Hatha Yoga Is More Than Asana
In the tradition we teach, posture is one limb of a much larger practice, and not the one that does most of the work.
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What to Expect on Your First Yoga Retreat
Arriving somewhere you have never been, to do something you have never done, with people you have never met. Here is what the first few days actually look like.
Most people arrive at a yoga retreat carrying a quiet worry that they will be the least flexible person in the room. They are not, and in any case nobody is looking. The first thing a residential retreat asks of you is not strength or experience but a willingness to keep to a timetable that somebody else has set.
The shape of a day
Days in an ashram are built around practice rather than around meals or free time. The early session is the long one, and it comes before breakfast; the evening session is quieter and usually ends with relaxation or meditation. In between there is space to read, to walk, to sleep, or to do very little.
- An early start, usually before six, the hardest adjustment for most people
- Two taught sessions a day, with the morning one the more demanding
- Simple vegetarian meals at fixed times, eaten together
- Afternoons largely unstructured
- Lights out early, because the morning comes early
What to bring, and what to leave
Less than you think. Loose clothing you can move and sit in, something warm for early mornings and evening meditation, and a water bottle. Mats, props and bedding are provided. What is worth leaving behind is the expectation that you will be productive.
The retreat does not begin when you arrive. It begins on about the third morning, when you stop checking how much longer the session has to run.
The third day
Almost everyone has a difficult day somewhere between the second and the fourth. The novelty has worn off, the body is sore, and the quiet that seemed restful on arrival starts to feel like an absence. This is normal and it passes, usually overnight. The people who have the hardest time are the ones who assume it means they have chosen wrongly.
By the end of the first week most guests have stopped wearing a watch.
