Sign up for a meditation retreat, to help you unwind and gain insight into your inner being.
Keen on getting into the zone through meditation? If you perk up at the idea, then do browse through these suggestions for 3 of our favourite retreats. Not all of them involve sitting in the lotus position, with your eyes shut!
#1 Vipassana
“10 days of silence” is a common phrase associated with Vipassana, and credited to Gautama Buddha. Not surprisingly, Vipassana meditation is believed to free a practitioner from suffering. So if you’ve done Vipassana before, you know how effective it is in helping you build calm and emotional strength.
But it doesn’t matter if the concept is alien to you. Today, you can learn the basics, in 10 days, at a variety of locations. But this is a rigorous course, with strict requirements. Done against a backdrop of complete stillness, you learn to carefully observe the flow of breath.
Eventually, this practice reveals how you respond to external stressors and ways of mastering your own reactions. In the end, your spiritual journey leads you into a space of loving kindness, towards one and all. To view courses, get onto their website.
#2 Osho Meditations
If you are keen on a meditation that doesn’t involve sitting in silence, you can explore the concept of using movement to go within. Movement meditations function on familiar principles, such as the mind–body harmony that occurs after yoga, or the exhilaration of a dance routine.
Spiritual guide Osho tapped into some of these practices to formulate some movement meditations, known as OSHO Active Meditations. Some of these include Dynamic, Kundalini, Whirling, Mediation, and Nataraj Meditation.
Movement meditations claim to have many benefits that include relief of tension, boost of energy, and a lowering of anxiety and depression. In addition, they tap into your inner child, enabling you to go beyond your ego. To learn Osho meditations, you can search for the centres/retreats across the country. Visit their website for more details.
#3 JOYtreats by Nithya Shanti
Looking for a more practical kind of spirituality, easier to practice on a day to day basis? The ideal place for you, is a JOYtreat. Intended for sceptics as well as seekers, this is conducted by well-known spiritual teacher Nithya Shanti.
JOYtreats are 5- and 10-day residential workshops known as JOYtreats, which help you address daily emotional challenges, like overcoming anger and finding joy. These retreats are ideal for the layperson, since they teach many tools. Introspection and meditation are some, intended to raise self-awareness and consciousness.
Other areas you will examine are life goals, relationship building, and stress management. And finally, you will understand the overarching importance of gratitude and happiness. Their website gives you more details.