From Yoga Teachers to Yoga Retreat Hosts
“I think this yoga shala is the most beautiful one on the island I’ve ever seen.”
- Selina Clement, Blissful Beach Yoga Retreat
We’re off to an exciting start in this new decade as Ocean Experience. And we couldn’t be happier hosting our first retreat of the decade with longtime friends and residents of Koh Phangan, Selina and Hayley as they wrap their second magical retreat with us.
Before beginning a sunset flow on day four, the dynamic duo sat down with us to share their journey from yoga teachers to yoga retreat hosts of Blissful Beach Yoga Retreat. How they got here, what inspired them along the way and practical tips for organizing a solid retreat are all covered in this heartwarming interview.
Inhale dreamy sunset prana, exhale inspirational food for thought <3
On Yoga and Meditation Practice
How long have you ladies been teaching yoga?
Selina: I’ve been teaching yoga for five years. This island is my ‘yoga island.’ When I was 16 I came here and started my yoga journey. I came with my parents, and my mom brought me to yoga. So came back to do my TTC here on the island. And shortly after, decided to move here.
Hayley: I’ve been teaching for over 4 years. And I guess this is my yoga island as well. I was doing yoga for many years before I knew what it was. After my TTC on the island, I fell in love with the teachings and the island. I’ve been on the island since the beginning of 2016. My yoga journey and journey onto the island have been hand in hand, so I’m very much in love with this island as you can imagine [laughs]
When you start teaching, that’s a whole journey. And then you eventually wonder, “maybe I want to host a retreat.” That must be a whole journey too. What was that like for you?
Hayley: My first retreat was with the Sanctuary in Thailand. I was inspired to start holding retreats because the students were asking for it. I wanted to go deeper and give more. It was very very organic. And very soon after, within the first year of me teaching, I was being asked for that. So I said, “Whoa, this is where we’re going.”
Selina: For me, already in YTTC, it was clear for me that I wanted to hold retreats. It’s just very different than hosting drop in classes, because you can go so much deeper with a group together, and go on a journey. I was also working at the Sanctuary, but later on, Franzi from Pure Flow asked if I wanted to assist in yoga retreats there. And that was me learning for a whole year with her. And that inspired me to host my own yoga retreats in Europe. My parents were living in Ibiza, and I was always going but wasn’t doing anything there and I thought “Oh, that’s the perfect place.” And did my first retreat there.
[fast forward to Thailand]
I was always looking for a beautiful shala here on Koh Phangan. And hardly ever came up here because it’s so far away.
One day I randomly decided to come here, and I saw this shala, and fell in love.
Hayley: I remember when you messaged me straight away and sent me pictures, saying “Look what I found! Look what I found!” In fact, a week later, we came.
Selina: I already reserved the shala [laughs], but I had no idea who to do a retreat with [laughs].
Hayley: She said ‘I reserved it for March...i think i have someone else interested, but if she’s not, would you be interested?” I said “Yes, of course. This place is magic. If you feel it’s gonna flow, let’s do it together.”
Selina: And we did our first retreat together in March of 2019. This was our first retreat in Thailand on our own.
Hayley: It was a natural co-creation. It was so right. So right.
On the Experience at Ocean
Walk me through your first impression of Ocean and why you chose to do your retreat here.
Selina: I was walking along and saw the restaurant and thought “what is this amazing place?!” It’s something so unique for Koh Phangan. The beach restaurant all in white with the plants, it’s such a nice atmosphere.
Hayley: It’s really tranquil and really peaceful. Even the sound of the water is different here. And the texture of the sounds compared to the east side where I’m based is completely different. I always feel like I’m on holiday here and any friends or lover or retreat guests we bring here are equally overwhelmed but in a really positive way in just how secluded, magical and peaceful it is. It’s really really special.
And what Bovy’s doing with the restaurant here...the food [sigh of satisfaction]. You don’t get this food in Koh Phangan or on the beach. Even the little details, the students were talking about the details in the roof — Bovy’s got an eye for it. And it needs to be recognized because she’s living her passion and you can tell that.
And she’s got a beautiful heart and beautiful smile. She’s so happy to be here and so happy to host. Very grateful she’s created such a beautiful shala — the floor, the fans, the mats, the blocks, everything is just so quality. It’s so nice for us to know that when we bring a group of people, they’re gonna be looked after. We have 100% confidence in hosting our retreats here. It’s such a relief off our shoulders when it comes down to that.
Selina: For me, what is so impressive is she remembers every single name. She remembers the name of foreigners, which is not her language or common names for her.
