Yoga Retreat: Choice For the Holiday Season

What exactly is a yoga retreat? Is there a difference between yoga retreat and spending a vacation? These are the questions which might crop up in your mind, while planning a relaxing and refreshing holiday.

With a number of yoga centers sprouting up people want to take the opportunity to unwind and relax. The retreat gives you an adventure with the nature. The yoga retreat requires a schedule that you need to follow but held in a peaceful environment. On the other hand a vacation is a time wherein you can be away from stressful work; enjoy life without thinking about anything. The difference in both is that in yoga, you are relaxing and refocusing on your inner self wherein in vacation, you are just relaxing your physical body.

1. Yoga is a good way of distressing yourself from the busy weekdays. The yoga retreat will also help you deepen your knowledge with yoga exercises.
2. Yoga helps in refocusing, clearing and energizing you back so that you can return to your usual daily tasks with new and fresh perspectives.
3. Yoga retreat transform you holistically which help you become energized again for work and everything.
4. Yoga retreat helps people to have a deep transformation not just physically and emotionally but holistically. If you feel burn-out from all the hectic schedules, try the yoga retreat and see for yourself the difference it can bring to your life.

What to look for in a Yoga retreat?

• Firstly, you need to be clear what you are looking for. You could either be a beginner seeking to be exposed to a yoga way of life management. Or you could be a practicing yogi seeking to explore advanced techniques and practices in physical postures. These 2 kinds of retreats could be quite different. You do not need to be an expert of yoga to be able join the program. If you are a novice, you can still sign up for the yoga retreat because these retreats are usually designed to introduce and enhance one’s foundation in yoga practices. This means that everyone has a chance to learn the exercises as long as your health can manage it.
• If you are a beginner, you should choose a yoga retreat that exposes you to various facets of yoga including some enlightening talks that will help you get familiar with the yoga way of life. Meditation techniques that help to harmonize the mind-body connection are a must. Qualified yoga teachers must conduct the retreats with a comprehensive understanding on various aspects of yoga and not JUST yoga exercises. It goes without saying that the yoga retreat should be conducted in a suitable, serene place that fits into the spirit of yoga. A place with tremendous spiritual energy would work best for such retreats. If you are the one looking for advanced yoga practices, seek out a retreat organized by teachers with considerable experience in Ashtanga, Hatha or Iyengar Yoga, as they will be best suited to teach you advanced practices.
• Since yoga holidays should be relaxing, you should make sure that the package you choose is held at a place which is relaxed and serene. Yoga holiday packages for beaches or hill stations are generally preferred by yoga enthusiast as these areas are peaceful and help you to feel relaxed.
• When opting for yoga holidays, you also need to make sure that the organizers provide you with the right food. Since you would be staying at the retreat for some time, the food should be in accordance to your liking otherwise you may not enjoy your stay at the retreat. Non-vegetarians may have to adjust a little as most of the yoga retreats offer vegetarian food only.
• Check with the cost of the package whether it is inclusive of the round trip airfare, meals, room charges and excursion trips outside the retreat, etc. Make sure if taxes and other applicable charges such as visa fee etc. have already been included in the package or they would cost extra.
• Apart from the basic yoga course, you can also look for yoga holidays that offer other kinds of activities. For instance, a yoga retreat package that offers therapeutic massage treatments and meditation therapy can turn out to be more beneficial and relaxing.
• Finally check for different options for the destination. Although there are numerous beautiful countries that can be considered for the purpose, but India is the most preferred country for planning such vacations. This is because India is the birthplace of Yoga. The ancient Saints and Gurus here developed this form of meditation centuries ago.

Either way, Yoga retreats are something that must be experienced as they provide that “something” that will serve as a helpful guide and something that you will always hold close to you – something that other kind of holidays can rarely provide.

As there has been a recent rise in yoga retreat and holiday spots there is a chance you might end up spoiling the whole purpose of retreat therefore, try browsing the internet or magazines and newspapers for retreat programs. After gathering enough resources, identify which program suits you the best.

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