Photo: Lefay Resorts Dance allows us to express our strong need to free ourselves from judgement, to feel free in our bodies and to let go – Monica Mescoli, spa manager, Lefay Resorts

Lefay Resorts, the portfolio of two luxury wellness properties in Italy, has added emotional dance classes and group cold plunge sessions in response to market demand for social connection. 

The brand says it is encouraging guests to take part in collective wellbeing experiences in recognition of the widely accepted belief that social connection is an essential pillar of health.

Lefay’s founders, the Leali family, recently signed an agreement with Marriott International to bring Lefay into the Marriott portfolio under a joint venture agreement. Read more about how the eco-resorts will be managed here.

The Lefay Resort and Spa on Lake Garda will add complimentary emotional dance classes to its schedule of group activities. The class is said to combine music, mindfulness and free-flowing dance. The aim is to help guests process emotions through intuitive motion, rather than in words. 

Monica Mescoli, spa manager for Lefay Resorts, told Spa Business: “All holistic activities, especially emotional dance, can be hard to grasp at first, but once you’ve tried them, you won't be able to resist. Emotional dance particularly benefits from being carried out in a group setting to create the right energy and engagement. Dance allows us to express our strong need to free ourselves from judgement, to feel free in our bodies and to let go. It enables us to create our own rhythm and let our body express what it is forced to hold back on a daily basis. When practised in this way, dance becomes a form of moving meditation.”

Other group activities at the Lake Garda property include Qi Gong sessions, guided breathwork and a stretching class. The site also offers an existing Aufguss experience for six to ten people.

At Lefay Resort and Spa Dolomiti, in the Italian Alps, communal cold therapy classes are on the programme early in the morning. These involve focused breathing exercises while guests stand on ice, a barefoot walk through the resort’s gardens, a Kneipp path, an ice scrub and cold plunge.

Group holistic activities are led by Lefay’s senior qualified therapists. Group sizes vary, with a maximum of six people. Each class usually takes place twice a week, but the cold therapy class at Lefay Resort and Spa Dolomiti takes place four times a week.