The types of Meditation at our Silence Yoga Retreat
Meditation forms a very important part of our silent yoga retreats. If you plan on coming on our 3-day retreat, you may or may not have experience in meditation. Therefore, we will tell you a little about what to expect at the retreat centre, in addition to the nature and a delicious vegan food prepared by Lezanne and I.
If you plan to come to one of our short retreats, you may just want to do it to practice yoga, be quiet for a few days, feel the sounds of nature and take some time for yourself. However, the experience will be much better if you are prepared to stay in the same position for at least 20 minutes in a row and calm your mind, that is: Meditate.
Three days can be an eternity if you are not used to having your mobile turned off, not being in contact with the outside world, or not allowed to read, listen to music or write. But believe me, at the end of the experience you will be grateful for the time that you have given yourself without distractions. This is the silence of Mouna (volunteer silence) and it will help you to listen to yourself.
Many times, while you meditate, thoughts that disturb you suddenly appear, to-do lists, uncertainty about the future … The key is to let them pass as if they were clouds in the sky that pass without you controlling them, you see them and they leave and go on their way without being disturbed. How to do it?
These are the techniques that we use in our silent yoga retreat and that you can start practicing a few weeks before the trip if you prefer, and most importantly: keep doing it once the retreat is over.
Here is a list of the types of meditation we use in our retreats:
The first thing to do is find a comfortable position, either sitting or leaning against a wall. You must have your back straight, your hands on your knees and your facial expressions relaxed. It is best to avoid doing it completely lying down because you could fall asleep, and the goal is to stay awake and meditate!
Meditation with a candle:
If you focus on a specific point, it may be easier to calm your mind. We will light a candle and focus our gaze on it. Some people, when they close their eyes, feel that their mind is filled with images, faces of people and places appear suddenly and with them the tasks that we have pending and the plans to carry out. For this reason, it is easier for some to keep their eyes open and focus on a specific image, for example, a small lit candle, and in this way it is easier for them to meditate. You can also try to imagine that candle or focus on your favorite color, in any case, it is about focusing your mind on an object that makes you calm.
Meditation with Mantra:
Mantras are ancient sounds that were used in ancient times to meditate and according to the ancient Vedas of India, repeating a specific mantra will help our mind to put aside the internal noise, giving us calm and full awareness. We invite you to watch the following video: Morning Vedic Mantras with Lyrics and Meaning – Most Effective & Powerful Mantras To Start the Day
Seated meditation with eyes closed:
In this case, simply close your eyes and breathe calmly. Try to let the thoughts pass one after another without concentrating on any of them. If you suddenly find yourself solving a pending issue, stop, be aware and return to the starting point. Not all meditation practices are perfect, there are moments more difficult than others, but it is worth the effort, your body and mind will feel renewed once you finish doing it.
There are multiple types of meditation here we have only detailed the ones we do in our silent yoga retreat, but if you want to know more about the various practices we recommend the following book: Total Meditation: Practices in Living the Awakened Life by Deepak Chopra
Coming up we will tell you more about the food, a very important topic when coming on a silent retreat.