Retreat

Yoga retreats are all about removing yourself away from your day-to-day hectic life, and this includes your surroundings. You usually find retreats in an area of natural beauty, bringing you peace and deep rest.  You will also find opportunities to practice yoga a bit more than usual, explore the area via planned and unplanned activities, delight in local cuisine, and come into community with attendees and supporting staff in a way that typically does not happen with general travel.

I have two distinct favorite moments when co-leading retreats that happen every single time:

Arrival Day

There is lead up to that very big day of gathering in a far-off land.  Starts with interaction between me and/or Savonn with every attendee months before to ensure the retreat experience for each is honored.  A week before arrival the attendee group is introduced to each other via WhatsApp.  We see (if shared) where people are in their travels before they arrive, read posts of excitement about getting together soon, and share photos of each other so that faces look a bit more familiar on arrival.

But it is the arrival that I wait for with anticipation.  Monitoring the group pickup at a designated location, getting arrival time updates from our hired driver to the moment when the van arrives and all spill out, grabbing their luggage and looking wide-eyed and honestly a bit fatigued.

Then it hits them.  They have arrived.  Their eyes start to wander, taking in the beauty of our retreat location and recognizing faces either from classes or photos shared on WhatsApp.  Each attendee is shown to their room where they can rest, unpack, and get ready for the first yoga class of the retreat which is always a bit of gentle stretching with Restorative.  There is a palpable sense of relief and ease in that moment of entering your “home” for the next week.

Night Before Departure Home

This is a very special evening.  All the wonderful moments and experiences great and small that occurred during the retreat collectively arrive in spirit as we share our last dinner together.  We see openness, joy and connection – all displayed unique to the individual.  People come away with deepened friendships with those they have practiced with in classes at Sellwood Yoga, and new friendships with those who were complete strangers.  Attendees say they are forever changed.

This is not to say that I don’t enjoy the moments in between.  Getting to know each other, practicing side-by-side, deep conversations, hysterical laughter over something said or experienced, reverting back to childhood when jumping into water whether it is a natural body of water or a pool (we always organically seem to have cannonball and diving competitions), coming back from a non-planned experience and encouraging others to try it, sharing of treats discovered while exploring, reverence over exquisite beauty, breath and movement in sync while practicing yoga, seeing everyone of you deepen something whether it is yoga, awareness, love, appreciation, relaxation and sense of community.

I am frequently asked many questions about the retreats I co-lead by people who have never attended and are interested in joining us:

Do I have to be a member of Sellwood Yoga to go on a retreat sponsored by Sellwood Yoga?

Absolutely not!  Many of our retreat attendees are not in the Portland area and do not use our live stream option for weekly classes.  We have attendees from all over the United States.  International attendees too!  Many who just stumbled upon us and decided take that leap of faith.

I am a beginning yoga practitioner.  Will I be able to do all the classes offered during the retreat?

Yes!  Your instructors on the retreat are very skilled at offering modifications for each attendee based on where they are in their yoga practice.  Many different styles of yoga will be offered such as Vinyasa, Hatha, Restorative, Yin ….and sometimes a combo of all depending on the time of day and what other activities occurred during that day.   We often find that attendees want to explore poses outside of classes with instructors, asking questions that they may not ask in a group class.  You are in good hands.

Do I have to take every yoga class offered?

No.  You decide what classes you want to take.  We do not take attendance!  This is your retreat and if you want to sleep in during morning yoga, or do another activity during afternoon yoga, that is fine with us!

Do I have to do every activity offered?

No.  This is YOUR retreat.  Make it what you want.

I want to bring a friend/partner but they do not practice yoga at all and don’t want to do yoga on the retreat.  Is that ok?

This happens all the time.  And it is perfectly ok.

Do you have people who attend who travel alone?

Yes.  We always have a few solo travelers.  Solo travelers when signing up can reserve a private room or ask to share a room and we will find you a like-minded roommate. Solo travelers are welcomed by the collective whole, so you will always have someone inviting you to join them on an excursion or share a meal.  Our attendees also respect everyone’s need for solitude as well.

Do men go on these retreats?  Or is it women only?

