What do you look for in a yoga retreat?

Travel & Events Yoga Retreats
#1

[I]If you were to select a yoga retreat anywhere in the world for a week or two, what would you look for most when making that decision? In other words, what is most important?[/I]

[B]Examples:[/B]
The Quality of the Yoga Studio and Accommodations
Learning New Yoga Techniques
Spiritual Growth and Enlightenment
Cultural Immersion
The Quality of Yoga Instruction
The Location (tropical, urban, remote, etc)
Access to Other Amenities and Activities
Cost
Eco-Friendly
Other?

This isn?t a sales pitch so I?m not going to give you the name of our retreat. We just want to make it better so I?m going straight to the source to ask the yoga forum for advice. Thank you for your suggestions.

Regards,
Dino

#2

I think the answer is obvious, but anyway here it goes: The quality of instruction is the most important. Or rather: I have always chosen to follow where my teacher goes, it doesn’t matter if it is in a tropical setting or the Arctic circle. So perhaps you should ask teachers what they are looking for in a retreat place…

Everything else is secondary, but I might add that for me it is also important to get enough rest and sleep. Yoga retreats are quite tiring.

#3

@ Aurora, You bring up a good point. Ours is in Asia and though we have access to many fine local teachers, do you think most yogis are inclined to go as part of a retreat hosted by their own instructor? It seems like there is an important trust factor that would be hard to meet with an instructor that people don’t know.

@ Sara, thanks for the feedback. How do you feel about activities outside of yoga like wellness, healing, spa treatments? Cultural experiences? Is it more important to remain focused on yoga and not add those other things?

Thank you for taking the time to comment in this thread.

Regards,
Dino

#4

I can say with first-hand experience that a teacher from both East & West upbringing works the best. That ensures authentic content delivered in student-friendly mode. Especially when it comes to philosophical aspects (for example, I teach Yoga Sutra) the examples one gives should be close to the students culturally. In the same token a Westerner is not received well if he/she doesn’t know Sanskrit and yoga’s eastern roots.

To the list of deciding factors, I would add “how much time a student would get for meditation uninterrupted.”

#5

Supafly: I am speaking for myself, I prefer to go where I find a particular teacher. This is not necessarily the case with newcomers to yoga. I am not sure it is about trust, at least that is not the word that comes to mind. It is more a question of his/her teaching and communication style. Suhas Tambe described the importance of cultural connection very well above. It also depends a lot on what tradition we are talking about, are you already employing the best teachers in your tradition…?

#6

A teacher living what they are teaching.