How to Prepare For a Yoga Retreat?
So, you have decided to go on a yoga retreat huh? NICE! The next logical step is to fully understand how to prepare for it. In this article we tell you all about it.
Preparing for a yoga retreat involves planning, packing, and personalizing the process to the kind of retreat you are attending.
There is also a level of physical, mental, and emotional preparation that is required so you can make the most out of the retreat and you do not feel lost.
That said, the to-dos and the must-packs are all ok and will happen, and don’t worry, here we will talk all about it…
The single most important thing about preparing for a yoga retreat is to remember that you are offering that time to yourself. You will have the purity of your attention. To prepare, what you need to really do is offload everything else from your mind and simply go with your truest intention of what you would like to create for yourself in that time.
To help you achieve a clutter-free mind, in these many words that follow, we talk about all the information you need before you set off, everything that you need in your bag, any expectations you need to meet of the place you would be visiting, and our top tips for specific countries and types of retreats.
Set your intention
A deep inner resolve, known as sankalpa in Sanskrit, has great significance for a yoga practice.
It helps to determine and set a clear goal for a practitioner thereby enabling perseverance and progress.
Before going on a yoga retreat, sitting down and reflecting on what it is that you want to achieve will help bring clarity of purpose.
Your intention could be anything – deepening your yoga practice, enhancing your knowledge of subjects like anatomy or yoga philosophy, spending time with a teacher to improve your alignment, or moving closer to your inner self.
Review the retreat program
Hidden in your itinerary are answers to some of the most pertinent questions. Your yoga retreat program will lay out everything that’s in store for you for the duration of your retreat.
Your time table will give you a sense of when your retreat actually begins and ends, what are the activities that are planned, meal times, and your time alone.
Reviewing the retreat program will help you plan for the before and after your yoga retreat, identify any areas that need attention, and serve as your packing guide.
Make sure you pack everything you need for the weather and activities
Local weather and its quirks are always helpful to keep in mind when packing.
How hot and humid the place gets, if the evenings are cooler, or if rains can be expected, are important considerations both for the kind of clothes and accessories that you need to pack, and also their number.
There are places that experience much fluctuation in weather and have distinct seasons.
It is best to check with your retreat organizer if there are any peculiarities that you need to be aware of.
A packing tip that always works is assessing the number of yoga or other outdoor sessions that are slotted for the day, and if you’re going to a place where you’ll be sweating it out, carrying a change for the evening.
This leads us to another important consideration – the activities that are lined up in the retreat.
If your yoga retreat combines adventure and sports activities like hiking, skiing, or water sports, then it is good to make sure that you are equipped to go into the water or step on undulated territory.
Depending on the activities, you might need to carry shoes that suit, something warm for the evenings if it gets a bit chilly, and perhaps, even something a bit pretty if there’s a gala dinner or a celebratory event at the end of the yoga retreat.
Find out how you’ll get to your retreat and back from the airport
This is an important one.
Yoga retreats are often organized in places that are embedded in nature and are away from the bustling city life. This can translate to not having direct and easy access to local transportation for your commute to your retreat and back to the airport.
Most yoga retreats will share this information with you in their post-booking communication.
However, it helps to double-check on how easy or difficult it is for you to be able to get to your retreat by yourself, what your options are, and how much they cost.
If a pick-up and drop are being arranged for you, also check for the alternatives available to you if there are situations like flight delays or cancellations.
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Plan ahead if you want to visit local places before or after your retreat
If you are traveling to a place you have never been before or if it is a place you have always wanted to visit, you might want to spend some time traveling locally and sight-seeing.
Whether you want to do it before your yoga retreat or after, it helps to plan ahead.
Planning ahead will not only help you with your entire schedule and associated activities like making bookings for flights and places to stay, but it will also help you create a vision board for all that you want to do.
With lesser things to worry about and manage, your time on the mat will be far more focused and rewarding.
Communicate with the retreat organizer and ask questions
It is possible that reading the retreat program leaves you with more questions than answers.
Communicating with the retreat organizers will not only help you get those answers, it will also help you gauge their responsiveness and friendliness.
Good questions to ask
Here are some questions that it will be nice to have answers to.
Will the food cater to your dietary needs?
Most yoga retreats serve vegetarian food and that is usually spelled out somewhere in the retreat program.
If you have any special dietary requirements, any food restrictions, or any allergies, communicating your needs to the retreat organizers will give them enough time to make the necessary arrangements for you.
Also, if you are going someplace where the local cuisine is very different and prominent, India, Thailand, or Mexico for instance, it helps to be aware of what the food will look like.
