As you prepare for your upcoming Yoga Retreat put down your packing list for a moment. What’s equally as important as having the right gear and clothing for your trip are these 5 Things (that aren’t things) to bring on retreat with you.
1. Willingness to let go of control. If you’re an independent type A personality, this could be a tough one for you. Being in a new place with unfamiliar food, a different schedule, and new people to meet can be uncomfortable at first. Your retreat guides know where your next meal is coming from and where you’ll sleep that night, so you don’t have to.
2. A sense of humor. Being able to laugh at yourself and accept that your yoga practice and your life aren’t always going to be graceful and smooth. Sometimes your tree pose is crooked and sometimes you belly flop into the pool while trying to do a jackknife dive. If either of those are the worst things that happen to you that day, life is pretty good!
3. Empathy. Depending on where you’re traveling, the culture and people who’s lives you’re intersecting with could be drastically different than what you know. Let understanding these differences be what brings you together as opposed to what divides you.
4. Openness to try new things. Traveling and yoga help us grow so much as people because they provide a change of pace, deviating from the safe lifestyles many of us have created for ourselves. It’s in that place outside our safety zone that we can really explore what we’re made of.
5. Courage. Courage to try that pose you’ve been resisting, courage to try foreign foods, and courage to make every day the best day of your life!
Alright, now back to packing up your suitcase. The benefits of your yoga retreat will last forever. These things that you prepare are transportable and transferrable into your regular home life: let go, laugh, empathize, try new things, and courageously open yourself up to living from your heart.
Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia
