My Dream Yoga Retreat

{photo credit to Celeste, my daughter}

After coming back from last week's retreat, I thought it would be a lot of fun to think, research, "pretend plan" and write about this, so here is what my dream yoga retreat would be like!

I fell in love with yoga in January 2015. I practiced daily yoga for almost 10 months straight then I hibernated from the end of October to this past June. I really missed it though so I started again with practicing daily yoga as part of the 100 Day Project. It was a little bumpy start but now I am back in the routine and thinking how crazy I was to stop for all those months! 

So...what would my dream yoga retreat be like? 

Since I live on a beautiful Prince Edward Island in the Atlantic region of Canada, I knew right away that the retreat would take place here. I didn't have to look very far. I would choose a relaxing place to stay, near nature and the ocean. 

I think a long weekend would be the perfect length for this type of retreat. 

Dalvay By the Sea 

The charming historical Dalvay by the Sea resort, in PEI National Park, could be a perfect spot for the retreat, especially the cottages! The Dalvay Beach is just a short walk from the resort. An alternative could be to stay in one of the oTENTik in the Stanhope Campground, which is also part of the PEI National Park. You can see more photos of the OTENTik here. 

My dream yoga retreat also includes delicious local fresh food. I would ask (read beg) Sarah from Scapes Take Out Restaurant to cater this dream yoga retreat if I was organizing it! She offers the tastiest locally sourced fresh food. I can imagine people connecting, talking, sharing stories, while eating the fresh and tasty meals. 

A yoga retreat, of course, means lyoga classes, like a buffet of classes for all levels. People that have never done yoga could come to this retreat and feel like they were welcomed and belonged just as much as someone that has practiced yoga for decades. Challenging yoga classes for advanced yogis. 

Yoga on the beach would be a must! 

Dalvay Beach, PEI National Park {photo by Celeste}

Meditation workshops would be offered. This is a practice I still have not personally fully explore and a workshop for beginners would be awesome, as well as some deeper level meditation classes for the more knowledgeable retreat attendees. Maybe learning how to do meditation techniques in the midst of business would be a helpful topic to tackle. Another workshop all about breathing would interest me too, so I would likely add that to the schedule. 

I also think a workshop to learn how to make chakra stones and other crystals bracelets. Learning about the healing properties of each crystals and the 7 main chakras would be included in this hands-on workshop.

Crystals in a Seashell 

The retreat would include some down time too during the day, an hour at the minimum. This would give a chance for connecting with others, or some quiet alone time to think, meditate, reflect, and for simply walks on nature trails or the beach.  The retreat I just attended included an hour of quiet alone reflection at the end, which was very helpful to collect all our thoughts and write down about our experiences.

Inviting Island Trails

Evenings would be more relaxed, with a choice of sunset yoga, nighttime meditation, and maybe a visit or two by local musicians. 

To dream up and write about this yoga retreat was truly very enjoyable for me.  If I ever did organize something like this, I would honestly look at using the Eventbrite has a great online RSVP service . I think it would make taking on such an event idea not so scary! It looks fantastic for any event organizing, big or small, free or paid events. It's free for free events, no matter the size. Their resources page is filled with helpful information too.