Yup, it's official: "that" time of year has arrived. I love my hometown of Vancouver dearly, but there comes a time every winter season when my Vitamin D supplements and Magnum P.I. screensaver (yes, this exists) no longer satisfy my longing for warm, sun-filled days. The walk to my neighbourhood coffee shop, yoga studio and pub is met with gusts of wind and rain, and while I do love feeling like I live on the set of Twilight, after awhile even the most passionate Pacific Northwester can get a little down in the dumps. My weekly passive-aggressive email to my boyfriend about travel deals is followed by a cruise of my social media channels, where I see friends having incredible trips in far-flung places, radiant smiles across their faces as they Down Dog and sail through turquoise waters. My normally positive and generous spirit shifts into a darker, more jealous space. It doesn't feel very good.

When this happens, it is what I call a Seasonal Affective Disorder Rock Bottom.

Luckily, I work with a bunch of awesome yogis from across the globe who have gone on wonderful retreats all over the world. I asked a few of them to share their favourite retreat experiences so that we can find amazing places to take ourselves from SAD to "I Can't Believe I Am Listening To The Pacific Lap At My Feet While I Savasana" bliss. Listen to Aly, our Hometown Community Manager who just returned from a week of yoga in Mexico:

"At the Haramara Retreat just outside of Sayulita Mexico my husband and I and one of our best friends joined Connections Through A Sacred Practice with Mara Branscombe from Jan 5- Jan 12, 2013.  It truly was a transformational experience. The Haramara was an amazing venue - a true retreat with no electricity or internet, amazing food and beautiful open bungalows in the middle of the jungle just steps from the beach." 

Aly, you had me at "transformational." Here's a photo of Mara doing her thing. Looks pretty tempting, right?

Without further ado...here are our pro-tip picks for 2013 retreats!

jess, international community manager

"You have to check out The Travel Yogi. Jen Hoddevik, the founder, is collaborating with some of the best instructors (a lot are our ambassadors!) and leading some of the most amazing adventures.  Can you say Galapagos!?!"

janine, design director - the lululemon lab

"I'd find something with Chris Chavez or Elena Brower.  Or something focused on meditation, like a Vipassana retreat."

• Chris Chavez's 2013 retreat and workshop schedule
• Elena Brower's upcoming retreat in Miraval, Arizona

dee, community connector, hong kong

"These are the retreats I've got my eyes on for 2013!"

• Claudia Whitney - DIVE & Yoga Retreat in the Maldives 
• Eoin Finn – Blissology Yoga, Ecology, Surf retreat in Bali 
• Patrick Creelman – Sky Heart Retreat in Bhutan

katie, accessories design manager

"On my bucket list is a yoga cruise...this lady owns a gorgeous sailboat in Turkey.  For around 1100 € you get a week of yoga and delicious meals."

These all look like incredible journeys - we'd like to do every single one! What experience are you going after this year? If you need encouragement, may we quote our manifesto..."do it now, do it now, do it now." You deserve it!

Give this girl a board, blow some wind in her hair and watch her come alive. Ambassador Carolyn Anne Budgell, has been an avid skateboarder, snowboarder and casual surfer since the young age of 15. Just imagine her delight when she discovered yoga and realized all the amazing ways her practice on the mat could also transform her life on her board.

from sun salutations to hanging ten

I didn’t think my board sports could get any better until I found yoga (cue the trumpets). Sparks flew in my life and athletic endeavors when I began practicing yoga regularly at 19 years old. Not only could I enjoy newfound peace amidst the turmoil of young adult angst, in my board sports I also noticed significant changes. Thanks to yoga, I developed muscle tone and balance, stiffness was reduced after hours on my board and gratitude towards the natural environment increased a thousand fold.

So when yoga/surf retreats started becoming really popular, I wasn’t all that surprised. Here is a closer look into how yoga and surfing naturally complement one another.

yoga for surf

Yoga helps you build a strong body. A strong body will get you up (and keep you there).

I’m going to say it: Surfing is not easy. Simple yoga poses target muscles that are engaged while you’re catching waves:

• Greet your surfing experience with a few Sun Salutations beforehand (and every day!) to lubricate and strengthen your joints, lengthen muscles and help fill your body with breath.

• Chaturanga builds strong arms for paddling and gets you ready to “pop up”.

• Cobra builds strength to keep the chest and head elevated off the board while you’re watching out for the perfect wave.

• Use a High Plank position to help you brace against gnarly oncoming waves as you’re paddling out. Hold yourself in High Plank so that the waves crash between you and the board rather than throwing you overboard.

• Warrior 2 cultivates balance and strength so you can ride your wave all the way to the shoreline.

