[00:00:11] Hello, friend. This is Lauren Leduc, and this is deepen your practice. And today we're going to talk about travel and yoga. While you do not have to leave your own room to practice yoga, in fact, you can practice absolutely anywhere. If you have ever felt curious about traveling in yoga or you're feeling the intuitive drive to maybe try traveling in yoga, but maybe you have some questions. Listen to this episode. It is for you. So, always wanted to travel. I never thought that I could. I grew up here in the Midwest and the US. I didn't really know anybody who traveled internationally. I didn't have a passport, and I told the story in episode two. But when I signed up to do my first yoga teacher training, I signed up to do it in Costa Rica. So I had this opportunity not only to, but to study yoga. And it just felt like the right time to step into maybe this new, more bold part of my life. And I kind of became a travel addict after that. I wanted to keep stamping my passport. So in the last eleven years, I've been all over the world. And much of that has had to do with yoga. It's been studying yoga in Spain and India, as well as Costa Rica, and also leading yoga retreats all over the world. I started leading yoga retreats in 2016.
[00:01:44] Had a little hiatus during the pandemic, of course, but I'm still leading to this day. And it's something I feel really, really passionate about. And I'm really grateful to be able to share not only yoga with others, but to also open people's eyes to other parts of the world. It's such a beautiful thing and it can be a huge part of your growth experience. One of the benefits of traveling internationally for yoga is deepening your practice. So yoga retreats can provide varying amounts of intensity as far as practice goes. So some are really, really focused on practice. Maybe there's two, three, four opportunities to practice or go deeper every day. And some of them are more like yoga adventure retreats where, yes, you have the practice, but also there's a lot of spaciousness and time to really immerse in the cultural experience of wherever you are.
[00:02:39] And mine have really varied from traveling all over Bali and Thailand and staying in multiple locations, to obviously intentional trainings where 12 hours a day we're focused on yoga, to leading retreats in Greece, where we practice once a day, and then the rest of the day is all about experiencing the atmosphere, the food and the culture that is all around us. So I think no matter what, you're going to deepen your practice because you have this distraction free time to focus on yoga and you get to practice every single day. But how deep you go is really dependent on the experience that you're looking for. Another benefit of traveling for yoga or yoga retreats is disconnecting to reconnect. So practicing yoga at home, we have our full lives, we have jobs, maybe we have families, we have all kinds of responsibilities to tend to. And when we practice yoga, maybe it's for an hour at a studio. For me, oftentimes it's a half hour at home while my daughter interrupts several times asking for snacks and things like that. And that's great. It's still a beautiful practice, but to be able to really let go of everything else that's going on in life and go inward and have this spaciousness, it's such a beautiful thing. And while we can't run from our lives and it's not a permanent solution, I often find it's a really good way for people to fill their cups. I've had a lot of moms come on my yoga retreats, and they're like me right now. I hardly get a break. I love being a mom. It's wonderful, however, like being able to get away, even for a few hours, can be really replenishing. So that I'm better, I'm a better mom, I can be more present. Imagine going away, away for a whole week, what that might do for your mental health and just that sense of filling your own cup. So the next benefit, I think, is building communities. So there's something really special about traveling with a group of people and having this shared experience.
[00:04:48] Travel sometimes goes really smoothly, and sometimes it does not. If you're a traveler, you know, anything could happen. Flights get delayed, luggage gets lost. But it's all a part of this experience. And when you're not doing it alone, you build this really fast sense of camaraderie with your fellow travelers, and you get really deep and really close in a short period of time. It's almost like I never really went to summer camp as a kid. I went to a Bible camp once, I think. But it's how I imagine summer camp to be, where you go away for the summer and you make your very best friends and then you come home and you're better for these relationships. Maybe you have a new pen pal, but I do find this sense of community. It's amazing. And I know I have had a lot of guests attend these retreats from all over the world, but a lot also come from Kansas City, where I live, and I still see these people getting together, having brunch, going to yoga together, and making these lifelong friendships. And to me, that is just. It's the coolest. The next benefit I see is cultural immersion and personal growth. I think that being able to get out of your own bubble and see how other people live is an invaluable experience. It has changed me so much. It has increased my compassion for others. It has allowed me, of course, to see our differences all around the world, navigating different languages and cultural customs. But most of all, it's helped me feel more connected to humanity, because the more I travel, the more I see we're really all the same. And yes, we can get really hung up on our differences, but deep down, most of us have the same desires, the same passions. We want to connect with each other. We want to live our lives with love and dignity. We want to have fun. Every culture has a different way of tapping into that. It's so enriching to learn from others. For me, it's just really fostered the sense of growth. And I'll also say personal growth comes with the challenges that I've come across traveling again. Growing up, I always wanted to travel, but I didn't really see myself as a traveler. And now I can say that I've navigated airports all over the world. I've navigated challenges. I've ridden tuk tuks in India, not quite knowing where I'm going. I have a lot of stories around that, but I'm all the stronger for it. And I love myself more because I was able to see myself overcome these challenges, because in the moment, I had really no other choice but to do so. I can't say enough about the benefits of these retreats, but I'd say for me, they've been totally life changing, and they're something I crave. I want to keep going back more and more because I learn so much. I love the connections I form with people, and I have these sense memories of all of these beautiful places around the world, and I feel like no one can take those away from me, right? I can close my eyes and think of drinking a cup of espresso in the streets in Athens with the ruins all around me and people watching, and it just takes me right there. And I have countless memories like that now. It's such a cool thing. Like me when I was younger, a lot of people come up with a lot of mental obstacles. I think when it comes to travel, of course, finances can be an issue and just logistical things in life. I don't want to discount that, but I do want to maybe look at some of these, these obstacles or questions and see if I can help alleviate some of them. So one is, I'm a beginner. Can I join a retreat? Absolutely, yes. So I think people have this idea in their head that when you go on a yoga retreat that everyone else who is there is this like mega super yogi who is handstanding.
