The Life Changing Magic of a Yoga Retreat

Retreats offer more than a pretty vacation with a view. (Although the views are often quite spectacular!) They provide you with a place to unwind, listen and truly recharge. It’s the ultimate gift to yourself so that you can show up in your day-to-day life, moving from a place of nourishment versus depletion. 

Last year, Razz founder Heather Rasmussen joined Gabrielle on a retreat at the Ojas Retreat Center in California, the home for the upcoming Razz Yoga 2023 retreat. Says Heather, “I was feeling overwhelmed with being back to the "new normal";  back to running kids to sports and activities, invites to weddings, reunions, and parties, and reopening my yoga studio after being online for almost two years. I was missing being at home and the simplicity of my schedule, especially my yoga practice. What I didn’t expect was how much more this retreat would give me.”

Our culture tends to value the “doing” part of our day versus the “being”. But there seems to be a new resurgence to put more value in rest, or the spaces in between all of the doing. On retreat you have the ability to truly find quiet and it is within those spaces you often find much clarity. Those quiet spaces may come while you’re in your yoga practice, on the massage table, or for Heather during the silent periods that were included in her experience at Ojas. “We had "silent time" and that was hard at first, but by the second day I really got into noticing the sights and sounds of nature and my breath. We would be silent after the evening activities until after our morning asana. I think it really added a different dimension to the morning pranayama and meditation sessions,” shares Heather.

The 2023 retreat includes twice daily yoga with views of the eucalyptus trees. Each practice will be different with the morning practice a bit more vigorous and physical and the evening practice more of a cool-down, incorporating elements of yin, yoga nidra and meditation. In addition to ample time for quiet, and daily yoga, you’ll have time to enjoy the outdoors on more than 40 miles of hiking trails. Or, if you prefer, spend your downtime by the pool or in the hottub enjoying the beautiful view. Be sure to add in a bit of time for massage therapy if you have the opportunity, which can really set the tone for your entire experience. “Within an hour of arriving I was on a massage table in a little outdoor hut receiving a cranial sacral treatment—it was truly transformative,” adds Heather.

The Razz Yoga Retreat is designed to help you create a new relationship with your well-being. You’ll nourish your body through yoga and delicious chef-prepared vegetarian cuisine, while building community with other retreat participants. In addition, a retreat will help you find your center and dive deeper into your relationship with your practice, carving out time for the pieces that often get left out in a hour-long class at the studio. Shares Heather, “hopefully, you realize how wonderful it feels to rest and eat well and you take that home with you. It's more than just a vacation to a great destination--it's good for your soul.”


Razz Yoga will be venturing to Ojas Retreat Center April 19-22, 2023. We have space for 18 participants, so we suggest reserving your space early!

Razz Team