The Art of Total Relaxation at Home

In the spotlight: Episode 1 of the podcast now available to stream.

The Art of Going on Retreat

Many of us reflect on exotic locations, spa treatments, and catered meals for a yoga retreat, and yet, another option remains accessible (perhaps with a bit of preparation, communication, and cleaning) to let you transform from your bedroom into a regeneration portal for the weekend.

Most of us, at some point, enjoy relaxing in the evenings and on weekends, but have you stopped to consider taking this approach to new heights, and asked what total relaxation looks like, and more importantly, how it feels?

Giving ourselves the space to unwind does lend itself well to going somewhere different and clearing out energy to come back to daily life refreshed. The online retreat is something you can practice in solitude, from anywhere.

If, for whatever reason, you choose to be at home, or because of some obligation like taking your cat to the doctor, then an at-home yoga retreat may be just what you need, and may be a great opportunity to clean up, unplug your face from screens, and get out the essential oils.

Learn more about the 3-day total relaxation online yoga retreat.

A bit about how the retreat structure goes…

First, it’s recommended to go over the 2.5 hours of videos the day(s) leading up to your retreat, rather than during the retreat, so you have a sense of how to prepare. For example, if you plan to start Friday evening, set aside 30 minutes a day that week for going through the content, which can all be listened to. You have ongoing access to the videos after the retreat for reference.

A few core practices make up the foundation of the retreat and can be integrated along with other healing modalities you choose to integrate.

The goal of this retreat is give yourself space for total relaxation. Taking a bath or shower, going on short walks, and naps in the sun are all recommended.

The main relaxation practices include a sitting meditation breathing practice, a laying down bodyscan practice, and a gentle hatha yoga practice. “Non-activities” like lounging in the sun are also relaxing, but not formal practices. The seated and laying down practices can be done after yoga postures, or on their own.

Hatha yoga is recommended first thing in the morning, and the sitting and laying down practices are recommended three times a day: once in morning, midday, and evening. In between the sitting and laying down practices, enjoy sitting in stillness with eyes closed for as long as is comfortable.

When you are not doing a specific practice, it's recommended to enjoy the feeling of spaciousness, being in nature, laying in bed, or enjoying light reading.

Breathing exercises like simple diaphragmatic breathing, alternate nostril breathing, and box breathing, are great to practice before meditation, and when you are feeling the need to relax.

Fasting goes beyond food, and doesn’t require completely eliminating it either. Perhaps you have 1 meal a day, or only citrus fruits, or vegetable juice.

The science of fasting is that when digestion slows, it lets the body use that energy for healing and recycling old cells into new ones. This applies just as much to the brain and our information diet.

As for mental fasting, aim to minimize talking, technology, food, and stimulating/distracting activities that require mental energy for a full dopamine detox.

If you are feeling uncomfortable, you can always change your approach or talk with a trusted friend.

Total silence, water fasting, and even total darkness are not required, yet they all induce a profound shift in awareness, enough to reset the body's internal systems back to a baseline where you feel energized and restored.

If you find the need to exert energy or feel pulled to do something like writing, making art, or cleaning, make a list or write it down, make a drawing, and then take a few deep breaths, and go back to resting.

A few indispensable books:
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda
Be Here Now by Ram Dass

The most challenging aspect for many of us, and the greatest opportunity, is a kind of mental kung fu of “non-doing”, allowing the mind to slow, so you can go beyond the thinking mind, to experience the sensation of being present in the body (and beyond it), while letting go of thoughts and feelings (ie FOMO), and accepting the inherent, ongoing flow of energy we are used to directing outwards, and reeling it in, encouraging an attitude of gratitude for life, and forgiveness for anything that comes up, and redirecting all our energy back into the heart with love, allowing it to flow into the spine and brain, into the present moment.

As you come out of the retreat experience, you may recognize something you would like to change before diving back into business as usual.

Enjoy this gap, where you have a sense of “neuro-plasticity” and can redirect some of your energy out of the brain grooves of the daily hustle into a meaningful project, learning a new skill, calling a friend, or simply taking a few more deep breaths.

Silence is golden.