In July 2024, I followed my teacher along with 28 other students to a small island off of Vancouver for a week's long Yoga retreat. Meeting old faces and new at the Sea-plane terminal, I already had a flurry of excitement in my tummy. With turquoise ocean below us as we climbed above the Fraser River, across the Strait of Georgia to Salt Spring Island, the sea-place made for a memorable way to start our time together. The landing dock has a stereotypical regional tranquillity to it. Where lumbar jackets & frayed jeans are the norm, and the local waterhole plays live music through the weekends. We headed for a 110-acre farm stay which houses five families whom work together to cultivate the land producing organic vegetables and fruits. The owner, brought the land 45 years ago after years of logging, determined to restore its natural richness, a modest barn was built and the first rows of vegetables were seeded. Now the produce can be brought in their on-site farm hut and supplies the kitchen for all visiting guests. Inspired to make it a space to bring people together, some 35 years later she designed a tall wooden arched-ceiling studio with floor to ceiling windows, allowing the natural light to pour in. Equipped with yoga props and surrounding silence, it was to be the perfect space for yoga practice. Practitioners travelled from all corners of the world, Argentina, Australia, Hong Kong, France & Canada. With stiff travelling joints & jetlag to over-come, our teacher didn't hesitate to get us on our mat. Moving through our first Iyengar practice, the props aided us to soften into the asanas & the togetherness in the room motivated us to move with intention. Inhale. Exhale. Be present. Dinner time was a much enjoyed shared time, introductions to new friends, hugs to old ones. The chef's did an amazing job of serving light, organic nourishing food- and pudding. Long tables outside led to conversations until the sun set and the stars slowly rose. Time for an early (ish) night. I was staying in a yurt with a French lady, we shared a love for trail running, our old stomping ground of Hong Kong and of course, yoga. By the end of the week she had completed 60km of running along with two classes of yoga a day. Happy to say I was delighted to be in the company of such an enthusiasm for life & movement. 05:30AM the alarm quietly rings and I slip out of bed to stroll some of the surrounding gardens, noticing flowers I've not seen before. Jet lag laden, my yurt-mate went for cocoa at 3AM and has been reading since. Meditation practice begins at 7AM, we are asked to not speak in the Yoga room before practice to keep our thinking minds quieter. 30 minutes of seated silent mediation. Where there is no intent other than to stay in the present moment. Not thinking of the future, nor of the past. Using your breath as a compass to quietness. After our invocations, Asana followed where there would often be a primary part of the body to focus on throughout. Blocks, straps, blankets & bolsters were used to aid a deeper asana practice. After a light breakfast, our mid-morning practice from 10-12:30 started with 30 minutes of guided Pranayama practice. In Iyengar's words, "Pranayama is not performed by the power of will. The breath must be enticed or cajoled, like catching a horse in a field, not by chasing after it, but by standing still with an apple in one's hand". By lunch-time it was time to feast on vegetarian, organic goodness with the likes of, home-made breads, Salads with in-kitchen made dressings, Soups, toasted nuts & grilled vegetables. The long tables brought us together as a group, sharing stories of the day, connections, family and culture. There was laughter, light-heartedness, discussion & tears. With the yoga at work, leading us open to a deeper consciousness of ourselves. I mustn't forget the hummingbirds, if you're home country doesn't have hummingbirds, as mine doesn't, you'll find these beautiful tiny birds amazing. Beating their wings 50-80 times per second whilst hovering for nectar from native Trumpet vine. They were the size of a large moth, with the vibration of their wings faintly audible. A treat for any admirer of nature. Afternoons were spent walking, lake swimming, reading, journaling, chatting, some sleeping while others seeking caffeine in a local flat white. Afternoon asana practice began at 4PM to 6:30PM. The gift of time meant we could partner up and aid one another to get into deeper postures with the safety of support & guidance from one another. We utilised chairs for backbends, the walls for inversions and straps for binding. These sessions were led with the freedom to ask questions in combination with many student/ teacher demonstrations for clear understanding & learning. Dinner... let's be honest most of us were there for the pudding; home-made cake slices or chocolate bark. Along with all the freshness that this retreat's kitchen had proven to delight us with. As evening rolled in, jumpers and herbal tea allowed us to sit outside until night-time had settled. On a few evenings, our teacher hosted open conversations upstairs to the eating area, where we gathered to relax, listen & contemplate in the cosiness of the burner's heat. On our final evening we celebrated a treasured week together with a party. It was easy to see the friendships that had been made and the many that had deepened with our time together; the smiling faces, the belly laughs, the relaxed atmosphere. The week together brought continued gratitude to our teacher for his generous sharing's and his unwavering studentship to yoga. Happiness in it's purest form to be amongst friends & fellow students whom are dedicated to this ancient practice. And in excitement for next year's we parted ways with a heartfelt 'Namaste'.

