RETREAT ≠ ESCAPE I read of and hear voices that assume yoga teachers — or yoga retreats — are about something sensual or romantic. As if people go there to meet someone. Or that teaching yoga is a desperate quest for attention and validation. In truth, the real purpose of a retreat is to return — and reconnect. To step away in order to come closer. Closer to oneself. To silence. To nature. To what truly matters. A retreat done with integrity is not about escaping life — it’s about expanding, strengthening, and clarifying it. In all my years of teaching, I’ve never seen people “hook up” on my retreats. What I witness is people soften. They arrive tired, wired, scattered — and leave more centered, open, and real. And truth be told — I have never joined a yogaretreat with the intention to meet anyone other than myself. Because that’s what retreat truly means: to meet oneself again — fully. Practicing balance. Yet I find it deeply problematic that certain cult-like groups still use...