I just wrote this blog post for my retreat platform, Graceful Retreat as well. And thought I might share it here as well.
Are you interested in going on a yoga retreat, but need a little push to finally book it? Or are you not sure if a yoga retreat will be something for you? By own experiences we have found and written down some of the best reasons to go on a yoga retreats – and we want to share them with YOU!
Deepen your yoga practice In a life full of deadlines, appointments, meetings, more deadlines, more meetings it is hard to practice as much as most of us want to. Living a life with 8-10 hours of work daily it is hard to schedule more than 60min of yoga in (if even 60min …) Being on a yoga retreat will provide you with the time and space for doing longer practices, and even do it twice a day. At Graceful Retreats we offer 2-3 hours of yoga, meditation and pranayama in the morning, and a 2 hours practice in the evening. And most Yoga Retreats offer the same. This allow you to deepen and immerse yourself in the practice. Having longer practices will provide you with new experiences of being in your body, moving your body, breathing, meditating. You will gain a greater understanding for your own body, mind and the practice in general.
A lot of YOU time By stepping away from the busy life and by stepping towards deeper and longer practices you will get a lot of you time. On top on longer practices, yoga retreats also have most of, if not all of the meals planned. This give you less things to be concerned about, giving you less things to consider. When we schedule time for ourselves, we have a fair chance to feel and discover how we are doing. A lot of you time, will give you the opportunity to de-stress from the daily routine and constant performance. A lot of you time will give you time to let your soul catch up with your body
Explore new places and take time in nature Most Yoga Retreats are placed in amazing nature. And this is not without a reason. Deep inside of most people, there is a yearn for being in nature, connecting with Gaia, Mother Earth. This is hidden in our nature as a human. But most of us, placed in cities are not listening to this desire. We push through, staying in concrete. As soon as we arrive in nature, most people feel a relief of a kind. A physical feeling of the stress level lowering, an ease and a feeling of being connected. Being in nature, deepening your practice and taking you-time will for sure leave you rejuvenated and revitalized. Deciding to go on a yoga retreat, will also give you the opportunity to go somewhere you have never been before, exploring new places. There are a few placed in an urban setting. This is also a great opportunity to learn how to be in the ‘Yogic Mindset’ in the urban surroundings, which is something we all could learn from. How do we stay connected to our own nature, when living in the busy city life?
Be surrounded by similar minded people Being on a yoga retreat offers you the opportunity to connect with similar minded people. Most people going on a yoga retreat have an idea about what yoga is. There is a desire to explore more inward, to deepening the understand of these ancient practices. Being only surrounded by people who have the same interests can be a rather unique experience. Being able to share yoga, meditation or travelling experiences with others adds a lot of joy to these internal practices.
Be held, supported and seen Often, when we take public yoga classes we never really get a chance to ask the questions we have, we often don’t get the chance to share the experiences we just had – and after a class, we . Yoga is a deep, transforming practice. A lot of people doesn’t know it, but by take a single class, a lot of chances are happening on a subtle layer of the body. The more we practice, the bigger and greater are these chances and transforming. Often, going to a yoga class, it can be an ‘empty’ feeling leaving the class. The teacher was probably busy, asking other people’s questions or maybe another class is on straight after? By going on a yoga retreat you are with your teacher(s). This will give you time and space for clarifying a lot of your questions. It also gives the teacher a chance to get to know you, your story and what you are going through. At Graceful Retreat we put a lot of effort and time into get to know our student at the retreats. It is our aim that everybody feels seen, heard and held.
Taking the first step towards new and more holistic habits Leaving your day to day life, taking you time, deepening your practice and meeting similar minded people will make you look at your life in a different perspective. It will help you to set new intention for a healthier, heartier and more holistic life. At Graceful Retreats we specialize in setting intentions, and helping people to step closer to their Dharma, life purpose. We are happy to help and support you in any chances you might be going through when arriving home after one of our retreats.
You deserve it(!!) You really deserve to take time out and invest in yourself. Just consider how much money we yearly spend on devices, or even on other people. When did you last time, do something really, (and we mean REALLY) good to yourself?
Our next retreat, at Graceful Retreat is our Bloom with Grace spring Retreat. It is in Iceland from the 9th of May – the 13th of May ’18. The earlybird price is running until the 1st of January ’18.
Read more about the retreat here
See more information here Re