Perhaps spicy food is unpalatable to you, or you cannot bear the smell of coconut oil in your curry.
In scenarios like these, it helps to make that clear to the retreat organizers and check if they would have alternatives.
Will you have easy access to internet, laundry or medical facilities?
You would not have much time to be on your phone, but if the Internet is important to your existence, please check for its availability.
Also check for laundry facilities, especially if your yoga retreat is longer or if you plan to travel post your retreat.
Other good to know things are whether there are health facilities nearby, the degree of first aid available with the retreat and if they need you to carry health insurance.
Do you need to pack for any specific things?
Bug repellants, bed sheets, and covers, and earplugs, to name a few. Rain jackets, prescription medicines, and flip flops to name some others.
Most retreats have the whole paraphernalia of yoga props available with them, but if your yoga sequence is much more balanced when you use blocks, your tailbone needs a much thicker cushion to rest on, and your calves cry unless you use a strap, it is worth checking with the yoga retreat if these are available with them and if yes, if there are enough.
How intense is the yoga retreat?
This is just to align your level of preparedness to the intensity of the program.
It is possible that you might need some level of physical preparation before you join your yoga retreat.
This is especially true if the program has packed a few yoga sessions in a day.
The retreat organizers will be able to advise you whether you need previous experience or if you can join as a complete beginner.
Check the visa and other requirements for the country you will be visiting
Depending on the country you live in, you might not need a visa to visit certain countries, but might need a valid visa for some others.
The process of applying for a visa, getting it, and checking for other travel documents that you might need for the country you will be visiting can take time.
It is advisable to take care of these things well in advance.
Here are some of the other travel related things to check.
Check that your passport is valid
The general rule that most countries follow is that your passport should be valid for at least six months after your travel dates.
So, if your passport is close to its expiry, you can be denied a visa, or if you’ve traveled to a place where you did not need to apply for a visa, you can be denied entry at immigration.
Hence, in case you are planning to go to a yoga retreat in another country, you must renew your passport if it is close to expiry.
Do you need to take any vaccines?
Some countries have mandatory requirements for vaccinations against certain diseases like yellow fever or polio.
In certain countries, they might even ask you to show proof of vaccination.
Checking for the rules around vaccinations is important if you are traveling to another country for your yoga retreat.
If you live in the United States, this is a good website to check for all the information you need for vaccines for travelers.
Do you have to wear special clothes in the country you will be visiting?
There could be cultural aspects that you need to be aware of.
In places with lots of Hindu and Buddhist temples, like India, Nepal, Thailand, and Bali, you could be required to be more modestly dressed to be able to enter the temples.
If your yoga retreat is set in a place like an ashram in India, or a place that is set in tradition and encourages modest dressing, it is good to respect the local culture and wear clothes that do not show much skin.
Weather is also a factor. If it’s likely to be hot and humid, you want to skip the spandex and pick the loose and flowing, yoga pants instead.
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Take into consideration the type of retreat you are attending
One yoga retreat can be quite different from the other, which is also what makes each of them unique and interesting.
The specific type of yoga retreat you are attending can alter how you need to prepare.
Here are some specific articles that cover each topic in detail.
These are some things to keep in mind when visiting specific destinations
How should you prepare for a yoga retreat if you are going to a place that has a rich and traditional culture, different from what you are accustomed to?
Keep on reading, we dive deeper into how to prepare for yoga retreats in Bali and India which are common places where you can expect to experience a vert different culture/way of living that in the Western countries.
How to prepare for a yoga retreat in Bali?
Going to a yoga retreat in Bali?
This small island is unique in its own ways and very different from the rest of Indonesia.
Bali has retained its strong cultural heritage and for someone who has not had a window to that world, building some familiarity, knowing what to expect, and as importantly, knowing what is expected, makes the whole experience easier and nicer.
Find everything you need to know about how to prepare for a yoga retreat in Bali in this article (click on the link).
How to prepare for a yoga retreat in India?
India is big and quite diverse, which is why, even if you think you know India, you don’t really know India.
Having visited the Taj Mahal does not count.
Even the places in India that host most of the yoga retreats are very different from one another.
And therefore, dear one, you can do with some help on what to expect, but more importantly, what is expected of you when you are in India.
In this article, we cover all that you need to do in order to prepare for a yoga retreat in India.
Conclusion
A yoga retreat, always offers a unique and enriching experience.
The most real preparation is preparation of the spirit to absorb all the healing and wisdom it offers.
If you have any additional questions about how to prepare for a yoga retreat, please write to us in the comments below.
Thanks for being there, see you in the next one! 🙂
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