Why Retreat Matters

I remember the first day long yoga event I experienced back in the 80's. It was such a powerful experience of the richness of a complete yoga practice, something distinctly different from a drop in yoga class. I went on to become a yoga teacher, and I supported my former husband's retreats for many years. Those times were always as transformative for me as for any of the students.

I went on to attend silent meditation retreats and other spiritual retreats regularly, receiving teachings while practicing self-inquiry, slowly peeling awaythe layers of defense of the false self, and coming to know my true self. I did this in community with others doing the same work, and those have been some of the richest experiences of my life.

I don't ascribe to the idea that after a retreat we go back to the "real world." I think the inner spaces we drop into, coming to know our true self and the meaningful encounters we have with our retreat mates show us what is Real in this world. We get so caught up with all the challenges of LIFE and forget that there is more going on than appears on the surface of our experience.

To be in the world but not of the world, is to remember who we really are, and what that space is really like. Retreat is something that highlights and reinforces this so we can remember more of the time. When we are sourcing our depths, life is the world is easier, (if not just as heartbreaking).

Sometimes it feels impossible to step away from all we have going on in our lives. The world so rarely opens up time and space and a flashing sign saying "this way." But when I look back over my year each New Year's -it's these periods of retreat and time away that I count as the most meaningful and important.

Summer Camp for Yogis is coming up June 21 - 26th. If you feel a call for retreat, time to look inside, and with some good company, there are still some spaces available. For those last few who join the summer retreat, you'll be able to  simply drop into rhythm with our daily schedule and Breitenbush rhythm. You can turn off the over functioning of your beautiful mind, and feel the animal of your body, and what it needs and longs for.

XO,

Shannon