Beginning: DIY Yoga Retreat in 9 Easy Steps

Many yogis dream about the luxury of a relaxing yoga retreat. I attended my first retreat last summer, and it was an interesting experience. I learned a lot while I was there, about myself, about the world, and about what to do and not to do when someday I organize my own yoga retreat in some fantastic location.

Take a yoga retreat on a shoestring budget DIY-style:
Like many of you, I’ve got some financial goals I’m trying to hit this year and with my other travel plans it looks a yoga retreat in an exotic location may have to wait until 2011. Yoga retreats typically run $1200+ without airfare. Sometimes meals and lodging are included, though that’s not always the case, and then there are some incidental expenses that pop up as well. All in, a yoga retreat will typically cost $3000+, not a small sum of money. So I started to think about a DIY (do-it-yourself) option. I’m signed up for so many group couponing sites now that all seem to offer just about the same types of deals everyday. Groupon, Bloomspot, Living Social, and Daily Flock are part of the set. They routinely offer deeply discounted (50%+) passes to yoga studios, and many of them are for unlimited use for a certain period of time (typically a week or 2).

Here’s how a DIY yoga retreat in your own hometown might go in 9 easy steps:
1.) Wake up with the sun

2.) Take a few moments for seated meditation and have some warm tea or warm water with lemon. If you’re feeling hungry a small piece of fruit will help to tide you over until after practice.

3.) Step out for a morning yoga class via a fabulous deal you got through one of the group couponing sites

4.) Enjoy a healthy, substantial meal – many yoga retreats offer vegetarian or vegan cuisine. Find some options nearby via a site like Opentable.

5.) Take the afternoon to sightsee in your own town. We all have touristy type destinations in our own cities that we never seem to have time to visit unless we have guests in town. Now’s your chance to take in these sites without the pressure of entertaining others. Be adventurous!

6.) Grab a small healthy snack before heading to a second yoga class, maybe in a different style or with a different teacher than your morning class.

7.) Take yourself out for a delicious, healthy meal that you can really savor and enjoy.

8.) Let your evening be a time to completely relax and unwind. Is a spa treatment of some kind in order? (Again, your group couponing sites will come in handy for some discounted luxury!) Curling up with a good book, taking a long walk, or beginning some creative project you’ve been meaning to get to can also be a wonderful way to enjoy some R&R.

9.) Before settling in for the night, a long, peaceful meditation can help to seal in all of the good energy from the day, lull yourself to sleep, so that you’re fully recharged to start all over again tomorrow.

3 key things to remember to create a luxurious DIY yoga retreat:
1.) You are on vacation. If you were out-of-town you’d likely not return phone calls, not open mail, and not be attached to your gadgets. Take this time to let go even though you’re in your hometown.

2.) Vacation is a time of re-invention, to try something new. Even though you’re in the comfort of your own home, be a little daring. And that can mean trying a cuisine outside your normal routine, taking in some day time activities that you don’t normally do, or going to a brand new yoga studio.

3.) Get rid of that to-do list. If you were going out-of-town on vacation, all your errands and chores would be done before or after vacation. Take that same approach with your DIY yoga retreat. Really pamper yourself and give yourself the break you deserve, at a small fraction of the cost of going on a more traditional yoga retreat.

And there we have a yoga retreat with no travel delays and at a tiny fraction of the cost of an out-of-town retreat. What do you think? Worthwhile? If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!