As we experience nature’s growth and
expansion during springtime, many of us may be thinking of ways that we can let
go of the old and welcome in the new. Attending a yoga retreat can be a great
opportunity to recharge batteries, take stock of your life and chart a new
course for yourself.
Let’s examine several of the top
reasons to take a yoga retreat:
1. To Deepen Your Practice
Most of us lead hectic lives and are unable
to practice yoga as much as we’d like to. A yoga retreat gives us the
opportunity to practice each day, sometimes multiple times a day. The effects
of yoga are cumulative, and a daily practice gives us an opportunity to explore
both our body and mind in a deeper way.
Perhaps on Monday triangle pose felt
great… but on Tuesday we’ve had less sleep and it’s a bit of a struggle. On
Wednesday, we try triangle pose again and we may finally understand some of the
more subtle energetic and alignment cues that our teacher is giving us. We
learn when to press forward, and when to back off. We may find a newfound sense
of patience in our practice as we watch it evolve from day to day. Through
continual practice, we learn about the infinite variations of our body, mind
and psyche.
2. To Gain Perspective
Simply put, yoga retreats provide
respite from the daily grind. Many retreats are set in foreign countries or
places of great natural beauty. Stepping away from our routine to breathe,
explore and simply be still can help us to look at our problems anew, and to
find gratitude for what is indeed working in our lives.
A yoga retreat encourages us to
appreciate many of the things we neglect to see or sense in our daily lives –
the beating of a hummingbird’s wings, the natural splendor of a mountain, the
smell of orange blossoms wafting through the air, the smile of a stranger.
Refining our awareness to include the simple things in life can be a powerful
tool in gaining perspective.
3. To Heal and Transform
Many people are drawn to a retreat
when they’ve reached the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back”.
Consciously or unconsciously, we sense that attending a retreat can be a
powerful and positive first step in creating a life change.
For many of us, self-care is not a
priority. Making an investment of time, money and energy in a yoga retreat is
an empowering choice – we control the reins and can steer the course of our
lives in the right direction.
