Ontario, with its large areas of nature and great stretches of water, is one of the most suitable places to take a yoga retreat in. It’s just a matter of choosing which one works for you. Here are 7 of the best yoga retreats in Ontario.
Grail Springs
The Grail Springs Retreat Centre for Wellbeing is in its 25th year of bringing balance back into people’s lives. A magnetically-charged rock bed is the floor of Chalice Lake. The alkaline water from this lake is used for everything from cooking to bathing.
Grail Springs offers yoga as part of its regular services. You can join different classes with trained instructors who share the history and benefits of yoga to daily life. You are presented with a wide array of choices, such as yin yoga, hatha yoga, silent meditation, strengthening vinyassa flow yoga, and relaxed yoga. Each one helps you target a different source of stress and prepares you differently for the future.
Northern Edge Algonquin
Northern Edge Algonquin, located in a corner of Algonquin Park, prides itself on its transformational leadership group retreats. Yoga is a special part of their retreats. Some packages explicitly include daily yoga sessions, to relax and restore all the members of the group and bind them closer as a community.
The yoga studio has a view of the lake, and sunlight is allowed to enter the studio. Not only can group members relax and stretch, they also take in much needed vitamins and feel their spirits rise with the presence of the sun. The same packages include stand-up paddleboarding, so bring the best sports bra that will let you do both activities.
Sugar Ridge Retreat Centre
Founded by a couple that loves the woods, the Sugar Ridge Retreat Centre offers retreats for groups and individuals. So if you’re planning a getaway on your own, a self-retreat if you will, Sugar Ridge has something welcoming for you.
There are in-house yoga instructors all year round, and a yoga retreat offered once a month with their hatha yoga instructor. You can take part in something light and relaxed, or if you have more experience in yoga, the instructors can easily adjust to you. Don’t worry about entering the “wrong” class—the lessons are matched to the students.
PranaShanti Yoga Centre
PranaShanti Yoga Centre is a yoga-focused facility that even offers 200- to 300-hour classes designed to train instructors or deepen the personal yoga experience. But its main goal is to become a place of healing, restoration, and wellbeing in its area of Ottawa. The facility is its own selling point, but it’s not too far from most residences and work spaces.
You can attend classes virtually or in person, and you can attend one class at a time if you’re not ready to commit to a full package. However, there are packages ranging from 10 classes to annual unlimited classes, for enthusiasts who want to encourage themselves to watch over their health and wellbeing.
Nonpareil Natural Health Retreat
Nonpareil Natural Health Retreat is in Nonpareil Estate, a beautiful estate home passed down and preserved through the Scottish family that owned it. The family, through all the modern innovations of farming, kept every part of their estate organic, without chemicals or artificial organizers. As a result, Nonpareil doesn’t just offer yoga classes, but detoxification as well.
Nonpareil offers Kripalu yoga, which focuses on strengthening the core and teaching the rest of the body how to relax and rejuvenate. The breathing and meditation exercises help the whole body to relax and learn to heal. Kripalu yoga also helps practitioners look inward and calm themselves in readiness for the exercises.
Bliss Haven Retreat Center
You name it, Bliss Haven Retreat Center probably has a retreat for it. The place offers everything from hiking to arts and crafts retreats. There are multiple structures in the area, allowing the different activities to take place simultaneously, but without disrupting one another. This setup also helps you interact with people with varied interests, and gives you the chance to try something new.
There are multiple in-house yoga instructors, ready to teach your group how to release stress and become self-aware through yoga and meditation. More than just classes, the yoga instructors teach and discuss mindfulness, relaxation techniques, and how to bring the calm of exercises into the everyday world.
Nirvana Retreats
Nirvana Retreats is a quiet, relaxed space with small and few amenities but a sense of timelessness to the area. There are 14 acres of woods and fields, and a large swimming and boating pond where you can go to relax. It’s the perfect place for you if you want to focus specifically on yoga and rejuvenation.
The place also has its own yoga space they call the Yoga Barn, where they conduct group yoga sessions. The studio is also generally open to practitioners who just want to stretch on their own. There is a view of the pond and the fields and trees, giving rest to the eyes even as the body is stretched out and begins to heal.
Yoga retreats are short, intensive moments when you can put all your problems away and allow yourself to relax. If you don’t think you can make time for it, you probably need it. Rest well!
