Gernot’s Yoga Retreats
Gernot regularly teaches yoga retreats in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand at the Chiang Dao Nest, usually in January. Starting in 2023, Gernot will also add retreats in the US and/or Europe. If you want to be notified when those are announced, please contact us and ask to be added to the workshop and retreat announcements email list (less than one email per month).
If you know of a great retreat center or resort we should consider, please let us know via the contact form.
No Retreats planned at this point
The Chiang Dao Nest is one of Northern Thailand’s best loved eco resorts. Part of its appeal is its stunning location at the foot of one of Thailand’s most beautiful mountains and the towering old growth trees shading the resort. In addition, The Nest offers comfortable, cozy cottages and some of the best, locally sourced, Thai and European food in all of Northern Thailand. Retreats usually take place in January, May, August, and December. Come join Gernot for a transformative retreat in the gorgeous mountains of Northern Thailand.
Cancellation Policy
If a retreat is canceled for any reason, or you cannot attend due to changes in Covid-related travel restrictions, you will receive a full refund.
More about Gernot’s Teachings
To find out more about my approach to yoga, read a feature article published by Shut Up & Yoga. Or you can listen to an interview with me on The Embodiment Podcast.
Or watch a short video about Gernot’s approach to yoga:
Recent Reviews on TripAdvisor
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Amazing experience in the anatomy teaching and yoga class with Gernot. I really enjoyed with his humor trying to do more dynamic his classes at the same time learning... read more Lourdesmope
September 2, 2019mschaal0 I have taken classes with Gernot 1on1, in studio, and on his online platform since he started it during covid.
I want to thank Gernot from all my heart... read more
September 27, 2021
What is a yoga or wellness retreat?
Some yoga and wellness retreats are all-inclusive vacations that include a yoga class or similar activity each day. Other retreats, like mine, explore yoga in depth and could also be described as residential yoga workshops. Because they are residential and take place in a quiet, serene environment, a retreat facilitates a deeper learning experience.
Make sure that the retreats you are considering meet your needs in terms of the level of intensity you desire. Read the retreat description to find out, and don’t be afraid to contact the organizers with detailed questions. How they answer your questions will tell you a lot about whether a particular retreat is right for you!
Why choose a more intensive yoga retreat, and what should I expect?
More in-depth retreats are not just appropriate for seasoned, fit yogis. Quite the contrary. My retreats provide a thorough, balanced foundation in yoga that can get you truly comfortable with the practice. The idea is to give you the tools you need to confidently continue your practice when you return home. Moreover, my retreats are designed to teach you how to shape your own practice so that it truly serves you. They give you the knowledge and confidence to evaluate classes and teachers to determine whether they are helpful for you or not.
If you are a seasoned yogi, you will probably find some of your basic assumptions about yoga challenged in one of my retreats. These challenges arise from the fact that I focus more on how we practice, not what we practice. That shifted emphasis from the ‘what’ to the ‘how’ holds the key to a more beneficial practice and greater wellbeing.
My retreats always attract a good mix of beginners, seasoned yogis, and yoga teachers. My whole approach to yoga is to teach people how to tailor the practice to their own individual needs. Thus having a diverse group of students is an asset, not a detriment. With a diverse group we don’t have to concoct hypothetical situations to demonstrate how to adjust the intensity of a particular pose to someone’s needs. You and I will be engaging in this fine-tuning throughout the retreat. I don’t believe a one-size-fits-all approach to yoga is the most beneficial. In fact I believe that fine-tuning the practice to your needs is an integral part of the practice itself.
What does a typical retreat day look like?
We spend 3 hours each morning exploring physical asana practice. However, we don’t actually do strenuous poses for 3 hours. The morning sessions begin with a 60-90 minute practice, followed by a tea break. Then we dive into more detailed explorations of habitual breath, alignment, and awareness patterns. We will also explore how to create new, more beneficial ones. There will be demonstrations, experiments, and partner work to explore these patterns. In addition, there will be discussions of concepts from anatomy, physiology, neuroscience, and yoga philosophy. However, I will limit myself to concepts that help us understand existing patterns, and how to get unstuck.
The early afternoons are free time, as are the evenings. We meet again each day from 3:30-5:30 pm to explore breathing exercises and meditation. In addition, we will answer questions that arose from the morning practice. No prior experience of pranayama or meditation is required. I will present both practices in the context of our physiological understanding of how they work, and will provide detailed instructions on how to do them effectively. We will learn a variety of breathing and meditation techniques so you can get a sense of which ones work best for you. You will then have the opportunity to practice those techniques to get comfortable with them. One afternoon is reserved for a trip to a wonderful local hot spring and waterfall.
A retreat that’s not too challenging, but also not too elementary
In order to notice and leave behind behavioral patterns that don’t serve us, we have to challenge ourselves. But we need to do this in a supportive environment so that we can respond to the challenges with intelligence. If the challenge is too great, we will have little choice but to react mindlessly with the same engrained patterns that keep us out of wellbeing. My aim is to provide such a gently challenging yet supportive environment in my retreats to assist you in your work of creating greater wellbeing.