Organizing an Empowering Group Yoga Retreat

Whether you’re looking for a retreat for your employees, or for your church or social group, choosing an appropriate kind of retreat may be difficult. You may wish to empower them to give them the means to live a happier life, or simply to help them to see that they can continue to grow. Whatever the reason, we know that a group yoga retreat in can suit just what you and your group needs.

Well-being has become a hot topic in recent years, as we move away from the rigid livelihoods of the 20th century and further into the 21st. For the first time in human history, we have the means to start substantially increasing the quality of life of countless individuals. Although this will take some work, which is why we organize retreats on which groups can learn new skills and grow together.

Here are some tips for organizing an empowering yoga retreat that may change the lives of your group members forever. Orange Springs Retreat hosts retreats for groups of 50 people or more!

Hire Professional Speakers

The main advantage of a retreat is that your group will be away from their daily concerns, and therefore more receptive to new information. This is why we believe that hiring relevant and professional speakers to talk to your group is important. Not only can they be yoga instructors, you may also wish to hire speakers who specialize in the following:

• Financial well-being – find a relatable financial advisor who can come and give legitimate advice to your staff, as well as answer any questions they may have
• Mental well-being – you may wish to hire a therapist or counsellor to run group or individual sessions, or otherwise you may find a mental health expert to talk about different tools your group can use to stay mentally healthy.
• Emotional well-being – while some may assume that this can come under the same category as mental well-being, emotional well-being coaches can specialize more in managing emotional states and understanding the emotional states of others.
• Spiritual well-being – whether this is related to your church group, or simply a non-theistic approach to spirituality, you may hire a Buddhist monk or Hindu Yogi to impart some of their wisdom on spiritual matters to your group. If your group is strictly atheist you may consider hiring a speaker on stoicism to give them practical spiritual practice.
• Comedian – nothing is more effective at reducing seriousness than a bit of levity. By hiring a comedian you can break the ice in those early days, or break up the seriousness half way through the retreat.

If you have experience in running yoga classes then feel free to run them yourself, otherwise find a good teacher for your group yoga retreat (FL Yoga Teachers Association is a good place to start).

Incorporate Relevant Activities

If you’re running a yoga retreat, you probably shouldn’t host a paintball tournament in the middle of that week as it will interfere with the yoga. The same applies for all activities you decide for your event, and you should also consider how the activities interact with each other. Some appropriate activities may include:

• Meditation classes – this can be as professional or as casual as you desire. Check out Youtube or Spotify for some great guided meditations.
• Walks or hikes – these can be daily and may be suitable after breakfast and yoga in the mornings. Be sure to only choose appropriate walks for your group’s demographic, and to advise appropriate footwear.
• Canoeing, kayaking, or paddle boarding – these can all be nice relaxing ways to spend a warm afternoon, and can incorporate meditation too.

Share Responsibilities

A common problem with many retreats around the world is the person who’s organizing it taking on more responsibility than they can manage. Instead, identify some senior or responsible members of your group as managers or supervisors and share tasks.

Plan to a T, but Allow for Choice

Another key in successful retreats is to plan all the events with precision, but to allow your group members to pick and choose which events they attend. You may wish to make the speaker events compulsory, but such things as canoeing may not appeal to everyone. Feel free to encourage people to try new things, but don’t force them to do something they truly don’t want to do.

Group Yoga Retreat in Florida

Here at Orange Springs we have years of experience in facilitating successful retreats. FL residents can pop down and see our grounds. Give us a call or email to hear more about our other retreats, or to start organizing your group yoga retreat today!