The mind also goes on vacation: Sicily between landscapes and spirituality

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Lhe pursuit of mental and emotional well-being as an antidote to daily stress is becoming a trend. Moments of introspection, meditation and quiet holidays are increasingly popular. And Sicily, this summer, together with Tuscany and Sardinia, is among the most popular destinations in Italy.

Sicily boasts more than 130 structures in 9 provinces dedicated to spiritual and meditative tourism including monasteries, abbeys, convents and centers of oriental culture where you can also sleep.

Among the favorite destinations for a meditated holiday, Sicily certainly stands out for its numerous and beautiful ones islands. Little corners of paradise where it seems that the frenzy of the rest of the world has stopped running here and there. For example, on the island of Filicudithe smallest of the Aeolian Islands, seminars and courses are organized every year yoga and meditation.

TO Favignanainstead, a retreat is organized Yoga Outdoor And Walking Meditation immersed in the quiet of the island, a completely eco-friendly environment. Also al Pilgrim’s Nest, also in Favignana, you can meditate from the morning, with energizing Italian breakfasts in a residence with a sea view. In addition to yoga disciplines, it is possible to participate in diving or boat trips.

Again, a Palermo, a modern structure is experimenting with a new concept of holiday on a farm, to overcome the idea of ​​the usual stay focused only on catering and relaxation. The formula chosen by Bevaio of Corleone is that of agribenessere, thanks to the presence of a wellness area available to guests to carry out regenerative activities, both physically and mentally (massages and hydrotherapy treatments). All these activities – in addition to horse riding, trekking, experiential workshops – take place in a continuous interaction with the surrounding environment.

But also the province of Ragusa, due to its ancestral charm, it is very suitable for this type of holiday: ascetic and mystical. It offers, without a doubt, a reality far from worldliness, with which to break the extroversion characteristic of summer and seaside places. It seems they also keep some sessions of “catharsis” collective meditation sessions on the shores of Ragusa, also very popular with young people, on the Iblean beaches.

There are more and more reservations for visits to abbeys and monasteries, towers, remote and peaceful places. More and more bookings for run away from the crowd in natural places, from today’s chaos and to search for one’s self.

In the past, those who embarked on a spiritual journey did so mainly to convert. But today you want to visit churches, stay in close contact with nature and practice yoga to find that again feeling of peace which often comes and has failed. Recollection, silence and serenity – after Covid and with the ongoing Ukrainian war – they have become real needs for many citizens, stressed out by bad news every day. We leave for find peace of mind, far from the metropolitan chaos; for seek a balance emotional after a disappointment in love, a failed marriage, a court case. In short, more and more holidays are used to earn that serenity that went to be blessed during the year both in the family and at work.

The holiday dedicated to meditation allows to prolong the benefits of the stay itself, increasing the antiviral activity and improving the biological reaction to depressive symptoms. And again, the inner experience of the hermitage, understood as an experience of profound pacification of the heart and mind, favors a complete system of regeneration and pacification of psychophysical well-being.

Here Sicily becomes the ideal destination thanks to its natural landscapes, panoramic surroundings and the extraordinary sea. Gaze upon such beauty allows you to connect with the place and with yourself, in an atmosphere that predisposes to listening to oneself. In an atmosphere so harmonious, beautiful and unreal that you forget a little of the (often harsh) reality.

Miriana Platania

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