Discover the Power of a Yoga Retreat: Six Reasons It Works
The first Western Ashtangis – the likes of David Swenson, David Williams, Nancy Gilgoff and Kathy Cooper – were in their early twenties when they found themselves in Mysore, India. Kathy Cooper will regale you with tales of how she flew through the Primary and Intermediate series in a matter of months, practising six days a week for extended periods with her buddies. She was one of just a handful of students under the tutelage of Pattabhi Jois, who developed the Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga system in Mysore, India.
It was the 1970s, and these were free and easy times for these young people who were to become the famous “first generation” of Western Ashtanga practitioners. They had travelled overland to India in search of adventure, with young bodies, buckets of enthusiasm and very few responsibilities in life. They’d be the first to point out how these conditions gave them all a head start. It was, in fact, like being on a long-term yoga retreat. No wonder they quickly absorbed the practice in body, mind and soul. And that yoga went on to quite literally transform their lives forever.
For most people coming to yoga in the West these days, the option to drop everything and relocate to India for months at a time is not on the table. And those who do make it have a very different experience to that of those early practitioners.
However, immersing yourself in yoga for an extended period remains one of the best ways to get serious about integrating yoga into your life. I was lucky to have an older, wiser teacher hammer this home to me when I first fell in love with Ashtanga and lamented that I couldn’t just drop everything (children, mortgage, career) and jump on a plane to India. She told me to “always have something booked – whatever you can manage”. She suggested a short retreat, a week or weekend, or even a day-long intensive with a respected teacher. It’s advice I always pass on to my students today (and still stick to myself). Here’s why:
1. It helps you get on the mat now
When you know you have a retreat or workshop coming up, the third niyama of tapas, or discipline, develops more easily. As soon as you’ve booked your place, you’re more focused. You’ll find you are more inclined to get on the mat now because you know you’ll be getting on the mat daily on retreat. You’re looking forward to being with other yoga lovers, practising with a teacher you want to learn more from, so you practise now to prepare yourself – like a footballer trains to be match-fit.
2. You’re practising real yoga
There’s nothing quite like stepping away from the noise of your daily life, abandoning your usual routine and dropping all responsibilities. It gives you time just to be. Your mind is instantly less busy because you don’t have to plan your next task. At a catered retreat, you don’t even have to think about what to eat because the food that best supports your practice is served up daily. Having all this time to yourself is a good way to find out how you feel. Maybe even who you really are. Despite the fancy asana practice, yoga is about Svadhaya, the fourth niyama, which means turning your attention inward. Yoga is a journey of self-discovery, and immersing yourself in practice in a peaceful environment where you have literally no other demands on your time allows you to go deeper than you ever would in your home environment.
3. You make time for more than just Asana
Even if you do manage to be a disciplined practitioner at home, it’s easy to slip into the routine of focusing only on your asana practice, rolling out the mat for the physical practice several times a week, but ignoring those other aspects of the 8-limbed practice that are crying out to you for attention. Pranayama and Meditation, for example, are both hugely beneficial practices that many yoga lovers don’t find enough time for. On retreat, you have the whole day to explore these, and they’re usually included in afternoon or evening sessions after your morning asana practice.
4. It’s an excellent opportunity for a digital detox
Somehow, detaching from your phone comes easier on retreat. We all dream of spending less time on our devices, but few manage. A yoga retreat is an ideal time to put the phone away, at least for most of the time. I check in morning and evening when I’m on retreat, and otherwise leave the phone in my room, or, if I feel it has to be with me (for a day trip, for example), I keep it in airplane mode. It all helps when dealing with our overly distracted minds.
5. Sunshine
If a retreat offers plenty of sunshine along with great teaching, and good food, then all the better. A whole week in a sunny location means the heat has time to seep into your bones, and it shows up in your practice. The serotonin levels rise, and stiffness dissipates as the body opens and moves more fluidly in the heat. You may find that something you’ve been struggling with on the mat resolves itself during your time on retreat. But it’s not all about breakthroughs on the mat – a retreat is a holiday too, and you get plenty of time to soak up the sunshine, read by the pool or indulge yourself in the extras offered at most retreat venues, like massage, reflexology and ayurvedic treatments.
6. You go home full of calm
A week of practice in an immersive environment allows yoga to work its magic. When you come home, you feel calmer and more relaxed on a level above what you’d usually feel after a regular holiday. You have a deeper understanding of the power of yoga and why the practice utterly transformed those early Ashtangis’ lives when they devoted so much time to it. Whether it’s friends, family or colleagues you’ve left behind, any guilt you might have felt about abandoning ship is quickly assuaged when you notice how much more resilient you are to the everyday stresses of life and relationships after a blissful week of yoga immersion. You’ve tasted the transformative power of the practice, and you’ll want to enjoy it forever, just like those early Ashtangis.
I will teach a one-week Ashtanga & Yin Yoga Retreat at Yoga in Salento near Lecce, Italy, from May 11th to 18th this year. All levels are very welcome. Find out more here or email me with any queries.
