The Mythic Heart

A small group retreat anchored in oral story and Katonah Yoga® in the heart of Tuscany

Annual Retreat
to Tuscany

November 8th-14th 2025

Join Selena Garefino for a small group travel experience in Tuscany. More than a yoga retreat, your tour includes privately guided experiences in Tuscany curated in partnership with Selena's long time friends.

ROOM AVAILABILITY & PRICING

This fall we are gathering once again in Tuscany near Cortona for a week of oral storytelling, Katonah Yoga®, and expertly guided and curated experiences showcasing the best of Tuscany.

This is your invitation to connect with these ancient lands, to savor lovingly prepared meals from local farms and to meander ancient olive groves.

Collectively we will savor twice daily practices on non-excursions days.

Through story- telling, journaling, yoga, movement and meditation practice we will weave our personal stories into the ancient ones that hold us all.

We'll explore archetypes and embodiment work to attune to the pleasure that is a gentle breeze, a ripened tomato, a fire, and the simplicity of good company.

This is a retreat into the simple pleasures of life, an invitation to reconnect with the ground beneath our feet, and the bounty of the earth that holds us.

Separate from your day to day, enter the liminal space of creativity, and re-emerge more deeply connected to yourself and the larger sphere that holds you.

During our week together Selena will weave expert oral storytelling with movement practice to nourish the whole of you. Explorations in embodied myth and folk tales will light the fire of your imagination.

Your retreat week includes specially curated experiences in one of the most stunning regions of Tuscany.

Included

Private tours of nearby villages
Transport from Florence
A private concert experience
Lovingly prepared meals
Accommodations
Live music
Wine tasting
And exclusive luxury gift expertly crafted in Florence Italy
A curated yoga and mindfulness week

ROOM AVAILABILITY & PRICING

The Mythic Heart

More than a yoga retreat. It is a curated tour of one of the most beautiful regions of Tuscany.

Our week together includes expertly curated private tours, wine tastings, live music, and practices designed to lead you into self inquiry with curiosity and joy.

Practices will weave Katonah Yoga®, somatic movement, meditation, breathwork, and oral storytelling.

You're Invited to connect with the this precious land, to savor lovingly prepared meals from local farms, to settle into your skin, and to lean into practice anchored in story.

We will recreate together an ancient Tuscan tradition called the veglia. The Veglia is a storytelling tradition most commonly held in fall and winter.

Selena has been traveling her ancestral homeland for 22 years and it is her honor to invite spend your retreat week in the place she calls home.

The Mythic Heart retreat is more than a yoga retreat. It is a curated experience designed to lead you into self inquiry with curiosity and joy. Together we’ll explore yoga, movement, meditation, and more to deeply connect with our inner compass.

An invitation into ceremony, ritual, and savoring the simple

A week of re-affirming the sacredness of life through story, movement, ritual, community, and ceremony.

You're Invited
to connect with the land, to savor lovingly prepared meals from local farms, to settle into your skin, and to lean into practice anchored in story. To make daily ceremony, to move into community, ritual, and the quiet, and to let your own stories emerge.

Gastronomical Delights

Food is community, pleasure, heritage, love, and so much more. In Tuscany food is a centerpoint of daily life and we are delighted to showcase the local cuisine.

Your meals are sourced locally, seasonally, and prepared with love. We are happy to meet your dietary needs.

Our venue carefully selects the fruits and vegetables that are served to guests. Everything is fresh, local and seasonal.

The meat served is local, pasture-raised from nearby farmers, the furthest is 30 minutes from our center.As local and as good quality as it gets for the meat eaters.

Guests will have opportunities to sip and savor some of the world's best wines. Tuscany is famous for its Sangiovese grape from which Chianti, Brunello, Nobile, and other famous wines are produced.

“You may have the universe if I may have Italy.” – Giuseppe Verdi

Rekindle your connection with nature, with rest, with play, and with your heart. Savor the hammam spa, take a stroll into the village, hike the hills surrounding our retreat center, relax by the pool.

Curated Meals

Food is community, pleasure, heritage, love, and so much more. Your meals are sourced locally, seasonally, and prepared with love. We are happy to meet your dietary needs.

Our venue carefully selects the fruits and vegetables that are served to guests. Everything is fresh, local and seasonal.

The meat served is local, pasture-raised from nearby farmers, the furthest is 30 minutes from our center.As local and as good quality as it gets for the meat eaters.

The fish is from the local fish market where fish daily arrives from both the Adriatic and the Tirreno Sea.

