Back to Back Retreats

What I learned from doing two retreats back to back.

Some of you will know that in late November I ran the second TYA Mindful Movement Retreat in Margaret River- then followed it up exactly one week later with the Bridgetown BJJ Retreat. So it's been quite a busy end of the year.

There was so much preparation for both events - one being a yoga focused retreat with an emphasis on mindfulness and meditation and included some unique events like mindful drawing and live sound immersions. The other was centered around Brazilian Jiu-jitsu with some yoga, breathwork and meditation included as more of a supporting role. Both were ultimately successful and I'm happy with how they went. The feedback from the participants of both events has been nothing but glowing 😊✌️

So I'm feeling good about it.

However, setting them up in close succession was definitely a mistake I won't repeat in a hurry haha!

It was very hard - near impossible to get any final preparation done for the BJJ retreat until after I returned from the yoga retreat in Margs. And obviously the workload organising both at the same time was over the top.

Ultimately however, I think the biggest issue was confusion for potential guests. When you're planning these things, being able to sell tickets is vital. As much as I love running retreats and events in general - I would do it for free if I could! But they have to be financially viable.

In the lead up to both events, it was very difficult to distinguish between the two in regards to promotion on social media and advertising. I had to put quite a bit of energy into making it clear that these were two separate events, on different dates, at different venues, with very different offerings; rather than putting the focus on the retreats themselves and what they were about. Even still, many people I know personally had no idea that I'd run two different retreats.

So I guess my learning here - and my advice for events organisers is to have a reasonable gap.

Organise your events and promote them however you like… but in the lead up to each event, make sure you have enough time to focus exclusively on whichever is next on the calendar.

I appreciate that what I did was ambitious (which is kinda fun). And I was also restricted by the upcoming holiday season and other elements which forced my hand in many regards. But in all honesty, I have the same tendency in my personal life to over-commit. If an opportunity comes up, I almost always say yes! So I guess there's space for reflection on being able to sensibly pace not only what I'm doing moving forward with The Yoga Alternative, but also in my day to day.

Sometimes you have to touch the fire to find out that it’s hot 😂

Anyway... I better get on with organising the 2023 retreats. So keep your eyes peeled for…

BJJ in early May and October.

And a Mindful Movement Yoga Retreat somewhere in the middle of the year.

Maybe I'll see you at one!

It’s always exciting to have something new on the horizon - especially whenyou set a pace that is manageable.

Peace ✌️

- Oli