5 MINDFULNESS BREAKS

If you wish that sometimes you could be left to enjoy your meal in peace, book the Silent Dinner At Eremito in Italy. This Design Hotels hideaway offers possibly one of the most unique dining experiences around. Set within 3,000 hectares of Italian forest, diners are invited to take a seat in this restaurant and savour the food and the silence. The only sounds will you hear is the crackling of the log fire in the hearth, the breaking of fresh bread and the popping of Italian wine corks. You will be left to enjoy the moment and the farm-to-fork dishes.

Nothing will inspire you to stretch out more than the Amatara yoga sala that overlooks the Andaman Sea. Practise your downward dog on this purpose-built yoga platform or find some quiet space on the private beach and take in Cape Panwa’s breathtaking horizon. The Amatara Wellness Retreat is sure to help put a spring in your step and ready to take on the world.

Take a tour of the picture-perfect village of Deia that has become a retreat for a long succession of artists, writers and poets. Guests of the Belmond La Residencia Deia can join its inhouse art curator Cecilie Sherdian for a tour of the village and get behind-the-scenes peeks at the artists’ studios that can be found among the alleyways and squares. And if you’re feeling inspired, you can take a seat at an easel and take an art masterclass where you can learn how to create your own masterpiece.

If you want to get away from it all, head to the Pokhara in Nepal. Here you can take part in one of the most unique meditation classes yet, you can learn how to switch off in a cave. You can practise what you’ve learnt at the new Himalayas Lake View Tented Villas where if you can manage to close your eyes to the beautiful scenery, you can switch off and breathe in that fresh mountain air.

Nothing is more meditative than marking your mark on paper. Learn the ancient technique of Chinese calligraphy at Amanfayun that’s nestled in a valley near the West Lake in Hangzhou. Practise sweeping your calligraphy brush across parchment and learn the basic strokes you need to create the ancient script.