When I became a yoga teacher, I was fascinated by those teachers who had been in the field for a while and now lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle that allowed them not only to “just” teach yoga for a living, but gave them the space to travel and take groups with them—hosting workshops and yoga and meditation retreats.

A couple of years into hosting my own retreats, I still have not attended one as a participant, mainly because once yoga retreats became mainstream, they seemed to be just another privilege for those who have both the luxury of time and money, making it unattainable to the rest of us.

In truth, what many people attend these days are more like luxury yoga vacations where the focus is often on traveling to an “exotic location,” doing a little yoga asana on a paradisiac beach, hitting the tourist spots, and, of course, going on a sunset horseback riding with loads of photo opportunities by beautiful waterfalls.

It sounds fun, I know. Yet, not a retreat, in my opinion.