In this blog we will have a look at the different factors to think about before making your booking, look at the similarities and difference between a yoga holiday and a yoga retreat and then, hopefully, you’ll have a clearer idea as to whether either is for you.
The most important aspect before you even think about booking your place is whether you have a love of yoga and a desire to immerse yourself in yoga for the duration of the event. Whilst it is most likely you won’t be spending all your time on the mat, it will form a part of every day although many holidays and retreats may offer a free day or two giving you the opportunity to explore your surroundings.
To help decide whether you would like to invest your time, money and energy in a holiday or retreat, it is a good idea to try a day of yoga first and then perhaps a weekend. Your current teacher may well run a suitable event or at least know teachers who do and can perhaps offer a recommendation. If you enjoyed your shorter event and wished it were longer, you may well be ready to go ahead and take the plunge for a week or even two!
Both yoga holidays and retreats can take place anywhere in the world but typically, they are set in beautiful surroundings which will be conducive to a sense of peace, renewal and wellbeing. A good starting point therefore is to think about where you wish to go and what sort of environment inspires you. You may prefer a hot tropical place on the beach such as the Carribean, a cooler hillside in Tuscany or somewhere closer to home set in beautiful countryside right here in the UK.
You will need to think about what your budget for travelling might be and for the event itself. Some retreat centres are very simple for instance an old rustic farmhouse or an Ashram in India and others might be high end expensive luxury.
Yoga holidays and retreats often attract many solo travellers so don’t worry if your partner isn’t inclined to join you or you don’t have friends who would like to accompany you, in all probability, you will meet other likeminded people travelling on their own.
The next thing to think about is the programme on offer, the style of yoga and the level it is geared towards. You may decide to go with the style you are familiar with or perhaps you are drawn to something completely different. There are many different styles that teachers offer for instance Iyengar, Vinyasa, Kripalu and Hatha. Some teachers may be advertising a specific theme that appeals to you. If you are not sure, get in touch with the teacher and chat it through with them. You will get a feel pretty quickly as to whether you think you will enjoy working with them and whether the level is pitched towards something you are comfortable with. Most teachers will be very happy with a range of experience and abilities offering practises to extend the more experienced and spend time supporting those students who need a few adaptions. There is no need to automatically exclude yourself if you are suffering with an injury or in the recovery phase of an operation or illness. But, do speak with the teacher first to ensure that they feel competent to look after your specific needs.
The terms holiday and retreat are fairly interchangeable. Some events will be set in an environment where you have every meal on site and there is very little close by enabling you to have a change of scene. This is much more an immersive experience where the whole focus is the yoga. You will have free time too but yoga is very much centre stage. When you are not actually practising, you maybe encouraged to relax, read or go for gentle walks. You will find that an immense amount of effort will be made to offer delicious and wholesome food. If this all sounds a little daunting, you may prefer to consider a holiday where yoga is still the main feature with perhaps a practise in the morning before breakfast and another late afternoon leaving you to spend the day as you choose. You will most likely be offered breakfast but you choose your own dinner options from local restaurants.