Hayley: And breakfast orders!
Selina: She is super attentive and present with everyone. And an incredible host. So easy and friendly to work with. What I love so much about her is the way she loves this place and nature. She wants to create something with awareness like yoga and meditation. She doesn’t want parties here. She wants this to stay a magical tranquil place, like a mother looking over this little piece of land. So this is another amazing aspect after all that Hayley has said [both laugh]
Hayley: I’m Bovy’s number one fan girl!
She says she goes to Bali a lot. She’s importing furnishings and decorations from Bali. So she’s on it!
Selina: Something else that I just heard from a friend...he says “Bovy is the woman of the island who understood what foreigners want and need.”
Hayley: And is willing to give that.
Selina: On an aesthetic level, on a support and friendliness and service level. And the food…
Hayley: I just had a mushroom truffle oil spaghetti with parmesan on a Thai beach cooked by a Thai lady. And it was ...unbelievable, that the table next to me ordered it as well. This chick is rockin it honestly [laughs]
And homemade bread! Thais don’t even eat bread, but she’s cooking it with grains and ugh... So we’re taking our students there after morning class for breakfast with homemade coconut yogurt, smoothies with turmeric, goji berries, cashew nuts ...we are so happy to be taking our students. Because breakfast is such an important meal after morning practice, and Bovy provides…
So we just need to book our dates for next year! [laughs]
Selina: For me, I think this yoga shala is the most beautiful one on the island I’ve ever seen. Hands down.
On Hosting a Retreat in Koh Phangan
And getting to the practicals of organizing a retreat. Can you give us your top tips?
Hayley: Selina’s the organized one [both laugh]. She’s a Virgo.
Selina: Have a website for sure. For someone who has never done this before, be really responsive with emails. Because Koh Phangan is off the beaten path, as you can only fly to Samui, explain to people where it is. Good descriptions for how to get here. For people who haven’t been here, they could be a little bit scared. But Bovy provides taxis and pick up service. This is amazing.
Hayley: For a retreat, before you do anything, ask how many days and how many nights. Within these days, what do I want to teach? What do i want to cover? Who wants to teach what? Where do we want go? What is the theme of the retreat? It’s not just people coming to drop in and drop out. People are on retreat and want to go deeper, so what do you want to go deeper on? And who are you going to do it with?
And the practicals of getting there. Selina sent a ‘pack your bags’ email, including what you need, what you don’t need. Really in layman terms, let people know that they’re being taken care of even though we haven’t met them yet. Having a clear and concise program — what will be included and what won’t be included. What are they getting out of it, how will they feel by the end of it? Why should they choose your retreat?
Selina: And also, next to all the yoga things, generosity is important. And authenticity. What we do is a welcome and goodbye dinner to make this really generous and abundant.
Going back to the importance of theme, what is the big theme of the retreat you’re hosting now?
Hayley: So my teacher and your teacher calls us the “Chakra Twins.” [laughs] We are both into energy work and energy body and healing, and it was a natural process to build our retreat around the elements — the corresponding chakras and information about Chinese Medicine and Daoism, so each day is on a different element. It feels really good to be sharing that. And by the end, everyone is balanced and have the information, tools and practices to bring them back into that state when they’re feeling unaligned at home.
Selina: It’s a deep immersion and working more on transforming practices. Not just yoga, but the pranayama, sometimes Qi Gong, all kinds of self development practices. A little bit going over their comfort zones in a safe way to make them more confident about themselves. Empowering people and giving them the tools to balance their lives back home.
Hayley: Yeah, empowering people to do it themselves. We’ve been a sponge for the past five years, so we’re overflowing with things to share.
And finally, what is your favorite part of hosting a retreat?
Selina: To see the shiny eyes at the end of the retreat. To see the positive change in people. To also meet people because when you teach drop ins, you can see certain things. But now we see them every day, two to three times a day, and you can give individual guidance and tailor the retreat to certain needs of people.
Hayley: And people are thanking us for bringing them here — also the shiny eyes. One of our students said, “I feel like I’m home again.” And it’s incredibly humbling to assist and be present while someone feels that. They said “yes” to coming and we said “yes” to putting in on, so it’s this one big “yes.” We are on retreat as well, so I get to be part of Selina’s teachings, the sharing circles, the cacao ceremonies. So we get that benefit as well. We’re guiding it, and we’re also receiving it. The students are teaching us in their own way.
If you enjoyed this colorful conversation and feel ready to begin your retreat hosting journey, start by discovering the soul of our venue.
We can’t wait to support you in bringing your dream retreat to life.
Namaste
