Spiritual retreats are one of the biggest emerging travel trends, and I can tell you from personal experience they can be as rewarding as sitting on a white sandy beach and drinking pina coladas. In fact, taking a step off the treadmill and delving inside for a week or two can recharge your battery, and provide inspiration in lasting ways.
I recently came across a trip diary from about 30 years ago about my week off when I was between jobs early in my career at travel PR firms in NYC. As an early yoga practitioner, I attended the Sivinanda Center in Manhattan, and I decided on a breather at their ashram in Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
A rigorous schedule had us roused at 6 a.m. and down to the open-air temple for an hour of chanting and meditation. Then back to the main building for a vegetarian breakfast. After some free time – yes it does sound like camp – there was a nearly two-hour yoga session. Midday, we were on our own with free time to relax on a beautiful stretch of beach, do some service work at the Ashram or chat with new-found friends.
Afternoon included another long session of yoga, followed by dinner, after which there was more chanting and meditation.
In those years the retreat was very basic indeed. Since the evolution in spas that has swept the country, Sivinanda had a total face-lift, and has spruced up considerably. Personally, I favor the back-to-basics version.
An Array of Venues Today in America
In recent years I’ve been up to Kripalu in Lenox, Mass, and practiced weeklong Buddhist retreats with Jack Kornfield, a marvelous and inspiring teacher, who trained as a monk in Thailand for many years. He’s the real deal. Kripalu, a former Ashram, offers both simple accommodations, as well as more luxurious ones in their new eco-friendly addition. Personally, I like the stripped down version better, so distractions are at a minimum, and one can relish the opportunity to delve inside – which can be a real challenge.
Kripalu offers a wide range of programs from their “R and R” weekends, to silent retreats, with visiting teachers from all over the country. Jack founded the Insight Meditation Center also in New England, and Spirit Rock in the redwoods of California. I am longing to go to for a serious unplug.
Those of you who know me will find it surprising I was able to do a silent retreat for three days. Only confession: I texted with my kids at night. Does that still count as talking? Strictly speaking, I would say yes. But it still allowed me to connect more with that still point within.