Once you enter the yoga community you are bound to hear about someone’s amazing, even life-changing, experience on a Yoga Retreat. Yoga Retreats offer a chance to withdraw from everyday life and fully immerse yourself in the life of a yogi. Still not sure if a yoga retreat is right for you? Continue reading for our Top 10 Reasons why you need to go on a yoga retreat and experience it for yourself!
1. Your Needs are Taken Care of so You Can Reset and Relax
We all hear that we need to take time to reset and relax. A Yoga Retreat provides the perfect opportunity to disengage from your normal routine and engage in mindful relaxation. Most yoga retreats take care of your every need from food, living arrangements, transportation, and activities for the day. Turn inward and let your intuition guide you through an effortless day filled with yoga, meditation, massage, a dip in the ocean or pool, and delicious meals to sustain you through your rejuvenating day.
2. Deepen Your Physical Practice
A Yoga Retreat offers multiple yoga classes throughout the day, taught by skilled teachers. You will have more time to ask your teachers questions and dive deep into the knowledge of the asanas (physical postures). You are sure to improve your functional strength, flexibility, and balance. As always, let your intuition guide you in knowing what your physical body needs each day. One day it might be an extra hot vinyasa class the next it might be an extra-long hot stone massage.
3. Deepen Your Relationship With Yourself
Without the distractions of everyday life, you can cultivate mindful awareness of yourself and your current life. Through meditation, journaling, and time spent alone, you can reflect on your internal and external experiences. Many Yoga Retreats offer self-development through guided meditations, in-depth card readings, and even full moon fire ceremonies centered around release and transmutation.
4. Healing Atmosphere
Step one foot into a Yoga Retreat Center and you will feel the energetic shift into a peaceful, healing environment. Feel the stress melt away as you find yourself surrounded by nature, the smell of burning incense, the sound of the ocean and birds singing in the trees, and the gentle welcoming faces of those around you.
5. Make Lasting Connections With Others.
Yoga Retreats are a great place to meet like-minded people interested in creating a positive impact within themselves and others through yoga. Expect to form close bonds with those on the retreat with you. Deep conversations on the highs, lows, and in-betweens of the human experience are sure to take place during family-style meals, sunbathing on the beach, and following impactful yoga flows.
6. Connect With Nature
What better way to ground yourself than through connecting with nature? Most Retreat centers are built into nature, allowing you to kick off your shoes, place your bare feet on the earth, and connect with your natural roots. Whether you are in the middle of the jungle or seaside (or both!), beautiful tree swept landscapes, fauna, flora, and sparkling waters will surround you.
7. Try Something New in Your Practice
Yoga Retreats offer a variety of yoga classes and workshops, including hot vinyasa, acroyoga, aerial yoga, and Thai yoga, to name a few. Engage in an unfamiliar form of yoga surrounded by the support and safety of other yogis and a beautiful environment perfect for expanding your practice. Flip your perspective and hang upside down for the first time in an aerial yoga practice, supported by the silks and your instructor. Join us for one our upcoming Aerial Yoga Retreats at Xinalani Retreat Center June 2022 and January 2023.
8. Great Healthy Food
Yoga retreats are known for providing delicious meals during your stay. Having someone else cook your meals full of love and locally sourced ingredients is the cherry on top of the trip. A Yoga Retreat is especially heaven for those who opt for a more plant-based diet. The exquisite vegan and vegetarian options are sure to leave anyone’s mouth-watering.
9. Explore a New Culture
Yoga Retreats are offered around the world, providing a great way to combine travel with self-care! Retreats often include excursions or transportation into the local area where you are staying. From exploring a local waterfall in a small village like Quimixto off the coast of Mexico, to visiting Buddhist temples in Thailand, the cultural experiences are endless.
10. Return Feeling Rejuvenated
How often have you returned from a vacation only to feel more stressed out and behind in your work, responsibilities, and, most importantly, self-care? Many people experience the opposite upon their return from a yoga retreat. Unlike other vacations, a yoga retreat provides you with the space and time to check in and put energy back into yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. You are sure to return recharged, more mindful, and ready to take on the day.
Pause in your everyday life and travel to the beautiful countries of Mexico, Thailand, Costa Rica (and more!) to reconnect with your true divine nature during a Yoga Retreat. You truly deserve it.
