It’s time for you to stretch your limits. Here’s ten great yoga retreats that fuse flexibility, strength training and curative stretching with something else. Maybe you want to cultivate compassion by volunteering at an animal rescue center, conscious living with permaculture or awareness by giving a Thai massage. In 2015, take advantage of these amazing ways to jump start a year of wellness travel.
1) Yoga & Glow-in-the-dark Kayaking (Puerto Rico)
Visiting Vieques Island proves you can enter a whole new world without leaving the country. Travel eight miles off the coast of Puerto Rico for a totally different lifestyle. Not home to even a single traffic light, the local Viequense still travel by Jeep and horseback on the island’s Paso Fino horses.
Join the W Retreat & Spa – Vieques Island for an exclusive three or five-day ENERGIZE yoga retreat with celebrity yoga teacher, Tara Stiles. Kick-start a healthier lifestyle with Strala yoga classes, wellness assessments, immersive nature escapes, cooking classes with the resort’s chef and more. While there, night kayak atop the bio-luminescent bay water that literally sparkles with light, as it’s filled with plankton that glow when disturbed. You can also horse-back ride on the beach, snorkel and visit the spa for made-to-order treatments.
2) Yoga & Snowshoeing (New York)
If you prefer snow to surf, consider snow-ga at Bristol Mountain Ski Resort in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Join Yogascapes for a wintery hike around the gorgeous Canandaigua Lake. You will stop along the way to learn how to incorporate yoga moves into the hike, using ski poles for balance. An alternative to skiing or snowboarding during the winter season, snow-ga is an ideal way to enjoy outdoor recreation and fitness even in a winter wonderland. Your night will end with appetizers and wine around a bonfire.
3) Yoga & Skiing (California)
Improve your skills on the slopes and in the studio with Squaw Valley’s new “Mountain to Mat” program in Olympic Valley, California. New this winter, Squaw Valley is hosting three weekend workshops with intermediate through expert ski/snowboard lessons and yoga. You will wake up to a locally-sourced, organic breakfast and lunch, a half day on the mountain with a professional ski/snowboard guide, an afternoon restorative yoga class at the Wanderlust Yoga Studio, and wrap up your day with wine and mini-spa treatments while sipping wine.
4) Yoga & Lighthouses (Maine)
Join Wander Woman for a weekend of wellness, with the theme of the retreat centered around lighthouses. Like the beacons of light guiding sailors and fishermen safely into harbors along the rocky Maine coastline, this retreat is destined to awaken consciousness to help you navigate life’s obstacles.
Each day, you can attend yoga classes with varying levels and choose from a variety of activities. Some examples include kayaking around Curtis Island lighthouse, hiking up Mount Battie for a view of Penobscot Bay, dance and biking. You will also take cooking classes to learn about preparing nutritious meals, explore alternative health regimens, and find Food Fingerprints for optimal energy and well-being.
Contributed by Katie Foote.
Jessica Festa is the editor of the travel sites Jessie on a Journey (http://jessieonajourney.com) and Epicure & Culture (http://epicureandculture.com). Along with blogging at We Blog The World, her byline has appeared in publications like Huffington Post, Gadling, Fodor’s, Travel + Escape, Matador, Viator, The Culture-Ist and many others. After getting her BA/MA in Communication from the State University of New York at Albany, she realized she wasn’t really to stop backpacking and made travel her full time job. Some of her most memorable experiences include studying abroad in Sydney, teaching English in Thailand, doing orphanage work in Ghana, hiking her way through South America and traveling solo through Europe. She has a passion for backpacking, adventure, hiking, wine and getting off the beaten path.