Everything you need to know about the benefits of going on a yoga retreat. Has the thought of going on a yoga retreat piqued your curiosity but you are not sure of what the benefits from the experience could be? Let’s explore the benefits of taking part in a Yoga Retreat. Benefit from a Yoga Retreat: Time Time is not infinite, and some might consider that the more years you experience, the quicker each year passes. With time becoming a modern currency, people are beginning to take how they spend their time much more seriously. On a Yoga retreat, in essence, you buy yourself time. Time to simply, be. Yes, the amount of time is the same as if you were at home, but for the time during a retreat, you practice presence in your life. Providing an opportunity to quieten the noise of our typical daily schedule. To step off life’s fast-track, providing the space to return to a more comfortable walking pace. In a yoga retreat you are isolated from the usual distractions that often too easily determine the outcomes of our day. Deep Blue Retreat for example, is an adults-only retreat, so for those amongst us that are parents, a retreat gives you the space to reconnect with yourself, separate from your identity of being a mother or father. Deep Blue Retreat promises to take care of its guests every need, from your morning flat white coffee to organising in-house masseuse treatments. We all know that our home lives do not bear us the same luxuries but by removing the daily to-do’s, you make space for your individual growth by making intentional actions in what you truly want to do. The benefit of making Time The benefit of prioritising your Nourishment The benefit of developing your Yoga Practice The benefit of enhancing your Wellbeing The Summary of benefits to going on a Yoga Retreat Benefit from a Yoga Retreat: Nourishment Time & nourishment go hand in hand. Time provides us the capacity to nourish ourselves. What nourishments can be gained on a Yoga retreat? Classical yoga teaches students to follow a vegetarian diet due to the gut-cleansing benefits and to quieten the relationship between the thinking mind & your gut. Deep Blue Retreat immerses guests to 7-day’s of Organic Vegetarian dishes, using fresh produce sourced locally. Many retreats follow suit, often focusing on one or several culinary specialities including, Ayurvedic dishes, sugar-free & gluten-free. All with the intent of leaving guests feeling energised, cleansed and healthier. Nourishment is also experienced by an early-to-bed, early-to-rise routine. Using natural sunlight to reset our circadian rhythm, we increase melatonin levels before bed and increase serotonin levels when you wake. By calibrating one’s circadian rhythm, hormone levels can begin to stabilise, symptoms from sleep disorders like insomnia can begin to reduce. Our usual 16:00 o’clock energy crash can be managed into a 30 minute window rather than two hours. Some retreats may encourage you to not use your cell phone, particularly after sunset, to inhibit your exposure to blue light prior to sleep. These daily habits aid us in creating a steady state of mind that has the energy for action with the stability to maintain focus throughout your day. Benefit from a Yoga Retreat: Practice Yoga retreats all have an underlying focus on the philosophies of yoga- it’s in the name. For many practitioners this will include delivering Yoga Asana classes- the movement on the yoga mat. The time, isolation and focus, allows students to immerse themselves into a deep yoga practice. Yoga retreats will often see students practice twice daily, over consecutive days, allowing the physical body to soften, lengthen & open while also developing physical strength, mental resilience and concentration. Due to gained time, often a much deeper practice is accessed than one can achieve when at their home studio. Students attending a yoga retreat can expect to deepen their knowledge of the practice, deepen their capacity within each Asana, and to savour some of the fruits from a consistent, whole-hearted, body & mind practice. Benefit from a Yoga Retreat: Wellbeing A yoga retreat curriculum will often have the overall intention of improving its guests' wellbeing. Wellbeing by definition is to be in a state that is self-serving & healthy. Yoga retreats afford guests the opportunity to assess, evaluate & reflect on what in your current life is of benefit, and what is no longer serving you. With scheduled down-time each day, you have the space to contemplate what your goals are and if your current daily-habits are serving that ultimate goal. If not, there is time and often tools taught, to develop intentional mindfulness, into how you can live a life that serves you better and your community. Summary of the benefit from going on a Yoga Retreat: In summary, if you are considering if a yoga retreat will be of benefit to you, consider what it is that is stirring your curiosity. Is it that you are enjoying the pleasures & challenges that come with your current yoga practice and you would like to deepen your learnings. Maybe you are struggling to get to sleep or stay asleep due to a racing thinking-mind and you are ready to place actionable routines into your life that improve your sleep hygiene, decrease stress & anxiety and improve your overall well-being. Likely you are working hard, balancing many plates and putting a lot of energy into those around you and you are ready to invest time into yourself, your own health and your longevity. For some, there may be a big change on the horizon, or, you are currently experiencing exciting but turbulence in your typical life-routine, and a shift in your goals and habits need to occur to guide you in the direction that is right for you. Once you have established your why, from here you can make a better judgment of if a yoga retreat is right for you, and if so, what type of yoga retreat will best serve you. Enjoy the exploration into one self. The deep dive. Written by, Founder of Deep Blue Retreats. Yoga retreat 2025: 06-13th September. Croatia. For more information visit,