We are continually inspired by vintage travel posters, postcards and photographs. When we were rebranding last year, these tokens were our main inspiration. Not only for the color and type, but for the memory they provoke. We wanted to share with you a collection of a few from some of the locations we are visiting this year. Hope you enjoy and tha it inspires you to travel somewhere with us in the future!
Our EPM team are avid readers and we wanted to share with you what we are currently into. We would love to hear back from you any suggestions. We want to make this a place we can share and exchange ideas, so comment away!
We always love catching up on their journal for recipes, informative articles, city guides and so much more. On the blog this week we wanted to share a super simple face mask you can make at home with ingredients you probably already have on hand. Enjoy and take some time to pamper yourself naturally with ease.
We are looking forward to several retreats in Tuscany this year and thought we would highlight some of the charming Italian towns we visit while there. (Our Itinerary changes depending on the retreat and time of year but this will give you some insight into the region.)
We are so excited to introduce to those of you who don’t already know her, our newest collaborator for our yoga + self care + cuisine retreat in Tuscany, Amy Commander! Amy has been friends with our founder Erin for many years and after last years Puglia retreat (Amy is also half of Boxerina) they have finally found the perfect collaboration in Tuscany.
We are so thrilled to finally introduce our newest team member, Sarah Scarborough!
At EAT.PRAY.MOVE, we have been so lucky to cross paths with some incredible teachers in multiple fields of study, and Sarah is no exception. Not only is she a certified yoga teacher, but she is an expert in all things tea related: she is the creator and tea buyer for Firepot Nomadic Teas, a Nashville based company serving the highest quality organic and ethically sourced tea from around the world.
We were lucky to return to Bali for two retreats this year, and we were fortunate to go back to visit our Give Back partner for Indonesia, Threads of Life. Threads of Life is a fair trade business that works with culture and conservation to alleviate poverty in rural Indonesia. In addition to education us on the artists and foundations they work with, Our guests took a natural dye batik class, which offers a unique insight into the botany, dye processes and practice of Indonesia’s textile traditions.
We were so excited to get to revisit our beloved Project Soar while we were in Marrakesh and catch up on the amazing things they are doing. Plus we were able to work on some projects!
We have been working with Project Soar for years now, and it's an incredibly powerful organization, working to empower Moroccan girls, giving them an open space to study and be, as well as educational tools, health resources, empowering affirmations, the chance to play sports and take art classes, and so much more. They strive to give these young women a voice and a chance to complete their education.
In the next round of our Traveler Testimony, I spoke to Catherine from New York City. Catherine was an actor in NYC and London before transitioning to writing and producing. She is a repeat guest, one of the people we lovingly refer to as our EPM family. She has already joined us in Marrakesh, Croatia, Goa, Tuscany and Iceland! We asked her to give us a little of her perspective on what it's like to travel with us on retreat.
If you've been following our Give Back program, you may have seen that for our Croatia initiative, we partnered with the Croatian Scholarship Fund to donate to a student named Erika. She is studying at the Teacher's University in Zagreb, the largest city in Croatia. We get regular updates from Erika, so we thought we should share what she's been up to!
For all of my life, it has seemed like there are two types of people in the world: adventurous or not. If my beginnings would have told me anything, it would be that I was not going to be much of a traveler. I was the kind of kid that would stress out and get homesick if I went to a friend’s house for a sleepover. (I even took my own food with me.)
We're happy to introduce you to two amazing women who joined us on our Tuscany "Form+Focus" retreat over the summer. Emily and Hannah are the creators of the London-based company, Twice the Health -where this team (consisting of a nutritionist and PT) are best-friends turned bloggers, turned health-maker-world-travelers. Their matching outfits and youtube workout videos take them around the world finding interesting new forms of workouts and health, as well as new landscapes in which to challenge themselves.
We want to introduce you to Bonnie, one of our most loyal EPM guests - she's been a friend for years and has attended 13 EPM retreats since we began and is already signed up on a few more on the upcoming calendar! She's an amazing adventurous soul who continues to inspire us with her free spirit. Thanks Bonnie for taking the time to write this post about your experience in Goa!
We wanted to share with you a guest post of our recent guest, Arlene, who attended one of the Tuscany retreats this summer. We were so happy to have her join us and thankful for her lovely post about the experience. Born in New York City, Arlene currently lives in Rome, Italy after working for fifteen years in Hollywood as a film executive and a screenwriter. Now she spends her time in 'il bel paese' continuing her writing and working as an interior decorator with clients from around the world.
Here's a snippet of her blog post below and be sure to click through to the full post below!
We just returned from an amazing retreat on the Amalfi Coast last week - it was our first retreat at this location as it was a special request from a private group. It was a group of friends - many who are past guests, and just a big celebration of life, activities enjoyed together, and a small reunion of sorts.
We're happy to introduce you to one of our EPM guests who has joined us in Italy and Morocco and always adds fun, glamour, and plenty of food knowledge and excitement to each retreat. Courtney is the author of the blog, Blonge Voyage Nashville - a Nashville, TN native who has a healthy obsession with culinary delights both at home and abroad…
Hi everyone! It's been a while since we written to you about our Give Back Initiative and we had some exciting new updates. Since the beginning of 2017 we've donated several thousands of dollars to our Give Back partners in Bali, India, and Morocco! Thanks to our guests who've helped make this possible. We believe that we can all "Do Good & Travel Well" and also connect in a meaningful way to the cultures where we visit.
Earlier this year, through our partnership with Magic Bus, EAT.PRAY.MOVE was able to provide notebooks and school bags for 120 children. Many of these children go to a government-run school in Baina, one of the areas most in need in the state of Goa. Here, there is little money to support a child’s education as government-run schools are generally under resourced. Because of this, contributions like ours can go a long way in making a difference in the lives of these children.
This is a new series written by our Give Back coordinator, Eugenia. She's in charge of being a liaison between our Give Back partners around the world and we are so happy to have her on board as this program, which is so close to our hearts here at EPM, grows. Follow our journey in getting to know our partners through these updates - and see how our guests are making differences in people's lives on a global scale. DO GOOD + TRAVEL WELL.
We are back with our next Traveler Testimony. This round is Anna and Jared from Atlanta, GA. This couple has a graphic design and photography business, have been married for 14 years and love any opportunity to travel together and explore new places. We are always excited to welcome couples on our retreats, and this duo is quite a lovely pair. We even got to enjoy Jared's stunning photos from the retreat, seen in this post!
We are excited to bring your our next TRAVELER TESTIMONY! This edition's blog guest is Stacey from Ontario, Canada! Stacey is a dental hygienist and active volunteer in her community. She loves yoga, art, good food and wine, so we were thrilled to get her take on what it's like to experience an EAT.PRAY.MOVE retreat from her perspective. Here are her impressions on a MINDFUL MOVEMENT yoga + meditation retreat in Croatia with Jen Carter.
