How To Use Your Theme

You’ve probably heard me preach about this: your retreat needs a clear 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲. People are tired of generic offerings like “Yoga Retreat in Mexico” or “Unwind in Costa Rica” without any real point. People want more! 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁.⁣
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There can be a lot of confusion about how to come up with a theme and tie it into the retreat. I want to show you how I did this in my retreat in Costa Rica earlier this year.⁣
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Out of the 8 days of the retreat, I taught classes for 6.⁣
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With all of my retreats, I always set the tone at the beginning, creating a safe and judgment-free space. I wanted to take that a step further and dedicate a whole week to allowing my students to experience the freedom to truly be themselves. I have a co-ed clientele of professionals, so it’s a bit more general and not super niche (which is ok!). The point is I still gave it 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.⁣
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The theme of my retreat was “Free To Be”⁣
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𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭: I taught about grounding and connecting to the earth, focusing on the feet and legs to foster a sense of safety and security—necessary for one to let go and feel free.⁣
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𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮: The theme was “𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻” I taught a water-themed class with loose, fluid, and unrestricted movements so students could let go of rigidity in their bodies and find their own sense of expression.⁣
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𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟯: The theme was “𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗨𝗽 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲” We worked to build heat and fire in the solar plexus and incorporated lots of chest and arm openings—taking up space.⁣
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𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟰: This class was titled “𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱” I taught a throat chakra-focused class with lots of ujjayi breath, throat and neck releases, and OM chants to reveal our unrestricted voices.⁣
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𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟱: This class was “𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗲,” all about connecting to our intuition and enjoying the freedom that comes when we learn to trust ourselves. We closed our eyes for part of the class to attune to more subtle layers of information.⁣
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𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟲: On the last day, I taught a class about connecting with our own hearts and acknowledging how deeply we can fall in love with ourselves (and each other!) when we give ourselves permission to be who we truly are. The previous classes primed them for this! I incorporated some group activities throughout the class before folks left to catch their flights.⁣
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Here’s a real-life example of how you can make your retreat purposeful and intentional. Whether you have a more niche or generalized offering, each day can delve deeper into the core of your theme.⁣
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You can do this too!⁣
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✨Are you ready to take your offerings to the next level?