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The ASHA Journal
Words from the land in Tuscany.
Welcome to the ASHA journal. This is where we slow down and write about the things our retreats and trainings are really about: the breath, the body, intuition, purpose, and the quiet work of living more consciously. Some pieces are practical, some are reflective, all of them come from the land in Tuscany where this work happens. Wander in, and take what speaks to you.
All Posts
Finding a Sense of Belonging
Belonging has the word longing inside it. Anthony Abbagnano on why the need is not the problem, and what happens when it runs faster than you can watch it.
Matt Teague
Oct 305 min read
How to Host a Retreat in Tuscany
What it actually takes to host a retreat in Tuscany: numbers, rooms, practice space, food, seasons and the questions to ask a venue before you book
Matt Teague
10 hours ago6 min read
How to Choose a Retreat Venue
Nine questions to ask before you book a retreat venue, including the awkward ones most places would rather you did not think of until afterwards.
Matt Teague
5 days ago5 min read
The Best Time of Year for a Retreat in Italy
When to run your retreat in Italy, season by season, including what the weather does to your numbers and why the quiet months are better than they look.
Matt Teague
Nov 24 min read
How to Strengthen Your Intuition
Intuition is not a gift you either have or do not have. It is a relationship, and it responds to how you treat it. Amy Rachelle on the practice.
Matt Teague
Nov 15 min read
Winter Retreat in Tuscany
A winter retreat in Tuscany with no programme and no timetable. Warm rooms, bare hills, and the version of this place almost nobody sees. Open November to April.
Matt Teague
Oct 265 min read
Why Stillness Sparks Creativity: A Season on the Land in Tuscany
There is a particular quiet that settles on the land at ASHA between retreats. It looks like not much is happening. In truth, it is often when the most interesting things begin, and the creative channel quietly opens.
Matt Teague
Jul 84 min read
The Three Regions of the Breath: Diaphragm, Ribs, Collarbones
Most people breathe with a fraction of their capacity, using only the bottom of the lungs. The breath actually has three regions: the diaphragm gives length, the ribs give width, and the collarbones give height. Most of us have only ever met the first. Here's what each region does, why the order matters, and how learning all three lets you breathe fully in any situation.
Matt Teague
Jun 164 min read
Mouth or Nose? How We Breathe in a Session, and Why
If you've tried breathwork, you may have noticed something odd: you breathe through your mouth, not your nose. For a practice all about health, that can seem backwards. There are three honest reasons for it, and they have little to do with oxygen alone. Here's why a session uses mouth breathing, when the nose is the better choice, and what the open mouth does to your awareness and your feelings.
Matt Teague
Jun 83 min read
Breathwork for Stress: What Actually Happens in the Body
Stress is not just a feeling. It is a cascade of real changes in the body: faster breath, raised heart rate, stress hormones, digestion on pause. Breathwork interrupts that cascade at the one point you can reach on purpose. Here's what stress actually does inside you, why the breath is the most direct lever you have, and a simple practice to bring a stressed system back down.
Matt Teague
Jun 14 min read
The 90-Second Reset: Using Breath in a Moment of Panic
When panic hits, there is no time for theory. What helps is something you can reach for in seconds, with no preparation and no equipment. The 90-second reset is exactly that: ten breaths, a simple count, and a steadiness that tells the body it is safe. Here's how it works, what to say to yourself while you do it, and why it settles an overwhelmed system so quickly.
Matt Teague
Apr 14 min read
Why One Breath Can Change a Room
ou have felt it without naming it: one calm person walks into a tense room and something settles. It is not charisma or luck. It is co-regulation, a real and measurable thing, and breath is the most direct way to do it on purpose. Here's how one regulated breath can change the feeling of a whole room, and why the steadiest person present is so often the one who shapes it.
Matt Teague
Mar 144 min read
What Is Conscious Connected Breath?
Most of the time, your breath looks after itself. Conscious connected breath is what happens when you stop leaving it to the background and start breathing on purpose. A simple, continuous, circular breath with no gaps, it brings clarity, release and calm, and asks for nothing but your attention and a willingness to feel. Here's how it works, what tends to come up in a session, and where to begin.
Matt Teague
Mar 15 min read
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