5 Simple Steps to Take Yourself on Retreat
Feeling tired? Overwhelmed? Stuck? Bored? Take yourself on retreat! Whether for a few hours, a day, a weekend or a week, taking yourself on retreat is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.
Ah! Sweet retreat! I've just returned from 10 days out West and I'm feeling the expansiveness in my body, in my spirit, in my mind! I co-facilitated a one day retreat in NM and then attended a 6 day retreat in CO. I suspect I'll be writing in the coming weeks about some of my a-has and inspirations on my sojourn out west. But for now I want to encourage you, wherever you are, to take yourself on retreat ASAP!
My joyful co-facilitator, playpal, soul sister and dear friend Licia Berry and I recorded our second radio show 5 Elements for a Kick Butt Getaway! on The Celebration Station on Blog Talk Radio. We did this after facilitating our retreat at Ghost Ranch and then experiencing the magic of the Echo Ampitheatre in Northern New Mexico (photo above). If you have 30 min to listen, click here and enjoy!
Or if you just want the quick skinny so you can start planning right away, here are the 5 key elements for retreat we highlight in our show:
- Determine your purpose – why are you going? What do you need? To rest? To be in nature? To be alone? To connect with others? What are you craving?
- Choose a great location – it can be your backyard, a local park, the beach or half way across the country. Make sure it’s a place that feels really good to you and will nourish you for a few hours or a few days.
- Make it a multisensory experience – have yummy food, beautiful scenery, great music – or listen to the birds. Be aware of all your senses when experiencing retreat.
- Create sacred space – create a little altar – something to mark the occasion. It can be with a candle or a rock or a pile of leaves – it doesn’t need to be fancy – but something to mark that this is sacred time and space for you to retreat
- Pick a retreat process – retreats are more meaningful if you have a process to focus your energy – it can be journaling, hiking, collaging, focused conversation, walking a labyrinth. Something to focus your attention so your mind’s not wandering all over the place.
What is your favorite place to take yourself on retreat? Or where would you like to go on retreat? I invite you to comment below...
Favorite retreats
Our home in Ajijic Mexico is on Lake Chapala, a 60 mile long lake in the center of Mexico 6,000 feet up. I just spent 3 weeks there - although there was work and tasks to do - I spend a lot of time alone just walking, breathing, and just being, surrounded by beauty and foreign ambience. Totally rejuvenating and centering ...
good ideas for a home retreat too
Elizabeth, The post is helpful for helping me decide what is important to me in a retreat and getting the most out of my experience.
I also found myself thinking I could use your ideas to create little mini retreats for myself right around where I live.
There are some beautiful places here in the hill country and I could use your ideas to have a fabulous afternoon retreat just a few minutes from home. Thanks BZ
Retreat
- The best retreat I ever took myself on was to Rancho La Puerta in Mexico. It is a beautiful, inspiring place, with the opportunity to do as much
- or as little -- as you want. I had a massage almost every day, worked out, swan, sunned in the nude (!!) and ate delicious vegetarian meals with fresh fruit and veggies grown onsite. I'd go back in an instant!
Retreat
My favorite place for a retreat is The Tree of Life in Patagonia, Arizona. It is a center for whole person healing including Spiritual Fasting, Conscious Eating, Mediation, Yoga, and is located on a beautiful high desert plateau with some of the cleanest air on the planet. I went there last summer for 3 weeks and hope to go back again next summer.