Five Reasons I enjoyed hosting a Group Outdoor Adventure (and not a Yoga Retreat)
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Yoga teachers seemingly at some point find their way into the world of deciding to host a “retreat.” I am not sure in what year during the Westernization of Yoga we decided to incorporate a group of us getting together somewhere other than where we live but it happened. Yoga teachers put on retreats, if they are able. It’s plain and simple. And yoga students go on yoga retreats. In this article I share five reasons I enjoyed hosting a Group Outdoor Adventure, and not a yoga retreat.
In Joshua Tree California in March 2025 I co-hosted a two week group adventure that consisted of yoga as a main pillar. In fact it was such a pillar that I feel if I have a co-host at future group adventures it HAS to be a yoga teacher. But I really didn’t want to call it a yoga retreat nor did I want to put on a yoga retreat.
Why?
I don’t know. I guess it’s a combination of the colonialism and capitalism of everything that is pure and beautiful in this world (yoga) by our western culture. But I also thought there could be more to it, given what I like to spend my time doing and what I feel I can contribute on this planet while being alive.
Here are the five reasons I enjoyed hosting a group outdoor adventure, and why I wanted to do that instead of just hosting a yoga retreat. Even though I am a yoga teacher!
Breaking of the Bread
Food creates community and connection when you allow it to do so. I have found that when people are willing to try new things, not have to rush out of a meal, and find themselves in a group setting having a meal together contentment, joy, and gratitude can settle in. We didn’t offer a “foodie adventure” but we focused on deliberate meals, made with love by my amazing partner Jill G, and we found the food didn’t have to just be an after thought. Unlike how it can become when we speed around in our day to day. Yoga retreats typically have stricter meal plans and we went out for lunch every day to local restaurants. We didn’t eat unhealthy, but it wasn’t perfect and definitely didn’t fall into a “you will eat this and enjoy it for each meal.”
2. Hiking and Rock Climbing
In addition to yoga we did a lot of hiking and rock climbing on our outdoor group adventure. It was just as much at the forefront of our days as the yoga practice was. I realized when thinking about putting something like this together that I knew as much about hiking, and my co-host one of the weeks Cameron knew about rock climbing, that our options would limit us if all we did was stay at the venue and do yoga for our workouts.
We hiked or climbed every day and honestly someone who loves hiking and would be open to trying yoga could enjoy this outdoor group adventure. Whereas on a yoga retreat maybe that would be tougher to do.
3. Volunteering
We got to volunteer with two organizations I adore and volunteer/donate with frequently when I live in the Hi-Desert of Southern California. And it was a super fulfilling experience, not just for me, but the attendees told me such and the staff at both the Mojave Desert Land Trust and the Joshua Tree No-Kill Animal Shelter let me know how much fun they had with a random group of people as well!
Volunteering one hour a week is known to exponentially boost your happiness and joy levels. It was fun to plan something more loose like a “group adventure” where I could incorporate random things like walking dogs, cuddling cats, picking up trash, defending the desert, and learning about plant seeds. (Yes we did all of that!)
4. Hanging with strangers, old friends, acquaintances, and anyone I might have missed!
This one could definitely be applied to a yoga retreat as well. But both weeks we had a combination of friends I have known for a long time, strangers who signed up, and second or third hand connections that made it to the desert with us. This was a stunning combination for me and there is something beautiful about getting like minded people together from all walks of life to spend a few days together in a communal setting.
We had folks tell us they loved going on a vacation not revolved around drinking, we had folks share it was so lovely to meet people from all over the country and share stories while listening to theirs, and we had folks share just the idea of communal living and what it can do for you.
It was special to say the least and it wouldn’t have been the same if it was all strangers or all best friends. The combination was what made it so lovely!
5. Duh, the Yoga!!!
Ha yes it’s true! Even if as a yoga teacher I didn’t want to put on a yoga retreat I adore the practice of yoga. We started our day with a sunrise asana practice and meditation. We shared and offered Ashtanga, Yin, Kundalini, Restorative, and more. Yoga was actually the glue that held our days together and I am grateful for that. It also wasn’t the only and main focal point, and I was grateful to see that hosting a yoga retreat wasn’t actually what I could best deliver to people over several days. Yes, I still love yoga :)!!! And you will do a lot of yoga on one of my outdoor group adventures, it’s just not the only thing!
Maybe it was a yoga retreat, maybe it wasn’t.
What I did learn, again in my life, is that there’s no better combination of slowing down, eating with family and friends deliberately, being outside, sweating, laughing, and giving back.
That’s what I hope everyone else took from our Joshua Tree California Group Adventures and I know it was something that I did as well.
I left with a belly full of down dogs, hummus, cackles, and doggie love. It’s hard to beat!
Are you interested in coming to our next Outdoor Group Adventure?
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To Your Health,
Mike
