When it comes to taking some time off from your busy routine to recharge and replenish yourself, you wonder about going to a calm and peaceful place. But when have to prepare for a vacation, you become more annoyed than being grateful for it.
Therefore, when it comes to enjoying and embracing the free time in your life, where you can relax and incline towards a better life, nothing comes near to the part that a yoga retreat can play for you. You can choose a perfect getaway that perfectly suits your needs, and make you learn new things in life.
‘Retreat’ is a word that is regularly used in the yoga community that signifies to have a temporary withdraw from everyday life. It helps to break the ‘patterns’, ‘routine’, or ‘schedule’ you have been living for the longest time. Therefore, you bid farewell to the daily challenging lives to have inner peace and calm.
Yoga retreat takes you away to a mesmerizing and peaceful location to practice yoga. In the western context, a yoga retreat is a highly luxurious vacation at some resort, but it is so much more than that. A yoga retreat aims to enhance your physical, mental, and spiritual levels. You enjoy life in seclusion, solitude, and learn to become one with yourself.
There is not even a single person on the earth who can not join a yoga retreat. Yoga has no restrictions when it comes to who can practice it. Thus, there is yoga for men, women, kids, seniors, couples, yoga for beginners, and for expert yoga practitioners.
Those who want to become yoga teachers and anyone who wishes to experience yoga and meditation during a short stay at yoga retreat is more than welcome to experience a whole new world. People who in the future have plans to become an internationally certified yoga teacher can also join a yoga retreat.
Even people pursuing any particular sport can also join a yoga retreat. It helps them to improve their physical capabilities to the next level. Also, it teaches them how to handle pressure while competing or preparing for any particular event.
There is so much you can gain when you join a yoga retreat. From a physically enhanced body to a mentally fit mind, you witness a complete makeover in your personality. Scroll further to know the reasons as to why you need to join a yoga retreat.
The things that you learn on the yoga mat goes with you when you are living your life off-mat. You develop mental flexibility through yoga, making you more adjustable to various unwanted situations in life.
When you join a yoga retreat, you stay away from technological influence, harmful radiations, blue light affecting your mental structure, and much more. Thus, your natural cycles are restored to the default settings, making you more efficient and creative.
It becomes utterly important to get back to nature now and then to heal yourself naturally. Various audible sounds in nature along with serene views give birth to compassion and feeling of love.
Food is the energy that you need to sustain yourself. Therefore, you need to nourish your mind and body with vegetarian, wholesome, and well-balanced food.
With yoga retreat, you learn the techniques that you can use to bring your attention to the ‘NOW’. Through various meditation techniques, you get your mental and emotional structure under control for better living.
Before joining a yoga retreat, there are plenty of things that you need to look out for. Though your personal preference does matter, then again, countless things are there that must be checked when it comes to a yoga retreat. Have a look at the following points to form a better insight.
The location of your yoga retreat must be nature-friendly i.e. away from the city, in the lap of nature. This way you come closer to nature and have better sensory adaptability.
Moreover, you need to check the availability of private and shared space. Also, the place where you are staying should in peaceful surroundings, so that, you remain in the aura of yoga.
While on the other hand, others prefer more intense yoga sessions, so that, they can work on their physical capabilities, heart health, and lungs functionality. Therefore, you must check thoroughly before joining a yoga retreat that the type of yoga you want to practice should be available with them.
Moreover, you get the love and support of the people from your circle when you feel alone. Likewise, you too support the people when something hits them.
Batch Size
When you choose to join a yoga retreat, the average size of your class should be around 10 people at once.
Duration
You can choose between 5 days meditation and yoga retreat, 10 days meditation and yoga retreat, or 15 days meditation and yoga retreat according to your schedule.
Cost of 5 days meditation and yoga retreat
Shared room: USD 450
Private room: USD 500
Cost of 10 days meditation and yoga retreat
Shared room: USD 750
Private room: USD 850
Cost of 5 days meditation and yoga retreat
Shared room: USD 1050
Private room: USD 1150
Going on a yoga retreat aims at transforming you into a better being, filling your life with light and bliss. Yoga retreat activities include the following:
Mantra Chanting
What is Mantra?
