Sicily, September 12–17 2024
Cuisine and yoga activities
Mise-en-scène Sicilienne featuring Chelsey Forbes and Clo Chaumet at Casa Lawa.
A 5-day yoga and Italian cuisine by cool teachers at a cool Casa for cool people.
But not just about yoga and Italian cuisine, but also about the emotion and the gender and the playlists.
Chelsey and Clo met at a Katonah yoga training that Clo was taking in NYC in May 2023. Between all the Katonah yoga assists, Chelsey offered Clo to try her Honey Mama’s chocolate bar, and that is where the friendship became le miel de la crème.
Some friendships happen just like this: over yoga, good snacks, fun practices and beautiful moments. The idea of continuing the fun and bringing it to a co-teaching retreat project in Sicily was the best excuse to extend our 2024 summer together, doing yoga and cooking fresh food in Italy.
Being obsessively attracted to colors and anything playful and tasteful, Casa Lawa felt like the perfect place for our Italian yoga experience.
We are extremely happy to be able to host a 5 days yoga, meditation, and Italian cuisine retreat at Casa Lawa. This unique casa is an artistic, Sicilian welcoming guest house created by excellent human Lukas. Another Italian local house will be our annexe for the week to be able to welcome more people to the fun.
Now, you can easily picture yourself in the late Italian summer, flexing muscles and getting joy-stoned at the daily yoga classes and also with the daily practice of “farniente.” Please plan to read books by the Casa Lawa pool, meditate in theanean Sea, go walking, countryside, do spiritual swims in the Mediterr and meet great people.
Our idea behind this retreat is to do yoga, try Italian activities, and eat good Sicilian food. For that matter, we have some culinary and cultural ateliers planned, like a cooking class with the amazing Casa Lawa chef in Residence, a pasticceria russo breakfast, meaning a pastry cooking class that we will obviously eat afterwards. We will also add some liquid fun with a local wine-tasting session to learn and discover Sicilian wine culture.
Chelsey and Clo will lead daily and twice yoga, including Katonah yoga, Chinese Medicine inspired flows and workshops, sound healing sessions at the casa and at the beach, playful vinyasa classes, deep and restorative end-of-the-day sessions, meditation and pranayama will be part of the daily schedule as well.
RETREAT SCHEDULE
Schedule (this may vary)
Day 1 Sept 12th
12 pm arrival and check-in
1 pm lunch at Casa Lawa
2 pm - 5 pm free time
5 pm - 7 pm yoga class
7.30 pm welcome aperitivo
8 pm diner
9 pm - 9.30 pm Sound Healing Session
Day 2 Sept 13th
8 am - 8.30 am morning meditation
8.30 am - 10 am morning yoga practice
10 am fresh fruits, coffee and tea
10 am - 12 pm free time
12 pm Sicilian cuisine cooking class with in residence chef for lunch
2 pm - 5.30 pm hike in the local trails and mountains
5.30 pm - 7 pm yoga class
7.30 pm diner
9 pm - 9.30 pm Sound Healing Session
day 3 Sept 14th
8 am - 8.30 am morning meditation
8.30 am - 10 am morning yoga practice
10 am fresh fruits, coffee and tea
10 am - 11 am free time
11 am - 12 pm late Italian breakfast
1 pm - departure for the beach
5 pm - beach yoga
6 pm beach Sound Healing Session
7 pm diner at the beach
day 4 Sept 15th
8 am - 8.30 am morning meditation
8.30 am - 10 am morning yoga practice
10 am pasticceria russo breakfast baking class
12 pm - 3 pm free time
3 pm - wine tasting visit
6 pm - 7.30 yoga practice
8 pm diner at Casa Lawa
9 pm - 10 pm Sound Healing Cacao Ceremony
day 5 Sept 16th
8 am - 8.30 am morning meditation
8.30 am - 10 am morning yoga practice
10 am fresh fruits, coffee and tea
10 am - 11 am free time
11 am - 12 pm late Italian breakfast
12 pm - 5 pm free time
5 pm - 7 pm yoga practice
8 pm last night aperitivo + diner at Casa Lawa !
