For many of us living in modern society, life is fast-paced, and schedules can mean the need to move between commitments, or even between different cities.
Taking a step back, slowing down, and taking time to reflect can be beneficial for your overall health, helping you to calm down and remember that life is a marathon, and there’s nothing wrong with stopping to smell the roses.
5 Retreats Around the World to Rejuvenate You
Mandali
Just an hour’s drive from Milan Malpensa Airport, Mandari is set on a hill overlooking Lake Orta, offering stunning views of the Swiss Alps. The center is run by a non-profit organization that offers workshops for teachers of all backgrounds and retreats for guests of all levels. The layout resembles a medieval Italian village with Far Eastern influences. Feng shui is incorporated into the interiors to harmonize and balance guests’ energy. Silent retreats book up quickly, but Mandari also hosts at least one a month.
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Art of Living Retreat Center
Don’t read, write, talk, text or exercise. Just be. Sign up for a week-long silent program at Art of Living Retreat Center and you’ll be asked to do nothing for up to three days. Billed as “where health and well-being meet,” this holistic center is nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, USA, and offers treatments as well as numerous walking trails in the surrounding forest. Planned silent retreats take place weekly and include guided meditation, breathing exercises, yoga and more.
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Shreyas Retreat
Shreyas Retreat, a wellness resort in Bangalore, is small with just 14 rooms, but offers a variety of programs, including a seven-night serenity program called the Mauna Retreat. Located in South India, the birthplace of Vipassana meditation, the foundational concept of serenity retreats, this Relais & Chateaux member resort offers a gentler (i.e. less demanding) version of Vipassana meditation. Guests don’t have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to sit and practice serenity. What’s more, the retreat offers a number of Ayurvedic treatments in addition to yoga, meditation, and chanting sessions. The atmosphere is spiritually supportive, and guests can give back by harvesting produce from Shreyas’ own fruit and vegetable patch for the orphanage he built.
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Six Senses Vana
Vana, which opened in 2014 in the foothills of the Himalayas in Dehradun, India, became a Six Senses property last year. The resort is one of the few places in the world outside of Tibet that offers Sowa Rigpa, a traditional Tibetan system of medicine, administered by therapists trained at the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan Institute of Medical and Astronomical Sciences. Six Senses Vana bans cell phones and has a daily “silent hour,” during which even background music is turned off. This program is perfect for guests who are nervous about going on a silent retreat, where they can see for themselves the benefits of a mindful, meditative practice.
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Purskaden Monastery
Men and women of all faiths are welcome at Pluscarden Abbey in Elgin, Morayshire, northeast Scotland. Built in the 13th century, the monastery is the only medieval English monastery still in use and is located in a quiet, secluded valley. Benedictine monks here are not required to take a vow of silence, but talking is kept to a minimum and is not encouraged during prayer or meals. Life here is peaceful and the food is delicious. Meals are cooked with vegetables harvested on the monastery grounds. Fluffy bread is served on the table fresh from the oven. Relax with some soothing Gregorian chants or join in prayer, which starts at 4am. To book a stay, contact us by email. No payment is required, but donations are welcome. Just don’t expect an immediate response. Unlike most of us, the monks don’t check their email.
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