Practice

Retreat offers us an intentional withdrawal from the every day to reconnect with our interior and with the things that matter so we can re-emerge and reconnect in new heartfelt ways. It’s an opportunity to remember and reaffirm the sacredness of life in this ongoing ceremony we call living.

Expect journal prompts, movement practices woven with oral story, and joyful personal growth.

Our morning practices will be sweaty Katonah Yoga® practices to explore the body and deepen our relationship with self.

Afternoon sessions will vary including restorative work, somatic movement, and breathwork sessions.

Practices are all levels and open to all. You do not need to be a yoga expert or have years of fancy movement under your belt.

The techniques underpinning the Katonah practices come from classical Hatha yoga, Taoist yoga and the panpyschic vision belonging to western esoteric philosophy. And is the creation of Nevine Michaan.

Retreat offers us an intentional withdrawal from the every day to reconnect with our interior and with the things that matter so we can re-emerge and reconnect in new heartfelt ways. It’s an opportunity to remember and reaffirm the sacredness of life in this ongoing ceremony we call living.

I welcome you to Italy. A land that celebrates the "dolce vita" the sweet life, "passeggiata" evening post-dinner strolls.

“You may have the universe if I may have Italy.” – Giuseppe Verdi

Our Venue

Our venue is a gorgeous retreat center in between Tuscany and Umbria. The venue is the creation of Lucia Ferrari. Lucia took over her family business 9 years ago and has curated something unparalleled.

In a world where the word "authenticity" is tossed around a lot, Lucia and her team of 7 women are inviting you into the same loving experiences they offer their friends and family.

The property overlooks the gorgeous Lake Trasimeno and is situated near one of Selena's favorite villages Cortona.

The property boasts a gorgeous yoga space fully outfitted with Manduka props for a truly excellent practice experience.

All rooms are private in shared apartments. You'll savor your own private room sharing an apartment with one other guest. If you have a preferred apartment-mate simply put their name in your booking.

CHOOSE YOUR ROOM

What To Expect...

Nourishment

Savor three, farm-fresh meals filled with local fruits, vegetables, cheeses, fresh fish, and local meat. Vegetarian and vegan diets can be accommodated.

Enjoy nightly plated dinners with stunning views of the forest, add-on local wines.

Each morning you'll be served an organic breakfast, and post practice an afternoon buffet lunch.

A cooking class with master chef Sergio Tancredi is included in your stay.

Exploration

Twice-daily yoga practices incorporating somatic movement, breathwork, meditation, storytelling, and more. All levels are welcome. These practices will spark your curiosity and invite you into deeper relationship with you.

We'll explore folklore and mythology and weave the story into our embodiment work for a full spectrum experience of archetypes beyond our everyday.

Play

Swim, relax, visit a winery, walk the property, escape to medieval churches, wander the property and ancient nearby olive groves, savor the spa. .

Taste the dolce vita with this once in a lifetime experience.

Story telling awakens something so special. They are an invitation to stoke your awe and imagination. All guests will have the opportunity to engage in sharing poetry, art, storytelling in community if they wish.

Private Room

In Shared Apartment with One Other Guest

Early Bird Rate €3600

*if you would like an entire apartment there is a 1500 euro supplementary fee

Included:

-Transport to and from Florence

-Bespoke gift expertly crafted in Firenze

-Private tours

-Curated Program

-A Wine Tasting

-Professional images of your experience

And more surprises...

BOOK YOUR ROOM

I was legitimately scared to go to Selena’s retreat. I’m not a yogi. I had never traveled outside the US before. I needed to do something for myself. I needed something grounding but outside of my comfort zone. That’s exactly what I found with this retreat. Selena and everyone on this retreat made me feel welcomed and supported. Not having a yoga practice wasn’t an issue. The classes were a challenge but I didn’t feel left behind. The teachings about the goddess hit me in tender spots that I didn’t want to admit were there. I would recommend going to her next retreat to anyone that will listen to me.

Peach Montana

While on retreat with Selena there were tender moments, challenging moments, peaceful moments and massive growth.

I was constantly challenged to grow and held at the same time. The daily meditations were filled with wisdom. The asana practice was exquisite. The company was amazing — so much laughter and support all around.

Thank you for the knowledge you shared. Your years of study and mastery shine through in all you do. It was an expansive experience. I’m eager to do it all again.

Megan

Peach Montana

While on retreat with Selena there were tender moments, challenging moments, peaceful moments and massive growth.

Thank you for the knowledge you shared. Your years of study and mastery shine through in all you do. It was an expansive experience. I’m eager to do it all again.