Day 6 Sept 17th
8 am - 8.30 am morning meditation
9 am early Italian breakfast
10 am departure
Casa Lawa
Casa Lawa was built from lava in 1812 and has been so tastefully turned into a 400m2 unique and tasteful guest house by creative Lukas Lewandowski for a rest and relaxation casa with iconic mountain views in Sicily, Italy.
Casa Lawa is a home for creatives that hosts residencies + workshops and brings people together around life’s classical magical activities.
The Casa Lawa pool will be finally ready for September !
Casa Lawa says “We bake. We paint. We ferment. Our casa fosters opportunities for dialogue and exciting new impulses. Seeking to create a community for artists and guests, CASA LAWA provides a dynamic and unique stay that is shaped by those who visit.”
“The house is located only 25 minutes away from the seaside and set in nature, surrounded by four hectares of fruit trees - perfect for both sea lovers and hikers. At Casa Lawa artists and guests come together, baking, painting and trying fermentation techniques.” The Maptique
“Making connections between people around the table is so special; I’m inviting people who can contribute new values to the space,” Lukas Lewandowski
“That’s the whole idea of giving people a very personal experience, every morning, we serve breakfast and discuss the guests’ plans for the day; we go together to the local market, organize Etna hikes and visit winemakers.” Lukas Lewandowski
Italian Etna House
This traditional super charming Sicilian house will be the best guesthouse to have long and deep Italian sleeps.
The house has three bedrooms, a living/chilling room and a big beautiful terrasse and outdoor space facing nature.
Can’t be more Sicilian than this.
You will be just 15 minutes away from Casa Lawa, making getting to our daily activities simple and giving you an excuse to visit the countryside.
Note: all meals and activities, yoga classes, etc, will be at Casa Lawa, so you will most likely be at the Italian Etna house to sleep only.
Food and cuisine
Casa Lawa is a place for creative and unique chefs. The Residences and menu are always inspired by Italian family dinners, re-created for guests and other curious, hungry travelers. A perfect setting for you to enjoy the company of friends and family, whether you're staying with us or dropping by for the evening.
During our stay, Barney and Bhāvinī will be in Residence and our chefs.
Bhāvinī
Bhāvinī is an interdisciplinary artist using the mediums of food and filmography to create immersive experiences, with a focus on ritual, symbols, and the expression of inner worlds through these actions. She uses a similar process with her films, delving into deeper conversations, sounds, and ideas with a layered theme of cooking transformations, examples of which can be seen on her website.
Bhāvinī’s intentions for this residency:
Exploring the conversation between the people and produce in the region through sounds, smells, tastes, and sensory mapping of the place through film and food. Researching into what sustains the food that sustains us? Looking at local food cycles (tending, growing, environment, care) linked in with rituals that we hold for ourselves and each other in the same way.
« We believe that food, as our most communicable medium, can create community through its shared consumption. »
« Our intention for this residency is to get to know the place, its people, and their practices through the lens of food. As such, we want to spend our time researching, visiting producers, and familiarizing ourselves with the local food landscape to understand how its terroir shapes tradition and ritual, and vice versa. Through this, we hope to create a dialogue around our research through the daily meals we cook”
« The multi-sensory food-based experience we will create will embody our interpretation of the place. » Barney and Bhāvinī
Barney Pau
Barney Pau is a culinary artist who curates alternative eating experiences, crossing sculpture and cooking to create edible tablescapes. His signature foods focus on foraging and fermenting, and he specializes in developing unique and specific menus which reflect the themes of his research, or his collaborators’ practices.
Some of his previous culinary experiences include Ecology of Dereliction for the launch of Eyesore Magazine, which celebrated urban ecologies; ‘Unnatural’ Nature in collaboration with photographer Hannah Morgan at Have a Butchers Gallery, which explored being queer in nature; and Out of the Peat at Flatlands Projects Gallery.
@barneypau / barneypau.com
Barney’s intentions for this residency:
Exploring the deeply ingrained food culture that the region is famous for, so as to better understand how its people connect with their land through what they eat. Experimenting with the microbial terroir of the place through fermentation, and how this might develop flavors unique to the region.
