When running a yoga retreat, what you’re really doing is creating and facilitating a time and space in which our guests can totally relax and refresh. To give everyone the most enlightening experience possible, you first need to make sure you’ve covered all your bases. Advance planning is your friend when you’re setting up a retreat, and will save you and your guests any potential stress or worry.

Here are our tips for setting up a great yoga retreat, so your guests can truly enjoy their time – and tell their friends about it too!

Location, location, location

The place where you hold your retreat is the backdrop for a potentially life-changing experience for your guests, so it needs to be up to standard. Your retreat location, accommodation and facilities will contribute to the yogic evolution of your retreaters, so make sure you have all the facilities you need to give your guests a great retreat. This could include ensuring there’s lots of space for everyone to do some reflecting, that the yoga room is comfortable temperature-wise, the kitchen will be able to dish out all your meals with ease, and that everyone will have a comfortable place to rest their head at the end of the day.

When you’ve got all of this sorted, it’s time to advertise your facilities, and then do your utmost to ensure that everything appears and serves as was promised in your brochure or on your website.

Appropriately allocate staff

Figure out what jobs will need doing at your retreat and how many people you will need to help make it happen. While it can be tempting to try and do everything yourself, things will run a lot more smoothly if there are people around who you trust to do the job well.

If you are traveling abroad to run your retreat and will be working with hotel staff that you don’t know well, be sure to communicate clearly. It’s always worth taking the time to connect with your team, discuss how you want your retreat to be experienced and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Listen to your client’s needs

Yoga retreats can bring up unexpected emotions, and your clients may be working through some poignant feelings that stem from imbalances in their lives or bodies. Be sure to make it clear that your guests should feel comfortable to come to you with any questions or requests they might have, or simply to share how their experience at your retreat is playing out. That’s not to say you have to cater to prima donnas, as sometimes retreats are a great way for fussy people to realise the bigger picture and not stress over small details. But everyone wins when there is an environment of open communication. Your clients can freely express themselves, which may involve self-realisations they weren’t aware of. Plus, true freedom of expression lets you learn how to give everyone the best experience possible.

Follow up with your retreat guests

It can seem so easy to change your lifestyle while you’re on a yoga retreat. Away from everyday stresses, people can really heal and they often make great changes in the calming setting of a yoga getaway. But when we return to our ‘real lives’, those stressors that caused everything to go off kilter in the first place might still be well and truly there. Take the time to reach out to your guests after the retreat. Something as simple as an email, letter or phone call can help remind your clients of that little flame of inner peace that they sparked while on your yoga retreat. Just a small effort can help people to maintain the changes they created. For best results, take notes about each guest and tailor your messages to them. Otherwise, sharing recipes, photos of your retreat, yoga pose reminders and simple reminders of the moments you shared can be a great refresher for people.

Looking for some yoga retreat inspiration? Browse here.