Our retreats are co-ed unless stated.  Women outnumber men on our retreats, but we always have men join us.

Are the meals vegetarian?  Vegan?

No.  We offer omnivore meals but will work with the chef to create vegetarian/vegan options for attendees who have notified us prior to retreat start.

I have dietary restrictions.  How will that work with the meals you provide?

We work with you the month before departure to identify any dietary restrictions and will reasonably accommodate. 

OK, let’s talk about the food.  Will I like it?

YES!  Our attendees rave about the food and often talk about it from retreats years ago!  You will be well-fed and happy.

Alcohol.  Are these retreats alcohol-free?

No.  Each attendee can purchase alcohol at meals (when not provided in your retreat fee).  As this is a yoga retreat, attendees tend to not overdo it.

How will I know what to pack?

We send a recommended packing list as well as what not to pack prior to departure.

I don’t have my own yoga mat.  Do I need to buy one before going to the retreat?

No.  Yoga mats are provided at the retreat location.  You are welcome to bring your own, but that is a personal preference and not a requirement.

I see that there are times during the day when nothing is planned.  Is that intentional?

Yes.  We try to find the right balance between group activities (which are always optional) and time alone.  We always work with our retreat hosts to get a list of other activities that you can arrange for and explore on your own (cost not included in retreat fee) if you are looking for more to do than what is offered.  Many of our attendees want to see and do everything while others want to do just what is offered in the retreat package and spend the rest of the time reading, napping, relaxing, wandering without an itinerary or agenda.

I noticed for your retreats in Europe, you have moved from summer months to fall/spring. Why?

We have found the shoulder season of travel is optimal in many ways for our attendees. Travel costs (airline, hotels during transit to the retreat, etc.) can be lower. You won’t find hordes of tourists which often reduces wait times for visiting museums and other points of interest as well as a lower chance of flight overbookings distrupting your travel. These seasons are a bit slower and calmer.

Weather is also better in many ways. Summer months can find areas overseas very, very warm. Additionally, for those of us who live in the PNW, summer is our optimal time to stay home and enjoy what our area of the world has to offer.

Retreats in the spring, hosted in warmer climates (such as Portugal), allow us to escape the gray, rainy skies of the PNW. Our retreats in October often enjoy extended summer weather. Our recent trip to Portugal had temps in the 80s during our entire visit. We also have the opportunity to experience the gentle entry into fall. The ground is still firm from the summer months, with the leaves changing on the trees and that beautiful fall sunlight in the sky. Our retreat in the Dolomites (October 6-12, 2024) finds perfect hiking temperatures for our guided hikes with the hiking trails not being as busy as the summer months. Cooler temps in the evening allow us to settle into our retreat home by the fire while we sample the fall seasonal menu and wines. While there is a chance of rain in October in the Dolomites, there’s actually more rain during the summertime peak season!

This is not to say that we do not enjoy our summer season retreats and we would not schedule a retreat in the summer in the future. For our purposes and from attendee feedback, shoulder season is desirable.

What happens in the event of inclement weather?

Inclement weather can happen at any time with any season. The first thing we do and encourage all attendees to do as well, is to monitor the weather in our retreat location with the weather app of your choice so you can pack accordingly. If you see rain in the forecast, pack a raincoat. If you see a heat wave, pack more cooler clothing. The good news is we are never far away from stores where you can pick up what you need in a pinch. Our monitoring of the weather prior to arrival allows us to adjust the daily/weekly schedule of events ahead of time.

We know how to pivot while on location too. We have experienced heat waves where we adjusted the timing of our yoga classes to cooler times of the day and moved activities when possible. We have experienced thunderstorms where outdoor dining at our retreat home was risky, and moved indoors where we had an evening of card games and pool! While in France during an outing visiting historic towns and castles, rain hit. Our picnic lunch was diverted to a covered area right next to the Dordogne River where we feasted on a multi-course meal (really, the French know how to picnic) under cover in open air listening to the sound of the rain and the rushing river. To this day, attendees still talk about that moment where they found unexpected joy.

Retreats can be transformative. If you are curious about yoga retreats and want to find out more, reach out.