guided tasting in the afternoon.

The yoga is taught by Cathy Shaw, a registered yoga teacher, certified yoga therapist, mindfulness meditation instructor and sound healing practitioner. Her teaching mixes music, movement and meditation, and she uses a trauma-informed approach that welcomes all bodies and all levels. Mats, blocks and straps are provided at the villa, so you don't need to pack any.

The location is a big part of the appeal. Piedmont gets fewer visitors than many of Italy's better-known regions, but it's home to Nebbiolo grapes, Barolo wine, white truffles and hazelnuts. Alba, where you get a free day of wandering on day six, is the town that gave the world Nutella, and it hosts a well-known truffle fair during certain months in the fall.

What's included

- Morning vinyasa and/or evening chill-out yoga in the countryside - One night in a four-star city center hotel in Turin - Six nights in a luxury private villa in the Langhe Roero - Home-cooked dinner with a family in Turin - Walking tour of Turin and its local markets, with lunch in the central food market - Chocolate factory visit and tasting in Turin - Private Martini & Rossi factory visit and mixology class - E-bike ride to the village of Canale and its market, with local stops - Private chef cooking class at the villa using produce from Canale's market - Tasting at Italy's Bank of Wine - Visit to Pollenzo's University of Taste - Winery visit and tasting class - Gourmet lunch at the home of the slow food movement - Hilltop goat herding and natural cheese making morning - Dinner and wine tasting at a family-run winery - Chef-cooked dinners at the villa - Dinner at the villa with a pizzaiolo - Airport transfers on arrival and departure days, per the welcome email

What's not included

- Airfare to Turin - Two lunches - Additional excursions - Alcohol - Items of a personal nature and souvenirs - Travel insurance (recommended) - Gratuities

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