In the Rsa 'I Tigli' in Gemona, managed by Sereni Orizzonti, a meditation activity with guests started in July, managed and organised by Andrea Favro, Mental Coach CSEN and mindfulness teacher from Veneto, who has been transplanted to Friuli for many years.

Mindfulness is a meditative practice that consists of bringing attention to the present moment, intentionally and through the breath. Practising and training awareness of the here and now helps to calm the mind, reduce stress and consequently improve general well-being. In the elderly, it can promote sleep and optimise emotional management.

Andrea Favro has invested many years in spiritual training, devoting himself to mindfulness, breathwork and anger management. "Having passed the age of 50," he tells us, "these practices helped me to live my days more intensely. I therefore thought it could be even more useful for the elderly."

The weekly meetings take place through a meditation divided into four phases, guided step by step by Favro. It starts with a moment of recollection with eyes closed and continues by following the breath, trying to pay attention only to the actions of inhaling and exhaling. The third phase involves an awareness of the different parts of the body, limb after limb, zone after zone. Finally, in the fourth phase, there is total relaxation and a release of tension in the entire body.

"It may seem difficult for the elderly, but they willingly get involved by trying something innovative that they have never tried before," says educator Cristina Picco, who initiated the project together with Favro.

In addition to the meditative phases, at each meeting a feeling - joy, sadness, shame - and a pillar, i.e. an element of life that is considered fundamental: gratitude, compassion or happiness in small things are discussed through stories and examples from everyday life. "It is very satisfying to see the guests relaxing and enjoying the experience. We discuss life and what really matters. I am grateful that the proposal for this project was accepted, and I sincerely thank the educators and animators of the facility," Favro concludes.

The Rsa "I Tigli" in Gemona can accommodate elderly people with varying degrees of self-sufficiency. It is managed by Sereni Orizzonti, one of the first three groups at national level operating in the construction and management of nursing homes, with about 80 Rsa and more than 5,000 beds in Italy and abroad.