[00:08:47] They don't walk anywhere. They levitate, they meditate for 3 hours a day. This is not the case at all. In all of the retreats that I've led, there have been a huge variety of experience levels with yoga. And as a teacher, it's my job to teach in such a way that really honors every person where they're at. And you find that it's really fun seeing so many different experience levels and bodies in the same room, and it does all come together in this really harmonious way. So, no, you don't have to have a ton of yoga experience to travel on a yoga retreat. You just need to have willingness, I think. And you might find, like I said, that you deepen your practice pretty quickly because you have this distraction free environment where you can tend to your practice every single day, sometimes multiple times a day. There's another obstacle of traveling alone, and that can be really tough. I will say, for the retreat that I have coming up that the company I'm working with also is a travel agency, so they help people book flights together. So chances are you won't have to do anything alone. But if you do, soon enough, you will get picked up by a shuttle with a bunch of other yogis on it, and then you will never be alone the rest of the time, unless you want to be. So I think there is something really scary sometimes about traveling alone. But I will say that, one, you might not be alone at all, or you might not be alone much. And two, there are so many travel resources out there. Now, I would definitely do a little research about what airports you're going through, maybe finding airport lounges if you have long layovers, and making sure that your passport is in order and all of your documents are in order so that you have as smooth of experience as possible. I also recommend downloading Google translate onto your phone because it makes it really easy. You can even hold up your phone as a camera to a sign and it will translate it for you. So there are so many technological things that make traveling alone so much easier these days.
[00:10:47] And what to expect from the schedule of a yoga retreat. Like I said, this can really vary from a super intensive retreat to something that's more adventurous. I'll say. For my upcoming Portugal retreat, which is next May and June in the Algarve, it is an adventure retreat. So we practice once a day and then we have some sort of complimentary activity. So that might mean hiking or hot springs visiting, we might go sailing, we might do food tasting. So that particular retreat is a very like, sensual sensory experience.
[00:11:25] It's all about the food and the environment and the ocean, and the yoga is really there to complement all of that and to make each day really conscious and intentional. So a lot of people also wonder how to justify the cost. And this one is big, I'm going to be honest. Like, the economy has been all over the place. It can be really hard to choose to spend money on something that has no physical return. I suppose, like, yes, you have the experience of the trip, but it's not like you're buying a car or a house or something like that. But I will say that investing in yourself can be this transformative once in a lifetime experience. That when you come home again, your cup feels filled and maybe helps you make better decisions for your daily life. It can be really hard when you're inside the picture to really see all the details, but when you pull back, meaning when you travel, when you get out of the bubble of your own life, you can often see the full picture and see things a lot more clearly. So you might go home and make better decisions. You might go home and be kinder. You might go home and, you know, maybe your interests have changed and shifted. It's an absolutely worthwhile investment. For me, experiences are always the most important investments. They're what I care about a lot more in life than material things. So I don't mind putting whatever money I have toward travel. I also recommend budgeting and planning ahead of time. I know for my retreat you put a deposit down to start, and then you have enough. You have several months to come up with the rest, so to speak. So there are a lot of different ways to fund travel if you don't have the money immediately. A lot of people are worried about not knowing anyone on a retreat, but I'd say that's one of the best ways to go. Like, yes, it's fun to go with a friend, but it's also amazing to go and meet new friends and also to have the autonomy to choose whatever you want to do for a lot of us in life, like how often do we get to do that? How often do we get to choose exactly what we want to do at every moment without having to take someone else into consideration?
[00:13:29] It's a great way, again, to fill your own cup. Also, once you get there, there's always icebreakers. There's ways to get to know people better. And we foster this sense of community really fast. Like I said, it happens quickly. There's something about communal travel where you make fast and deep friendships. So it's something that, of course, is a normal worry, but that typically goes away pretty quickly for most people. So those are some of the benefits of yoga retreats and some of the obstacles polls that come up. And I just wanted to end this by letting you know about my upcoming retreat and a sale that I'm having on the retreat. So, yes, I'm leading a retreat in the Algarve in Portugal, which is beautiful part of southern Portugal, May 25 through June 1 of 2025.
[00:14:16] And it is a beautiful several night retreat at a five star boutique hotel. And we'll be enjoying the summer weather, world renowned cuisine, Michelin star restaurants around where we're going to be. We're going to take part in daily yoga and we'll experience hiking trails that overlook the 300 foot high cliffs above the Mediterranean Sea. And we'll really find, in my opinion, the perfect combination of cultural immersion, relaxation, and wellness. So I would love for you to join me so much. Daily yoga, stand up paddle boarding in Lagos, sailing in Lagos, guided hikes, market visits, tasting tours, and more. Sound good to you? Please, please join. I have a coupon code called fall into yoga that's good. From today, September 15, through the end of September, September 30, where you take dollar 150 off your retreat space. And I'll be posting this in the show notes too, if you'd like to reference it. But in the meantime, if you have any questions, if you're curious, if you have any other obstacles that are coming up, please reach out to me. I'm more than happy to chat. I'm
[email protected] I would love for you to join me on this trip. We already have an amazing group of people put together and all we need is you. Happy traveling. Have a great, great week. Om Shanti om peace.
