I had the pleasure and honor to participate in a silent retreat last weekend. Yes, silent. Yes, last weekend i.e. 48+ hours! One of my yoga teachers organized a retreat and boy was it a retreat in every sense of the word.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of retreat includes: the forced or strategic withdrawl of an army, the act of withdrawing (as into safety or privacy, retirement or seclusion), a place of refuge, seclusion or privacy, a period of retirement for prayer, meditation or study.
The weekend was everything and more than the definition. Even “withdrawl of an army” applied to me. An army of chores, of projects, of “shoulds”.
When was the last time you had no caffeine, no cell phone, no computer, no TV, no food, no talking, no music, no books, no clocks for 48 hours? Believe me, it was a first for me on most every count.
So what do you do when you have no distractions to keep you running around all day? Yoga, breath work, meditation, writing, walking and a de-toxing juice fast with the most amazing array of fruits and vegetables.
The weekend was an opportunity to become aware of thoughts and feelings, to observe them and to even accept them. It was an opportunity to be still, to stop, to look, to listen, to give thanks.
The Am Kolel Retreat Center and Sanctuary in Bealesville MD is an old farm house with a labyrinth, acres of gardens, hiking trails and benches and chairs scattered inside and out to take pause. It was a perfect setting for a withdrawl of the senses (pratyahara).
What’s the takeaway from what must seem to some as total torture? Silence (and stillness) really is golden – a precious time that doesn’t need to be filled with idle chit chat and busyness.
The weekend was exhausting and exhilarating but more than anything the weekend reinforced my belief that carving out even 10 minutes of your day for quiet time for breath work or meditation may be the best thing you can do for your health and your mood.
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