Megan

On Retreat

The Mythic Heart is your opportunity to be in community with like-minded humans, to explore your inner landscape, to play, rest, and reconnect with the ceremony of life.

Together we’ll explore oral storytelling, myth, folk tales, rituals, practice, and play to inspire and elevate our collective creativity.

You will enjoy twice-daily embodied myth yoga practices to support your body and breath. Asana, meditation, pranayama, journaling work, and other practices to support your well-being, heal your nervous system, and lead you to your highest.

On retreat...

*Guided private tours

*Gorgeous wine tasting

*Bespoke curated gift expertly crafted in Firenze

*Professional images of your experience

*Transport from Florence

*Live music

*A private concert

And so much more...

On Retreat

The Mythic Heart is your opportunity to be in community with like-minded humans, to explore your inner landscape, to play, rest, and reconnect with the ceremony of life.

Together we’ll explore oral storytelling, myth, folk tales, rituals, practice, and play to inspire and elevate our collective creativity.

On retreat...

*Guided Tour of Siena

*Day Trip to Montepulciano

*On-site wine tasting with Sommelier

*Visit to a stunning organic winery

*Spa Time

*A cooking class

*A very special surprise

And so much more...

Retreat With Me

THE MYTHIC HEART RETREAT

Private Room in Shared Apartment

€3600 Early Bird

• Private Room
• Daily curated meals
• Salt water pool
• Twice daily practices
• Guided Tours
• Wine tasting
• Transportation from Florence
• Luxury gift
• Live Music
• Prosecco Welcome

BOOK NOW

Sarah M.

Let me begin by saying, if I could give Selena and this trip fifty stars, I would in a heartbeat. I understand how cliche it is to say, “This trip changed my life!” But it truly did. Selena provided a safe space to reconnect with my body, mind, and spirit as emotions I couldn’t fully understand at the time bubbled to the surface. She left us with a simple statement, “Love your life,” that had profound impacts I haven’t fully grasped. While Greece was outstanding, the people incredible, the food fantastic, and the resort impeccable, the internal movement this created within me is something I will be forever indebted to. I will be returning in the future. Selena changed my life. If you’re considering going, even a tiny bit, hold tight to it and don’t let go. It’ll make you love your life again. I promise.

Annual Retreat to Tuscany

The Mythic Heart retreat is more than a yoga retreat. It is a curated experience designed to lead you into self inquiry with curiosity and joy. Together we’ll explore yoga, movement, meditation, and more to deeply connect with our inner compass.

An invitation into ceremony, ritual, and savoring the simple

A week of re-affirming the sacredness of life through story, movement, ritual, community, and ceremony.

You're Invitedto connect with the land, to savor lovingly prepared meals from local farms, to settle into your skin, and to lean into practice anchored in story. To make daily ceremony, to move into community, ritual, and the quiet, and to let your own stories emerge.

Rekindle your connection with nature, with rest, with play, and with your heart. Savor the hammam spa, take a stroll into the village, hike the hills surrounding our retreat center, relax by the pool.

Curated Meals

Food is community, pleasure, heritage, love, and so much more. Your meals are sourced locally, seasonally, and prepared with love. We are happy to meet your dietary needs.

Our venue carefully selects the fruits and vegetables that are served to guests. Everything is fresh, local and seasonal.

The meat served is local, pasture-raised from nearby farmers, the furthest is 30 minutes from our center.As local and as good quality as it gets for the meat eaters.

The fish is from the local fish market where fish daily arrives from both the Adriatic and the Tirreno Sea.

Retreat offers us an intentional withdrawal from the every day to reconnect with our interior and with the things that matter so we can re-emerge and reconnect in new heartfelt ways. It’s an opportunity to remember and reaffirm the sacredness of life in this ongoing ceremony we call living.

I welcome you to Italy. A land that celebrates the "dolce vita" the sweet life, "passeggiata" evening post-dinner strolls.

“You may have the universe if I may have Italy.” – Giuseppe Verdi

Our Venue

What To Expect...

Nourishment

Exploration

Play

Private Room

Peach Montana

Megan

Peach Montana

Megan

On Retreat

On Retreat

Retreat With Me

THE MYTHIC HEART RETREAT

Private Room in Shared Apartment

€3600 Early Bird

Sarah M.

Join Our Free Trial

Annual Retreat
to Tuscany

You're Invited
to connect with the land, to savor lovingly prepared meals from local farms, to settle into your skin, and to lean into practice anchored in story. To make daily ceremony, to move into community, ritual, and the quiet, and to let your own stories emerge.