Mantra is more than a word that is repeated again and again. Once you start uttering a mantra, it has the power to control your vibrations in every plain of your existence.
It is something divine, pure, spiritual, and works on the physical healing of a yoga practitioner.
Benefits of Mantra Chanting
Mantra chanting helps in the release of negative emotions that adversely affect your higher self, and thus help you to express yourself.
Healing occurs at the cellular level when you go deeper into meditation while chanting mantras. The audible scale of mantras raises your vibrations, and help you relax much further.
While mantra chanting, your tongue hits various vital points in your mouth, leading to the release of chemicals in your brain and body. It leads to the creation of precise intuitive power.
Meditation
Meditation means to sit quietly and have a self-reflection. You introspect how you feel, think, or behave. Therefore, you enter a sphere of relief, having a deeper insight into your hidden self.
Meditation holds life-changing benefits for you. By making you mindful by clearing off any mental blockage, meditation does everything for you.
Yoga Asanas
When you join a yoga retreat, you practice various yoga asanas to develop a strong and flexible body. However, it is not just about physically moving your body, rather the quest is to form proper sync between your physical self and your life-force, i.e. breath.
When you perform yoga poses, you learn to control your breathing, so that, you can precisely use the available energy. Therefore, your muscles hit hypertrophy with much time spent under tension. When you take rest, you gain stronger muscles, fit mind, and injury-free life.
Shatkarma
Shatkarma is the cleansing technique used in yoga to clean you mentally and spiritually. The practices of shatkarma are used to purify you internally, which indirectly improves your physical self, and your outlook towards the world changes.
Pranayama
For beginners, ‘prana’ is a life-force within you. Some relate it to the breath. However, prana is a vital force to sustain life and in the absence of which, life perishes. On a yoga retreat, you learn to harness the energy, and learn to balance your chakras by practice of various breathing techniques.
Activities of a Yoga Retreat
Whatever you do apart from a yoga practice on a yoga retreat comes under the activities you undertake in your free time. Such excursions become very important for your personal and professional growth. Keep reading to know what you get on a yoga retreat.
Yoga Certification
Yoga retreat must be registered with Yoga Alliance, USA. Once you become a member of the Yoga Alliance after the completion of your certified yoga course, you are highlighted as an ideal yoga professional from which yoga practitioners can learn yoga.
You have access to online directories that are stuffed with ancient knowledge of yoga.
Certified Yoga Teacher
Before going on a yoga retreat, you must thoroughly check that the yoga teachers are experienced and certified with Yoga Alliance, USA. It signifies that the person from whom you are learning yoga is a certified professional, who have transformed the lives of countless people.
Small Batch Size
You must also look for the size of the yoga class. What happens sometimes is that the more crowded the class becomes, the less focus is there on you. Thus, you must confirm the size of your yoga class before joining a yoga retreat.
Yoga Material
When you feel discomfort in performing various yoga asanas, you can use various yoga props to facilitate you in your yoga practice. Theoretical knowledge is also compulsory for a deeper understanding of the various concepts of yoga. Therefore, you get material related to yoga for a better understanding of the concepts of yoga.
Pick-Up & Drop Facilities
While choosing a yoga retreat, you must look out for the facility of pick-up or drop-off by the yoga retreat. Also, make sure to check about the facility of booking of air tickets by your chosen yoga retreat.
Conclusion
Yoga retreat thus affects your overall life by changing your persona for good. With all the benefits that you can have by joining a yoga retreat, you become an improved version of yourself.
Your yoga practice deepens with all the practice of yoga poses that physically improve your body. Various meditation practices enable you to connect with your inner being, making you aware of your senses, thoughts, and thinking patterns.
Furthermore, with enhancement in your physical and mental self, you grow towards spiritual awakening. Hence, you form a perfect balance in your life and prosper towards a happy and peaceful life.