What kind of retreat should I lead?
Do you want to lead a yoga retreat?! Here’s a virtual high-five to that!
There are so many ways to create a fun, healing, and transformational experience for your students. The possibilities and combinations of fun activities are endless!
You could travel to the Caribbean, stay in thatched bungalows, and lead sunset yoga on the beach. Or maybe lead a vineyard retreat with wine-tasting and cooking classes. Or how about a weekend getaway at a rustic mountain cabin with lots of hiking and yoga under the trees?
Oh, wait, how about a desert glamping retreat with rock climbing by day and meditative stargazing at night?
These all sound amazing, right?
But before you go too far down the retreat vision rabbit hole, you need to ask yourself TWO very important questions:
What type of retreat is right for you?
And, what is the right retreat for your students?
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of jumping right into planning all the cool details, like where to travel and what kinds of activities to include in your retreat.
But that’s like teaching a yoga class and jumping right into the peak posture at the beginning of class. That wouldn't make sense, right?
You have to warm up and prepare first. You need to check in with your students at the beginning of class to see if anyone has any requests or is injured and needs to modify their practice. Not only that, but you want to make sure your students are ready for this peak posture!
Just like when teaching a yoga class, when planning a retreat, you need to know what type of retreat you want to lead + what kind of retreat your students want and need.
In retreat planning, these are the two sides of the same coin.
Here's an example:
Let’s say you want to lead a week-long retreat in Bali in early September. You’ve always dreamed of going there and thinking, “That’s where I should lead a retreat" And September is a great month for me to get away, so that when I'll go.”
Having a vision and knowing what time works best for you is a great place to start. But that’s only part of the puzzle.
The other side is knowing, "Is this something your students will want to sign up for?"
If most of your current students, or your potential students, are avid travelers who have the financial freedom & luxury of time to go on a trip like this, then awesome!
But if most of your students are stay-at-home moms with young children, it's probably difficult for them to get away on a week-long retreat, not to mention an international trip.
And if your students have school-age children, September is probably not a great month for them to get away since it’s usually a busy time for back-to-school activities.
So how do you determine what your students need and what you want?
Here are some key questions to ask yourself when making decisions about what type of retreat you should plan:
Is it something I feel called to do?
Is it something I’m passionate about? Does it feel right to me?
Is it something that makes sense for my yoga business? Does it fit in with my mission and purpose?
Does it fit my budget and schedule?
Is it something my students would be excited to sign up for?
Does it fit the budget and time availability of my students?
Is it something that resonates with both me and my students?
We've created a workbook you can download for free called Key Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Planning A Retreat.
Access this retreat guide + other helpful resources inside our Free Retreat Leader Resource Vault.