ENSEIGNANT
Clotilde Chaumet
After living in Los Angeles, Clotilde Chaumet went to train in Ashtanga yoga in Mysore, India, where she obtained her yoga teacher diploma. Enriched by these experiences, she decided to return to Paris in 2015 to create her yoga concept called TIHHY.
That same year, she was part of the launch of dynamo, which she really left her mark on thanks to her transcendent courses and by becoming the only Senior Master Coach.
In 2019, Clotilde deepened her training and obtained her 500h RYT diploma with Dylan Werner and also trained in sound healing and sound bath meditation in Los Angeles with her teachers and mentors Jeralyn Glass and Susy Markoe Schieffelin. Through this experience, Clotilde also had the chance to learn and share with Rnb Artist Jhéné Aiko, singer and sound healer too.
She also recently trained in the principles of Chinese medicine with the American Yoga Medicine school founded by Tiffany Cruickshank and is also currently training in Katonah Yoga with the New York school Katonah Yoga Center.
A reference in her field, Clotilde has been featured in several international campaigns for major brands such as Maison Margiela and Nike or in portraits in magazines such as the New York Times, L'Officiel, Sport-Étude or Vogue again. In 2018, she was even invited to TEDx Paris to share her moving story and her experience during her TED Talk.
But it’s really when she teaches and shares her passion for yoga that Clotilde finds all her inspiration and her particular energy.
Clotilde’s classes are inspiered by everything she practices herself like ttraditional Ashtanga, vinyasa flows including handstands and arm balances or even long deep stretches. Clo always brings inversions in a very playful way making them accessible to everyone. Her teaching is also very much influenced my music, meditation and she considers her discours as important as the asanas. Expect Traditional Chinese Medicine elements, lot of assist and last but not least, a good dose of sound healing.
Chelsey Forbes
Chelsey’s yoga journey began at a very young age after being taken to a meditation class post Junior Rheumatoid Arthritis onset, anxiety and childhood depression. She began an at-home Hatha Yoga practice during middle school and the rest was history. Always obsessed and thirsty for occult knowledge, it was easy for her to study. She fondly remembers the gift of receiving Ram Dass’s Be Here Now. It wasn’t until college and beyond that she found herself hustling in New York and was constantly in motion, working in restaurants/fine dining, journalism, art galleries and streetwear, co-mingling and finding her way.
Slowly tiring of the fast paced party lifestyle and Through unexpected absolute kismet Chelsey found her first teachers, Sarah (previously Yoga Connection) & Tomas Marsh of FlorYoga, and completed her first yoga teacher training in 2018 She began by assisting their training and personal clients 1:1 and developing a love for safe alignment and hands on adjustments.
She then went on to find her first true mentors Jeff Scios, Susan Steiner, and Dima Paone of Jivamukti Yoga. Obsessed with the music, the breath, body, rigorous and self-actualizing practice of Jivamukti Yoga but unable to travel for such intense trainings, she went through a period of self-inquiry, slowly maintaining her practices and developing the competency to participate in a slew of immersives, including Advanced Sequencing with Yogeswari, pre/postnatal, Ayurveda, group, private, corporate and subtle body studies.
It became clear that yoga, lifestyle, and varied health practices were useful in creating substantial alchemy, reverb and change. Chelsey’s love and admiration for New York culture and wellness brought her to curated plant-based living where she worked closely with trendy Bonberi founder, Nicole Berrie. She naturally became apart of the original West Village team, recipe tasting, blogging, and running events including a memorable pop up with Nordstrom.
In 2019, still hungry for a real calling and North Star Chelsey was introduced to the mysticism and practicality of Katonah Yoga ®. Drawn to the sacred geometry, revelations through great nature, pranayama, and overall contact, Chelsey went on to finish mentorship with Nevine Michaan, founder of Katonah Yoga Center and many of its beloved senior teachers. She was then linked with and embraced by her spiritual siblings at Sky Ting Yoga in downtown NYC where founder Krissy Jones welcomed her to teach and grow her community. Chelsey has led various workshops and joined in as a guest lecturer for mentorship and teacher training. In 2022 she apprenticed with senior Katonah teacher Abbie Galvin.
