Yoga and Zen Vacations

Yoga retreats are a booming global industry, primarily for women and women's retreats, but there is a small but growing percentage of men who are visiting yoga retreats too.

The principle is simple - you go on vacation to some exotic locale, stay there and do yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, and other activities (eg. some of these retreats even offer archery lessons).

Many of these retreats work on a 3-day or 7-day programme and offer a series of workshops on yoga, meditation - as well as services like massage, therapeutic discussions, etc.

The idea essentially is for people to go there, relax, do yoga, and then come back from their vacation feeling refreshed and re-energized.

There is only one problem.

These retreats are often ridiculously over priced and geared towards getting people to come back again and again because it is addictive. So be forewarned, if you get into visiting yoga retreats regularly you will discover they are very expensive and you will find yourself going back again and again. I have a friend who goes to a yoga retreat in Romania every year, spending $5,000 to $6,000 every year on the 2-week trip (she even borrows money from people just so she can go, even though she knows she should be spending her money more wisely). For just a portion of that she could get a membership at a local yoga studio in Toronto and go there all year long instead of 2 weeks per year.

From my perspective yoga is something that shouldn't even cost money. People do yoga in the park. Toronto has a Free Yoga Meetup group that organizes free events at Toronto parks for people who are into yoga. So it doesn't have to cost a cent, and you get to meet new people, make friends, and explore Toronto. Win-Win-Win.

There is actually multiple meetup groups for Yoga in Toronto/GTA.

North York Free Yoga

Plus Size Yoga Toronto

Etobicoke Yoga Grove

Markham Yoga

Beach Yoga Toronto

So there really is no shortage of Yoga Clubs in Toronto that people can join. No reason to go overseas or spend $1000s just to have a good time and feel good about yourself.