One time I spent a month meditating in Tuscany and it was…Well one of the best months of my life. I don’t know if you had the chance to read my last post about Workaway, but you can click HERE for more information about the program if you haven’t. I had the chance to take part in two Workaways. One was with a lovely gay couple in Todi, Italy taking care of their 2 dogs, 13 cats, and CHICKENS. I will write about that another time. But the first Workaway I took part in was in an amazing meditation center in the middle of Tuscany. And I dream of going back all the time.
Amarti: My New Home
Amarti would be my home for the next month and the place I would be meditating in Tuscany. Run by two wonderful and kind people Harshil and Aloka, they welcome you with a giant hug and an open heart. The two are so vastly different but also very connected. Harshil is full of spunk and excitement about life, whereas Aloka has a calming presence and tender heart. The balance of the two works and is very welcoming when you walk into this hidden treasure.
There is a long dirt road you drive down before you arrive. The view of the village from across the canyon is picturesque. When you pull up to Amarti, there are two buildings, our hosts’ home and the building where the guests and volunteers sleep. You will find a lounge, the dining room, kitchen, and the meditation studio in the main building as well. The meditation room I would grow to love very quickly.
There is a row of picnic tables outside that would become our dining room most evening. Just so you know, eating dinner as the sunsets in Tuscany has made me very spoiled. Every other dining experience is garbage. I kid of course. The garden next to the tables is full of fresh veggies, and just down the way is an olive grove. Looking around, it was hard to believe this would be home for the next month.
The Volunteer Work
Part of staying at this fabulous place was having to help out around the houses and the grounds. In return, you were given housing, food, daily meditations, and just the amazing opportunity to be there. I would shovel horse poo every day if it meant I could spend every day of my life in this place.
Fortunately, there were no horses. The work mainly consisted of helping out in the garden, cleaning the common areas, and cooking in the kitchen. Harshil taught us the proper way to garden in the most joyful manner. It was just as joyful in the kitchen cooking with Aloka while singing from some of her favorite musicals. The work hardly felt like work at all.
Pruning the olive trees was probably my favorite chore of all. Although it was tedious, extremely hot, and hard work, it was all worth it for the view. You would climb up that tree, scraping your knee as you go, but when you got to the top, it felt like you could see for forever. And I just loved taking a short water break up there and breath in the fresh air. It was sometimes one of my favorite times of the day.
Meditating In Tuscany
But perhaps the best part of this whole experience was the meditating. Harshil and Aloka are so well versed in so many different types of meditation. A lot of you might think meditation is just sitting crossed legged in silence. But, it is so much more. Of course, there is that type of meditation where you sit in silence and focus interentally. But what I experienced at Amarti was so different and invigorating.
Harshil would have us partake in more physical meditations. In our first three days we took part in Dynamic Meditation. A 5 step hour meditation that focuses on breathing, movement, sound, stillness, and celebration. It was extremely intense but also very liberating. I fully admit, it was weird at first, but if you stop being so self-conscious, your mind can go to amazing places. That still something I try to remember today.
Aloka’s approach was a little more focused on the heart and perhaps the more “traditional” meditation that people have grown to know. Although she would also throw in some new techniques that I never heard of. One was speaking gibberish while meditating. Again, I didn’t feel comfortable doing it at first, but once I let myself go, it was a beautiful experience. Whether it was meditating through movement or laying on a mat in silence, my morning and evening meditations were the moments I looked forward to the most.
To Love Yourself
I didn’t find out till almost my last day that Amarti means “To love you”. And that’s exactly what this experience taught me. To love myself. It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions that month. I had extreme highs and lows. But, in the end I was the happiest I had been in a long time. Leaving Amarti, I really did love myself. It’s a feeling I try to recreate every morning when I meditate, but don’t always succeed. But, sometimes I close my eyes and think about the time I spent meditating in Tuscany. And it brings back not only that self love, but the memories of one of the greatest summers of my life.
Is Meditating In Tuscany Something You Would Want To Do?
So is meditating in Tuscany added to your bucket list? There are 100s of opportunities like this all around the world. Maybe you would prefer to meditate in Germany or India or upstate New York, and these are all available options. Check out Workaway and other programs like them to have this same experience.
And their website is in Italian, but if you would like to check out Amarti itself, click HERE. They do have a slide show of the grounds and some pictures to show you how lovely these people are.
[…] spent a little over two weeks with me before I sent them home, and I went and did workaway at a meditation center. That was probably one of my favorite trips I’ve taken to date. But we also did A LOT in that […]