Retreat with Yoga

Yoga alone has the ability to take you far from the mundane world to the realm of rejuvenation, exhilaration, and pure relaxation. All things one would seek in a retreat, and closer at hand than you might expect. Why spend thousands of dollars seeking a high-end retreat when as Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home,” and her wisdom may be taken both in the literal sense and in the ethereal sense. Another popular saying, “Home is where the heart is,” may also be interpreted into the cosmic home. Contentedness is part of our yogic path; one of the five niyamas of the second limb, and in this fast-paced, hurried world, learning to retreat at home is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

Plan a yoga retreat for yourself at home. Pick a weekend perhaps, or a day off from work, or a vacation day. A day that you can spend alone, or invite your mate or friend(s) to share in your retreat. Plan on a dawn to beyond-dusk schedule. A sample schedule might look something like this:


6:00 a.m. rise
6:15 warm ups, Salutation to the Sun
6:30 regular yoga routine
7:00 meditation
8:00 breakfast
10:00 study or compose mantras, study Ayurvedic healing or cooking
12:00 p.m. lunch
2:00 work on more difficult poses or learn new ones or just take some creative free time
4:30 relaxing herbal bath, or swim (if you have access to a pool)
6:00 candlelight dinner
9:00 yoga, closing with meditation

End day with quiet, insightful activities such as reading, studying, journal-writing, quiet conversation if with others, or listing to peaceful music. Plan your schedule with your needs and goals in mind. Maybe your idea of retreat includes sleeping in until ten, then rising to begin the day.

Your at-home yoga retreat is a great time to experiment with related things that you may not normally have time to include in your regular day or regular yoga routine such as pursuing, practicing and perfecting more difficult poses, or taking a try at Ayurvedic cooking, or contemplating the Yoga Sutras. Try to bring the yogic state of mind into every thing you do during your retreat, make it the retreat challenge. For instance, if you are preparing vegetables, savor the snapping of the green beans, the grating of carrots. Honor your grain and bread. If you read, read closely with intent to learn, to absorb, to understand.

Make learning the art of retreating at home a part of your yogic journey. Not only will you become more in tune with your home, but will bring a peace and harmony to your home, your self, and any others who live there. Make it special, make it purposeful, and make it your own; your own yoga retreat at home.