To Find Balance, Retreat!

When our lives get out of balance we experience stress. The

stress may come from work, relationships, health challenges,

legal challenges, the environment or any combination of

factors. Stress in of itself is not so bad but when experienced

regularly over time disease states arise: irritability, anxiety,

insomnia, headaches, feelings of helplessness, and indigestion.

Left unchecked chronic stress leads to depression, high blood

pressure, diabetes, heart disease, chronic anxiety, a

compromised immunes system, etc.





A time honored way of bringing balance into your life is with a

retreat. A retreat can help you regain balance and live

healthier in a number of important ways. First, when you

participate in a retreat you remove yourself from the regular

of stressors of daily life and by doing so create an

opportunity for your system to naturally come back into

balance. Sometimes we have lived so long with stress that we

have forgotten what it feels like to feel really good!





A retreat offers the possibility to feel good again. And having

this time away you can gain a fresh perspective of what is

causing the stress and consider what you might do to bring

about a healthier lifestyle.





When you combine retreat time with a natural healing modality

such as yoga you create an opportunity to renew and revitalize

your entire system - body, mind and spirit, at very deep

levels. You also have the opportunity to learn something new or

deepen into the practice of yoga. And through this experience

you may become inspired to practice regularly at home which

will further bring balance and health into your life.





Of course the ideal retreat includes delicious and nurturing

meals of whole foods, like minded people, time to play, and a

sacred environment where the healing power of nature can

support you: magnificent views, beautiful weather, the energy

of the land etc. It is for this reason that retreats are often

taken in the mountains, forests, by the ocean, or on tropical

islands.





Being in a beautiful natural environment also has another

powerful effect; you are reminded of the grandeur and beauty in

the world, and that in some way connected to this, regardless of

what is happening in your life. We are reminded that there is

something larger than ourselves, which leads to a mindset that

is more open - open to fresh possibilities and the creative

spirit.





New environments also set the stage for fresh stimuli; input

which can trigger new ideas

and ways of thinking. This can come form a conversation with a

stranger, reading a magazine, exploring the local environment,

learning about the local culture or customes or simply trying a

new restaurant. A retreat offers the opportunity to break "out

of the box" - out of our habitual ways of thinking which in

turn fosters new perspectives and creativity.





While regaining balance, reducing stress, renewal are often

strong motivations for attending a retreat, there are many

other reasons people do this which include quiet time for

themselves, time to sort out some aspect of their lives, to

learn a new skill or deepen into a specific modality, to do

something nice for themselves or simply to have a vacation.





Before you go on a retreat - take time to think about why you

are going and what you want from that experience. Just as an

individual reasons for going on a retreat vary so do the many

types of retreats offered. Retreats can range in time from a

weekend, to week, to a month or longer. Some programs work with

the individual to create their own personalized retreat while

others are very structured and ask the participant to be

involved with many activities. Retreats can also be more like

vacations.





Whatever your reasons may be to go on a retreat, whether it is

to reduce stress, regain balalnce, deepen your spirituality,

have a great vacation or a combinatn of things, a retreat can

be the perfect way to rebalance your life, renew your spirit

and live a happier, healthier life.Howard VanEs, M.A. has been studying and

practicing yoga for over thirteen years and is a certified yoga

teacher teaching in the East Bay area of San Francisco. He is

author of "Beginning Yoga: A Practice Manual", co-creator of

the audio CD "Shavasana / Deep Relaxation".

http://www.letsdoyoga.com info@letsdoyoga.com 510-587-3399



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