The moment one says yoga retreat, immediately lots of yoga poses and people who are absolutely fitness-oriented come to our mind. However, this is not true.

So, what is a yoga retreat?

A yoga retreat is a venue or a place to go to, where individuals can come together to practise yoga in a group environment.

The yoga retreat centres are a great place to experience the bliss of nature, healthy meals, excursions, yogic wisdom and a chance to connect with your real self.

Subsequently, these retreats might be one-day retreats or multi-day getaways that include a variety of activities.

What to expect from a yoga retreat?

A yoga retreat is a fantastic way to meet others who share a similar enthusiasm for yoga. People choose to go to these locations to calm their body, mind, and soul by practising yoga and meditation in a natural setting.

One can expect to get a luxury room, clean washroom, proper wifi facilities, 3 times vegetarian meals, excursion and regular yoga practice.

Is this the first time you are looking forward to joining a yoga retreat?

You’ve been thinking about going on a yoga retreat for quite some time. Everyone appears to be talking about them, and you’re seeing it more frequently than ever in your Instagram.

Perhaps you’ve only recently discovered yoga and are looking for a more intensive experience. Yoga retreats have the potential to be life-changing experiences.

They provide an opportunity to disconnect from daily life and de-stress while digging deeper into yoga asana, pranayama, meditation, and other practices.

Booking a retreat is like hitting the pause button and allowing yourself the chance to refresh your body and mind.

You’ll probably have a number of questions when scheduling your first yoga retreat, such as:

•  Where should you go?
• What is it going to be like?
• How much will it set you back?
• Which locations best suits my interest is it the mountains or seashores?
• For how many days can I choose to take out from my work life for this experience?

Plan ahead of time to put yourself in a position where you can begin to put your mental chatter aside and really immerse yourself in everything the retreat has to offer.

Mandatory aspects you should know before booking your yoga retreat:

1. Location:

Yoga retreats can be found all over the globe. Select a favourite place you already enjoy or visit a new location.  Subsequently, ask yourself would you like to invest your valuable time in the city or at the countryside? Do you prefer the seashore or the mountainous regions? 

If you like to be on a warm, sunny beach, destinations such as Bali or Goa are ideal. You should also think about whether you want the retreat to be solely focused on yoga or if you’d want to participate in other activities such as hiking, kayaking, skiing, and so on.

If so, choose a place like Ekam Drishti Yoga retreat in Rishikesh, India, which provides a variety of activities with an emphasis on the yogic lifestyle.

Adding to this, at Ekam Drishti Yogshala we provide a range of short-term yoga retreat programmes, such as three-day yoga retreats, seven-day pranayama and meditation retreats, and so on.

2. Theme:

Inquire about your goals for this experience, such as getting your life in order, losing weight, letting go of old emotions that are no longer benefiting you, making new friends, and so on.

Also, ask yourself why do I want to go on a retreat? What am I seeking? For example, is it adventure or mental peace or a get-together with friends?

Read over the descriptions of the retreat topics carefully to choose the one that best fits your needs. The retreat’s theme will bring together like-minded people, so you’ll immediately have a sense of belonging, which will add to an already great experience.

3. Budget and travelling expenses:

When it comes to budgeting, it’s best to keep track of how much you’ll spend by looking for retreats that include almost everything except airfare.

Think about a few aspects such as are you travelling alone or are you going to travel with friends, what place am I choosing, what all is included in retreat package like 3 times meals, how many days stay and so on.

 This makes it easy to figure out how much your vacation will cost in total. If your housing and food aren’t already included in a retreat package, it’s simple to go over budget.

Don’t be swayed by the propaganda of the lowest price retreat with multiple facilities. Also, consider the length of your retreat in terms of journey expense.

4. Time management:

Think about how much time you can give to your travelling. Further, one can choose anywhere from a 3 days adventure retreat, to more than 14 days.

This flexibility allows some sort of getaway approachable for most people. Just don’t assume that longer equals better.

Sometimes, all we need is to spend some time away from our regular life, somewhere in nature. Furthermore, if one feels emotionally low and scattered in life, then don’t wait to start healing. Thus, go ahead, take a leap of faith and seek retreat today.

5. Group size:

Make sure to enquire about what is the minimum and a maximum number of guests that your chosen retreat centre allows. As a result, in case you prefer to be part of a small group of people and find it uncomfortable to be in a large group, then choose a retreat that has a comfortable range, let’s say a maximum of 15 people.

6. Type Of Yoga Retreat:

Make sure to think about what type of retreat is best suited to your needs. For example, are you looking for a retreat that can help you to spend more time in the wilderness of forests or you are looking for a retreat that offers you comfort and relaxation with ayurvedic massages etc.

A retreat can also be chosen in case one is looking for a yoga teacher training program in a yoga alliance registered yoga teacher training retreat centre such as Ekam Drishti Yogshala, Rishikesh India. 

Adding to this, think about what type of yoga you want to learn specifically (such as Hatha yoga or ashtanga vinyasa or yin yang yoga or aerial yoga etc)

One can also make a choice on the basis for their experience with yoga such as if they are beginners or they want to advance their yogic wisdom by joining intermediate to advance yoga teacher training programs.

As a seeker always choose your retreat on basis of your expectations. Thus, align your retreat with the way you outline yoga. If your definition consists of meditation, philosophy, chanting then choose a 7 days meditation retreat program as we offer at Ekam Drishti yogshala.

Conclusion:

To summarize, I would suggest that take your time to do some brainstorming so that you come up with some of the best yoga retreat options for yourself.

Followed by a mind mapping process to check which options meet your preferences to the maximum level. Further, contact the retreat management team via email and calls to confirm that all that is being shown on their websites and advertisements are still available and in case there are any new discount schemes going on or not.

Now, make sure that you take your time when booking so that you can choose the best retreat.

Adding to this, Ekam Drishti yogshala have been successfully running various yoga retreats programs for the past 1 year now and we would love to welcome to Ekam Drishti Yogshala, Rishikesh, India.

Do visit our retreat programs pages and feel free to contact us for any guidance you need with regard to retreat selection.

Additional Reading: Travelista