Escape into yourself

Admit it; at a point in your life when you were tired and battered down with the daily stress of modern existence, you thought of escaping to a brilliant place with sunshine and the lull of crashing waves or maybe to a getaway with mountains and high trails. Whatever that may be, we all have our happy place where we want to go to at the end of a stressful work week. 

While sightseeing or hiking holidays do get the stress off your shoulders, their effects only last in stories and pretty pictures. After you come back to work somewhat tired and grumpy faced from the adventures, you store the memories of the trip far back in your mind to get ready for the hit of reality. 

This is where a meditation retreat differs from the common holiday. 

When you go on a week-long meditation excursion, you do not come back with only pictures. In fact, you may not have any pictures at all since use of technology is advised to be kept at a minimum during such retreats. However, you bring back a higher sense of self and a peace of mind attainable only by being brave enough to sit and listen quietly to the chaos of one's thoughts. 

Those who already do yoga have found a piece of this serenity from daily meditation. You sit in the morning to acquire the strength to deal with the disorganised world and you sit at night to forget the gruelling ardours of the day. Yet, there persists the sense of haste to get back to reality which keeps you from getting the full benefits of meditation. 

A retreat will ensure that there are no such distractions so that you can concentrate on acquiring a healthy and fulfilling lifestyle.  

Yoga is advised to be done in any clothing you deem comfortable and on any seating arrangement suitable for you, but sitting in an asana all day long might not be your cup of tea just yet. Do not fret, for meditation retreats these days are filled with other activities such as, herbal treatments, exploring the local culture, cooking, hiking, mountain-biking, and even snorkelling. So, when a visit to your own mind seems enough for the day, you can get up from the downward dog and right into the ocean. Meditation can be incorporated into any part of your life which means you might just find that enlightenment while looking at a school of fish get past you.

Some world famous meditation retreats are in India as it is deemed to be the centre of eastern spiritualism. Ananda in the Himalayas enjoys a great mix of influential clientele while the Lotus Yoga Retreat in Goa is famous for the classes taught by Simon Low, a forerunner among the teachers of yoga in the UK. 

For those who seek to be fully immersed in yoga, Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Dhanwantari Ashram, Kerala is the place to go. The place holds two-week yoga holidays with silent meditation, teachings in yoga and participation in Karma yoga. 

The adventure seekers can go to The Yoga Farm in Costa Rica or Adventure Yoga Retreats in Portugal for surfing and hiking. You can also fancy going to Egypt under the guidance of Sara Campbell, four-time free diving world record holder and Kundalini yoga teacher, for a mix of yoga and meditation with snorkelling sessions and a two-day safari into the Sinai desert. 

If you are low on time and want to go on a weekend yoga escape within the country, you might have to improvise a little. The only meditation excursion currently available in the country is provided by the Quantum Foundation which goes on regular meditation safaris in Lama, Bandarban. 

You can join them for a lesson in yoga and self-awakening, although do your research beforehand as Quantum do have their detractors. You can also take resort in the newly founded and already appraised Nazimgarh Garden Resort and Grand Sultan Tea Resort and turn them into your own meditation retreats with great hillside vistas.  

Either way, go on a meditation holiday and rediscover your ties with nature. 

Will you achieve Zen? Difficult to say. What we can hope is that maybe after coming back from a rejuvenating retreat, you will be able to hold your peace even at the 9 'o clock traffic on a Sunday. Anyone who has to go out in this city knows how much of a blessing that is. 

By Afsin Ahmed
Photo: Collected