Get Away and Play

A family yoga retreat can bring you closer to those you love best.

By Debra Bokur

At a yoga center not far from where I live in the Rocky Mountains, people of all ages had spread out in a long, open room and were moving through poses. Wide windows overlooked thickly forested slopes of aspen and fir. It was the view at the far end of the room, though, that I found most interesting. That's where my 17-year-old son, Sky, was slowly expanding from Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II) into Trikonasana (Triangle Pose). While I watched, he remained oblivious to me, his concentration entirely focused on the placement of his feet. As he made a small adjustment, he closed his eyes and filled his lungs with a long, deep breath.

Most people think of a yoga retreat as a solo getaway. But more yoga practitioners are discovering that taking a retreat with their families can bring unexpected benefits. The opportunity to see a child as a distinct, capable individual—as I did when I looked over at Sky—is one of the many gifts of a family retreat. With distractions reduced and everyday responsibilities temporarily suspended, family members can drop assigned roles and simply savor the pleasure of one another's company.

Playtime

During our yoga outing, I noticed my son letting down his guard and enjoying the experience; we laughed when he pretended to be impressed that his over-40 mom could still touch her toes. "We forget how important play is," says Dennis Eagan, who spent many years as a wilderness guide in Alaska and who leads family yoga retreats with Echo River Trips along Oregon's Rogue River. "When we all go back to that place of having fun, it brings people together."

Of course, any kind of vacation can be fun. But doing yoga together can amplify the sense of joy among family members. On the family retreats she leads in Costa Rica and Hawaii, Jackie Long of Yoga with Love teaches a repertoire of poses to help make it happen. In Snakes Under a Bridge, one person holds Bridge Pose while other family members slither serpent-style under the bridge. The poses start off with gentle physical contact and often end with families collapsing into hugs and laughter. Some poses are interactive, like Table and Chairs: One person becomes the table, by holding a flat-backed version of Cow Pose, while the rest of the family gathers around in Utkatasana (Chair Pose) and pretends to hold a tea party. Working toward a common goal, even if it's just to stage an imaginary tea party, Long says, renews a sense of familial closeness.

"A retreat is an opportunity for the whole family to be devoted to the moment-to-moment experience and joy of life without the pulls of the parents' or the child's responsibilities," says Shiva Rea, a yoga teacher and mother who lives in Southern California and leads retreats worldwide. "Yoga helps transform the accumulated stress of householder life."

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