Becoming a prime teacher in her own right, Chelsey has co-taught with legendary Ashtangi and author Eddie Stern at his epic institution, Broome Street Temple, led and continues classes publicly to the masses in Elizabeth Street Garden and Bryant Park, and joined in events spearheaded by brands including Nike & Adidas. She is committed to making self care and embodiment exploration accessible to all, and in bringing these kinds of experiences to communities that do not usually have the opportunities to be fully seen, spirited and heard. ABSOLUTELY, EVERYONE IS ALWAYS WELCOME.
Chelsey’s classes are an amalgamation of the love and admiration she has for her students and teachers, stressing the importance of yoga as a tool and not an end all. Rooted in Hatha, Vinyasa, anatomy, Katonah, Kundalini & Ayurveda principles. Expect plenty of hands on assists, breathwork and meditation in the mornings, restorative practice in the evenings, dance parties and self inquiry. Classes are rich with somatic, playful curiosity and humor. She We will make time for workshop style classes as well depending on the groups energy and may be subject to change.
WHAT IS INCLUDED
What is included
5 nights at Casa Lawa or Italian Etna house
Daily good breakfast and diner at Casa Lawa
Daily early morning fruits, coffees and teas
Daily yoga classes, meditation and sound healing sessions
Daily jazz or Italian classic music in the background
Daily longs talks and farniente
1 diner on the beach.
1 Wine tasting tour
1 Italian Cuisine cooking class for lunch with in Residence chef
1 Pasticceria Russo Kitchen Experience atelier baking class for breakfast
Gifts from C&C friends and family friends…and family.
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED
Flights and transport to/from Casa Lawa and Etna House
Extra activities outside of the scheduled ones
Some lunches
Tijani
TARIFS
Casa Lawa
Single room
Queen size bed and private bathroom
Single room 3200 euros, deposit: 800 euros. Pay the rest by May 15th, 2024
Double room
Queen size bed and private bathroom // shared bed
Double room regular price 2950 euros - deposit: 800 euros. Pay the rest by May 15th, 2024
Italian Etna House
Single room
Queen size bed and private bathroom
Single room 3050 euros - deposit: 800 euros. Pay the rest by May 15 th, 2024.
Double room
Queen size bed and private bathroom // shared bed
Double room regular price 2800 euros - deposit: 800 euros. Pay the rest by May 15th, 2024.
Each suite includes :
King size bed
COCO-MAT super king-size bed
100% natural materials
Bathroom en suite
Tub or large shower
Privacy and CALM
Sheet and towels
Each suite includes :
Queen size bed
Natural materials
Private or shared with one room bathroom
Large shower
Privacy and CALM
Access to the house kitchen, spaces and big terrasse
Sheet and towels
Payment option :
When registering, pay a non-refundable deposit of 800 euros for Casa Lawa or Italian Etna house.
The rest of the amount must be paid by May 15tht, 2024, by credit card or bank transfer. If we do not receive your payment on time, your place will be made available to those on the waiting list, and you will lose your deposit.
Cancelation Policy
Deposits secure your spot on the trip and are not refundable.
Payments are also non-refundable and non-transferable. It is your responsibility to ensure you can attend the program before signing up. It is also your responsibility to purchase travel cancellation insurance.
Sorry but no refunds given, no exceptions. Nobody books a retreat with the intention of canceling it, but unexpected events do occur, so please consider purchasing travel insurance. Exceptions cannot be made for any reason, including weather, injury/illness, or personal emergencies. No refunds or credits will be granted for failure to attend, complete or for arriving late or leaving early.
Insurance
It is your responsibility to read and understand our cancellation policy before making a reservation. Naturally, no one books with the intention of canceling or postponing their retreat or training, but unexpected things do happen, some of which are beyond your control. We strongly recommend that you purchase travel cancellation insurance to cover any possible loss. Depending on the policy and conditions, travel cancellation insurance will pay for some or all cancellation fees. With most agencies, insurance must be purchased within 14 days of making your reservation.