7-Day Residential Training · ASHA Retreat Centre, Tuscany · 10–16 May 2026
Someone you care about is dysregulated.
What if you could change that
in 90 seconds?
The Calm Code is a 7-day residential training that builds genuine confidence with breath as a tool for regulation. You learn the science. You practice it in your own body. You leave with tools you trust.
Try It Now
One breath can change your state.
Match your breath to the circle. Five seconds in, five seconds out. This is coherence breathing — one of the core practices you'll learn during the week.
I was once sitting with a high-level client who was mid-panic attack, withdrawing from medication. No technique. No protocol. Just breathing together, with simple counting. That was enough. It started with one breath.
Anthony Abbagnano, Founder
Alchemy of Breath
It Can Be That Simple
One breath changed your state just now.
Imagine what a week could do.
You felt it with the circle above. A few breaths in, something shifted. That's not a trick — it's physiology. And most people who want to help others with breath already have the heart for it. What's often missing is the understanding of why it works, and the confidence to use it when it matters.
The Calm Code teaches that. How the body actually breathes, why patterns break down, and what you can do about it — simply and safely. Not cathartic breathwork. Not altered states. The everyday science of breathing and regulation.
The training starts with your own nervous system — that's the foundation. Everything else builds from there. By the end of the week, you leave with tools you trust and the felt confidence to use them.
Science-informed. Grounded in respiratory physiology and nervous system understanding.
Experiential. You learn by practicing with fellow participants, not sitting in lectures.
Spacious. Designed for real integration, not information overload.
The Curriculum
50 hours. Four pillars.
One complete foundation.
40 residential hours at ASHA Retreat Centre in Tuscany, plus a 10-hour online component you complete before arrival.
Pillar One
Mechanics
How the body is designed to breathe, and what gets in the way. You explore the structural foundations through hands-on practice with fellow participants.
- Nasal breathing function and restoration
- Diaphragm assessment and activation
- Ribcage mobility and accessory breathing
- Postural integration across positions
Pillar Two
Chemistry
Why over-breathing creates dysregulation, and why CO2 tolerance matters more than most people realize. Taught simply, with safety first — building understanding, not overwhelm.
- CO2 tolerance and why it matters
- Over-breathing pattern recognition
- Anxiety physiology: the breath connection
- Gas exchange and oxygen delivery basics
Pillar Three
Cadence
The rhythm and pacing of breath that shifts how the nervous system responds. You experience each practice in your own body first, then with a partner.
- Coherence breathing and resonance
- Core techniques: box breath, 4-7-8, transformer breath
- How breath pacing affects the autonomic nervous system
- Vagal tone and heart-rate variability
Pillar Four
Application
Where understanding becomes confidence. Through partner practice, role-play, and feedback cycles, you learn what it feels like to guide someone toward calmer breathing.
- The 90-second rapid reset protocol
- The 12-minute daily regulation practice
- Breath assessment and partner practice
- Holding space and the basics of coaching with breath
Before You Arrive
The 10-hour online pre-study covers foundational respiratory anatomy and breathing science. Completing it before the residential week means your time at ASHA is spent on practice and applied sessions, not theory alone.
What You Leave With
Confidence you can feel.
Practices you can use.
By the end of the week, you'll have practiced these tools with fellow participants, experienced them in your own body, and built the confidence to use them beyond ASHA.
A 12-minute daily breathing practice you'll do hands-on all week
A complete morning regulation practice — for your own nervous system first, then for the people you work with.
A 90-second reset you practice until it becomes second nature
For acute stress — yours or someone else's. Simple enough to remember when it matters most.
A hands-on introduction to the session framework
Practiced with partners: landing, assessing, guiding, and closing a 10–15 minute breath session.
The ability to recognize common dysfunctional breathing patterns
Chest breathing, over-breathing, breath holding, paradoxical breathing — learned through observation and partner practice.
A certificate of completion from Alchemy of Breath
GPBA-aligned. And if you choose to continue, a direct pathway into the full facilitator training.
The Setting
ASHA Retreat Centre. Tuscany, Italy.
A hidden sanctuary nestled in the wild, rugged beauty of the Tuscan hills. 15 hectares of untouched land. Complete privacy. Total immersion.
About ASHA
Welcome Home.
ASHA Retreat Centre sits on 15 hectares of untouched Tuscan land near Castell'Azzara. Founded in 2020 by Anthony Abbagnano and Amy Rachelle, it was built as a sanctuary for healing, creativity, and community — a place where all of you is welcome.
Stone buildings, olive groves, open-air practice spaces, and the kind of quiet that lets your nervous system hear itself again. Three meals a day prepared on site. Digital detox encouraged. Nature does a lot of the work.
Explore ASHA →Program Details
Completing The Calm Code makes you eligible to continue directly into Weeks 2 and 3 of the facilitator training, without re-enrolling.
Your Team
Led by practitioners.
Grounded in experience.
Lead Instructor
Anthony Abbagnano
Founder of Alchemy of Breath and ASHA. Author of Outer Chaos, Inner Calm. 2,000+ practitioners trained across 40+ countries.
Co-Instructor
Amy Rachelle
Master facilitator with 15+ years in breathwork, somatic practice, and practitioner training.
Facilitator
Pablo
Bringing spaciousness, presence, and deep nervous system awareness to the group container.
Facilitator
Nick
Supporting the practicum, partner practice, and hands-on skill development throughout the week.
From the Founder
Why I built The Calm Code
Anthony shares the story behind The Calm Code: what functional breathing is, why it matters, and what becomes possible when you build a real relationship with your own breath.
Who This Is For
Built for practitioners
who work with people.
The Calm Code is designed for people who already work with clients and want a science-informed breath method to add to their practice. No prior breathwork training is required. And because the training starts with your own regulation, many participants also experience it as a deep personal reset.
This training does not cover
Conscious connected breathwork delivery, trauma catharsis, somatic release, or altered-state practices. You'll experience a conscious connected breathwork session during the week, but teaching it is covered in Weeks 2 and 3 of the facilitator training, which Calm Code graduates can enter directly.
Investment
One price. Everything included.
Your investment covers the full 50-hour training, 7 nights accommodation at ASHA, and three meals a day. The only thing not included is your flight to Tuscany.
50 Hours
Full training program
7 Nights
Accommodation at ASHA
3 Meals
Daily, all included
Certificate
GPBA-aligned
From €1,701 to €2,738
The only difference between options is where you sleep. Choose what suits you best.
Payment
A 20% deposit secures your place. The balance is due before arrival. You'll select your accommodation during the booking process on Retreat Guru.
Flights not included. Accommodation selected during booking.
Questions
Frequently asked.
10 to 16 May 2026 · ASHA Retreat Centre, Tuscany
The founding cohort.
A limited number of places.
Seven days in Tuscany. Four pillars. Practices you experience in your own body. A certificate of completion from Alchemy of Breath. And the option to continue into the full facilitator training without re-enrolling.
20% deposit secures your place · All-inclusive pricing · GPBA-aligned training