How to Choose the Right Yoga Retreat For You
Retreats are having a moment.
Search “wellness retreat” and you’ll find thousands of options promising transformation, healing, adventure, community, rest, or all of the above. But after attending retreats myself and now hosting them, I’ve realised something important. The best retreat isn’t necessarily the most popular one with the most impressive itinerary.
It’s the one that meets you where you are.
And that starts with understanding what you’re looking for. And what you actually need.
What Do You Need?
Ask yourself: what am I hoping to get from this experience?
Maybe you’re exhausted and need rest.
Maybe you’re craving adventure.
Maybe you’re looking for community.
Maybe you’re just curious about yoga.
Maybe you’re looking for a deeper connection to culture and heritage.
The clearer you are about what you need, the easier it becomes to find the right retreat.
Who Are Your People?
This is probably the most underrated thing to consider when choosing a retreat.
Who attends?
Who is it designed for?
Will you feel able to relax?
Will you feel safe?
Will you feel like you belong?
Particularly when travelling abroad, the last thing you want is to feel like you’re constantly on guard, explaining yourself, or defending your experience.
Representation matters.
Whether that’s a women-only retreat, or simply a retreat that welcomes people from backgrounds not typically reflected in wellness spaces.
You deserve to feel at ease.
My First Retreat Experience
My first yoga retreat was sometime around 2016 or 2017 at university, somewhere in the Peak or Lake District. I genuinely can’t remember which.
Honestly, it wasn’t really for me.
Unsurprisingly, I was the only person of colour there. And looking back, I realise how important it is to feel comfortable and represented in a retreat environment. Especially when you’re being invited to open up, rest, and connect with others.
That experience stayed with me. And it’s shaped everything about the spaces I now try to create.
What’s The Vibe?
Ask questions.
What’s the accommodation like?
What are the food options?
Is it beginner friendly?
What does a typical day look like?
Some people want comfort, beautiful surroundings, and a touch of luxury. Others love rustic simplicity.
Neither is better. It’s about knowing yourself and what kind of environment helps you truly relax.
For me, a beautiful room, nourishing food, thoughtful details, and peaceful surroundings help me settle into rest more quickly. That’s just what I know about myself.
What do you know about yourself?
A Retreat That Changed Everything
In 2023, burnt out and in need of a reset, I attended a retreat in Sri Lanka with one of my absolute favourite teachers, Darvina Plante.
The group was warm, welcoming, and easy to be around. One of those experiences that stays with you long after you’ve come home.
And at no point was I thinking: “I want to host retreats.”
Until 2025, when I co-hosted our first Black Joy x Wellness retreat in Ghana.
Every shared laugh.
Every deep conversation.
Every hug.
Every tear.
Even the unexpected challenges brought us closer together.
Watching Black women arrive as strangers and leave as sisters was one of the most special things I have ever been part of. Women who are too often ignored and overlooked by mainstream wellness spaces.
That’s why the Black Joy x Ghana retreat exists. For Black and mixed-heritage women seeking rest, sisterhood, culture, and a meaningful reconnection to the African continent.
The Retreat I Couldn’t Stop Thinking About
Soon after, I visited South Africa for the first time. I arrived tired. Trying to switch off after months of planning the Ghana retreat, working, and generally figuring out life.
Then I arrived at De Zeven Lodge in the Cape Winelands. And something shifted.
Time softened. It was no longer working against me. It was holding me still. Surrounded by mountains, stillness, and nature, I felt my nervous system begin to settle in a way I hadn’t realised it needed.
And there, a seed was planted.
Imagine a yoga retreat here, in one of the most beautiful places in the world. At first I convinced myself it wasn’t possible. That I couldn’t pull it off. But the idea never left.
So eventually I stopped asking “Can I?” and started asking “Why not?”
Choosing The Right Retreat For You
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stretched thin, and in need of a genuine reset, South Africa might be exactly what your mind and body have been asking for. A chance to step away from the pressures of daily life and truly slow down.
If you’re craving sisterhood, culture, and heritage, the Black Joy x Ghana Retreat was made for you.
The right retreat isn’t just about where you go. It’s about how you feel while you’re there.
Seen.
Safe.
Supported.
And finally able to exhale.
Ready to Experience A Retreat?
Explore Upcoming Retreats
A luxury yet unpretentious retreat for anyone craving deep rest, nervous system support, breathtaking nature, and the space to slow down.
Because sometimes the most important journey isn’t about getting away.
It’s about coming back to yourself.
A wellness and cultural retreat for Black women and mixed-heritage women seeking connection, sisterhood, rest, and a deeper relationship with the African continent.
2026