However, contrary to the core intent behind a getaway, vacations have a reputation of being rather exhausting due to endless logistical concerns. To relieve you of this burden, holiday service providers have created holiday yoga retreats which are pre-arranged and usually follow a particular theme such as wellness, mindfulness, adventure, etc.

These retreats offer you a comfortable alternative to regular vacations where you can focus solely on revitalizing yourself. However, if your aim is to take the mental baggage off and reenergize completely, we recommend that you opt for a yoga retreat of your choice, which is the most holistic health and wellness getaway imaginable.

Imagine a picturesque landscape, soulful meditation amidst a soothing ambience, complete physical and mental detoxification and harmony, customized yoga therapy and training sessions, exotic cuisines and like-minded company. Here, we are listing the seven crucial reasons why you should trade your regular vacations in for yoga retreats.

1. Give yourself a fresh start

When we live in a hectic and monotonous routine, we often become myopic in our thinking, grow accustomed to less-than-perfect situations, do not get enough time to work on issues or mend relationships and unknowingly accumulate stress. Therefore, it becomes essential to give your mind and body a vacation.

Yoga retreats are usually constructed on quiet and serene destinations where you can let go of your worries and let yourself relax. The underlying aim of yoga is to revitalize the body, mind and soul, so yoga retreats offer everything from accommodation to cuisine, focused yoga classes, therapy and meditation sessions that aim to have an overall calming effect.

Yoga classes allow you to overcome physical as well as psychological stress. Moreover, meditation will give you the perfect ambience to relate to your body and mind. This increases respect for self-care and provides emotional and mental strength by teaching you to effectively remove negative thoughts and sentiments and further replace them with positive ones. In addition to this, trained experts will provide you with one-on-one counselling to help you resolve life's issues so that you can return home with a fresh perspective, reinvigorated spirit and stronger emotional stability.

2. Hassel free vacation management

Vacations are fun, but exhausting. A deeper look at a regular vacation reveals that it comes with the same number of responsibilities and errands as any other day at work.

For instance, we have to arrange for travel, accommodation, hoteling, shopping, sight-seeing, etc. and this goes the same for new and unfamiliar settings. This undermines the core purpose of a getaway, which is to just let go and relax. However, a yoga retreat offers you the perfect opportunity to rest and recoup because all vacation logistics, food and in most cases, even sightseeing are taken care of.

3. Unwind amidst scenic landscapes

Yoga retreats offer a proximity to nature unmatched by any other getaway. Yoga shalas are specifically set in quiet and exotic locations so that as you perform yogic asanas (postures) and can also benefit from the healing touch of nature. Natural environments and plant life are known to reduce stress, help us unwind and energize.

4. A yoga retreat is a life-time experience

What sets yoga retreats apart from regular vacations is that the lessons learned and habits adopted during a yoga retreat remain with you for life. According to recent study, regular vacations have been found to instigate temporary improvement in our well-being, whereas, a week-long yoga retreat can bring about long term improvements in our metabolism, the way we think, and how we deal with day-to-day challenges and the resulting stress. Here is how yoga changes the way we live, for better:

a. Mindfulness:

Guided yoga practice teaches us to live in the moment by being aware of our surroundings and how our actions have an impact on them.

b. Compassion:

Heart opening techniques make us more compassionate and accommodating as human beings and enable us to handle situations with enhanced emotional stability.

c. Spirituality:

We often become too immersed in our demanding lifestyles and forget to explore our spiritual side. Yoga considers the body, mind and soul to be essential constituents of our existence and all of these must be nurtured to live a peaceful and healthy life. A yoga retreat gives you an opportunity to seek a stronger connection with God or the Higher Power via utmost devotion to yogic techniques.

5. Create lasting friendships

Retreats have a tendency to attract like-minded people from around the world and therefore enable you to forge long lasting friendships. As you practice asanas in groups, each person becomes part of a support system to help others.

Moreover, affiliating with similar people provides you invaluable insights into issues that you never saw in yourself. There seems to be something so profound about bonding in a yoga shala that people often claim to have made long lasting friendships during yoga retreats.

6. Step out of your comfort zone to explore new things

Yoga retreats encourage people to step out of their comfort zones to improve themselves physically and mentally. This becomes even more enjoyable since you are surrounded by enthusiastic people determined to better themselves. As a consequence, you undertake challenges and adventures you would not have thought possible in other situations.

7. Expert Guidance

One of the things that make yoga retreats worthwhile are the focused consultation of domain experts. Trainers not only deepen your knowledge regarding yoga but also provide one-to-one counselling to assist you in overcoming life's many challenges. An added advantage comes from the fact that these trainings and techniques stay with you forever, thus, enabling you to maintain a healthy lifestyle even after you return home.

So, this year invest in a well-rounded yoga retreat to revitalize your body, mind and soul. Go on, try it!

Audrey Throne is a professional blogger and mother. After completing her masters in English literature from the University of Birmingham, Audrey enjoyed traveling and discovering the world around her. Moreover, she likes to share her discoveries, experiences and express herself through her writing.

Find her on Twitter: @audrey_throne