What’s the point of a SILENT RETREAT? (what actually happens?!)

Transcript

have you been super stressed feeling 
a little burnt out and maybe wondering   what direction you're headed to next in life   perhaps you might want to consider a silent 
retreat and in this video i'll clear up some   of the misconceptions you might have about 
what exactly a silent retreat is the different   approaches to what being in silence means and 
maybe why you might even want to consider going   on one and stick around till the end and i'll 
give you some recommendations of which ones you   might like to try out too hi i'm jaime tan at 
enlightened spoon feeding your mind body soul   on this channel we help you design a life with 
less stress and more intention it's mindful   living minimalism and finding the personal rituals 
that work for you on and off the yoga mat so many   people i speak to have the mistaken idea that a 
silent retreat just means you stay in silence and   don't do anything all day and that couldn't be 
further from the truth it all depends on what   kind of retreat you're on and who's teaching it 
but generally it usually involves a great deal of   meditation all day every day and usually different 
styles and forms of meditation from seated to walking to laying down eyes open eyes closed and sometimes even involving dyads a form of 
one-on-one meditation where one person shares   and another simply listens 
and holds space for the other   yes even on a silent retreat and while you as 
the attendee is mostly in silence the teacher   is there to lead and guide you through the 
focus or themes being explored on retreat   and sometimes you might also get a one-to-one 
session with the teacher where any questions or   issues you have can be discussed and explored so 
then what's the point of going on a silent retreat ultimately when life gets busy and we get 
wrapped up in the stuff that complicates it like   relationships whether that's personal professional 
romantic or we get bogged down in the minutiae   of day-to-day living any kind of retreat 
you can do is a chance to take a timeout get into a different rhythm and really give 
yourself that time and space to slow down   and explore different themes or patterns 
that might be coming up in your life   no matter what kind of retreat you're on there's 
usually a focus whether it's a detox learning how   to meditate or simply a rejuvenation program 
you're doing and that focus is usually on some   form of personal development even if that's to 
learn how to slow down and relax usually all meals   and daily activities are scheduled and planned 
out and all you need to do is just show up and   focus on yourself or the theme of the retreat 
and for those of us who have kids parents   partners or other people to take care of in our 
day-to-day lives the simple thing of having time   to focus on ourself when the day-to-day logistics 
are taken care of can be such a luxury already a   silent retreat is allowing yourself to drop into 
a different or slower rhythm so you have time   and space to explore where you're currently at 
and notice the patterns showing up in your life   we're so busy filling our time with what the next 
thing is on our to-do list we find it hard to   slow down and give ourselves that time to just be 
and because we never give ourselves that time and   space to simply be and we're always filling our 
time with things to do i'm guilty of this myself   and even being away on retreat takes me the first 
few days to adjust from the usual doing mode to   being mode it's so hard and especially 
when we're accustomed to setting goals   achieving and doing doing doing who are we when 
we actually drop that doing and allow ourselves   to just be staying in silence accelerates and 
enhances this process and are you comfortable   being alone with yourself your thoughts your 
emotions and whatever else might present itself   once you stop busying yourself with all that doing 
and sometimes we need to be taught different ways   of how to be okay with slowing down and being with 
ourselves and to be guided through that experience   seems like this should be intuitive but perhaps 
many of us have lost our way or lost touch with   this aspect of how to just be we've been 
so busy with filling our time with doing   achieving and perhaps even using this busyness as 
a bit of an escape ultimately doing this work can   be difficult as it forces us to look in the 
mirror and confront what or who is there and   at the same time it can also be really beautiful 
and deep healing work too a teacher once told me   the point of meditation is to close the gap 
between who we think we are and who we truly   are and i love that approach because it creates 
that space for curiosity to explore what and who   is there when everything else fades into the 
background so if you're stuck around till here   you might be curious which retreats i'd recommend 
but first if you've got value out of this video so   far i'd appreciate a thumbs up and do  
for more ways to design your mindful life on and   off the yoga mat with retreats there are so many 
styles and approaches and it really depends on   what you're looking for i'll put links to all the 
retreats i mentioned in the description below and   the first one is probably the one you've heard 
of the 10-day silent vipassana retreat run by the   dharma organization they hold these everywhere 
around the world and they are donation-based   now these tend to be more strict and traditional 
where there's no external input whatsoever no   reading no writing no journaling no listening to 
music or podcasts no exercise or movement practice   it's simply you meditating listening to the 
teachings and that's it if that seems a little   too hardcore as a start there are other silent 
retreats that encourage writing or journaling as   a form of reflection including die at work that 
one-to-one meditation i mentioned before and i   highly recommend any of richard miller's silent 
retreats usually held one or two times a year   he's the founder of the irest institute the 
yoga ninja meditation i'm training in what i   love is he draws from the ancient wisdom 
teachings but teaches in a way that's free of   dogma yet still gets you straight to the essence 
and into deep states of meditation even if you're   not ready yet for a silent retreat they've got 
lots of workshops and immersions that you might   find interesting both in person and online then 
because i'm also a lover and teacher of yin yoga   i did a recent five-day silent retreat with sarah 
powers and her husband tai i love how she fuses   together psychology tibetan buddhist philosophy 
and yin yoga movement through the body all of this   as different paths to the way in she does a number 
of workshops and trainings all over the world too   none of the links above are affiliates i just love 
and recommend these different teachers if however   you are looking for a more exotic getaway like 
to a beach maybe with more yoga and movement i   do have an affiliate link to an amazing site that 
aggregates thousands of yoga retreats all over the   world and if you book through my link i'll get 
a small commission at no extra charge to you so   it's a win-win just key in where in the world 
you want to go for how many days what yoga style   what kind of focus like do you want to have 
a detox as well a sporty outdoor activity   or spirituality and chanting in fact let me 
know in the comments below are you all for   silence or what else are you looking for in 
your next yoga and meditation retreat you'll   find it all in the link below so i hope you find 
that perfect retreat to give yourself that space   and time out you need do it your future self will 
thank you and if you need some tips on what to   pack and bring to your next yoga retreat check out 
this video here and i will see you in the next one