Yoga frees up tightness in the body (duh).
You’ve prepped your body for the various positions and the general exertion of surfing and you had an epic day in the ocean, cheering on your buddies… and you want to do it all over again tomorrow. A post-surf yoga class can release muscular tension after hours riding the waves and also help shorten recovery time between surf sessions. Neck stretches and shoulder openers will help maintain full rotation of the joints and will help prevent a stiff neck and pectorals that us casual seasonal surfers are prone to.

Plus, who doesn’t love a good unwinding yoga practice outside on the beach gazing towards the serene waves – talk about bliss.

Can’t wait to catch waves and get Downdog? Join Carolyn on her surf and yoga retreat this November. 

We just can’t stand the rain any longer. We've spent the past few weeks drooling over travel sites and now we're ready to take action. We asked adventure junkie, admitted yoga addict and University Village ambassador,

how to pick a yoga retreat 

• location, location, location
• choose a teacher and style you love
• pick a focus/theme that speaks to you

• pricing and timing
• do your homework

1. location, location, location

Just like buying a good piece of real estate, location is key when picking a retreat. While choosing a place you’ve always wanted to go (Paris, merci!) may set the stage for a great vacay, be sure to consider the type of landscape that will most inspire your yoga practice (are you hitting mountain pose at mountain top or digging your Down-dog into white sandy beach?) You should also consider if you want the retreat to be dedicated only to yoga or if you’d like to partake in other activities like surfing, hiking or biking. Choose a location that offers you more of what you want.

location tips

if you enjoy: exploring culture, arts and monuments
think: Tuscany, Paris, Provence or Spain

if you enjoy: being on a warm, sunny beach with a bucket of Coronas
think: Hawaii or Mexico

if you enjoy: the comfort of high thread-count sheets and a cozy luxurious bed (and let’s be serious, who doesn’t?)
think: Sonoma, Napa Valley or the San Juan Islands

if you enjoy: rustic camping trips
think: Montana

2. choose a teacher and style you love

Familiarize yourself with the teacher(s) guiding the retreat. Look into how many years of experience they have, both guiding retreats as well as teaching yoga. If you can, go to some of their local studio classes and decide if you like their teaching style. If they aren’t accessible to you, ask for student testimonials to shed some light. Is the teacher super serious or loads of fun? You should be "in like" with your teacher and excited to spend time learning from them and just hanging out.

A retreat can be like a mini "teacher training" so make sure you feel aligned with the style (Bikram, Hatha, Vinyasa etc) and level (beginner, intermediate, advanced, multi-level) of yoga you will be practicing. If you want a sweaty practice but the itinerary only includes restorative yoga, you're going to be let down. Also consider how much yoga you want to practice while you’re on the retreat. Some yoga holidays may offer only one 60-minute class a day while others offer two classes daily and mini-workshops, life coaching or yoga clinics.

3. theme and focus of a retreat

Ask yourself what your intentions are for this experience. Are you looking to reset your mind, challenge your practice, heal a broken heart or make new friends? If the retreat is based on life-coaching and self-development but you are only looking for exercise and physical activity then it’s probably not the retreat for you. Read the descriptions of the themes carefully and find the one that most speaks to what you are looking for. The retreat's focus will bring together like-minded people so you’ll find it easier to connect with the group, which will no-doubt enhance the experience.

4. price and timing

Unless the trip information states otherwise, retreats should be inclusive of pretty much everything except airfare. This means you know what your total trip expense will be right from the get-go. Not having to worry about over-spending will help you take a load off and really embrace the experience. Keep in mind that an inexpensive retreat doesn’t necessarily mean it’s cheap in quality (it could just mean that there are more participants, all paying less). Do your research to ensure your getting the most bang for your buck and there are no surprises! Retreats can be as short as a two-night weekend getaway or as long (or longer than) a 10-day trip. Don’t just assume longer is better, sometimes all we need is a weekend away to "reboot."

5. do your homework

Make sure you register with a legit organization. Companies like The Travel Yogi or Alchemy Tours travel to potential locations to ‘feel it out’ before hosting a retreat there. It is definitely comforting to know that the hosts can vouch for their retreats before you invest a ton of time, money and precious vacation hours. If you want even more info, MindBodyGreen has a great summary of worldwide retreats.

Don’t know about you but we’re ready to say sayonara to the winter blues and eager to hit up a retreat. Check out our top five picks or share your personal recommendations below!

*Photography from Big Island Hawaii Yoga Retreat and Prana Del Mar Eco-Yoga Retreat, courtesy of Alchemy Tours and Ellie Tonev Photography.