Spiritual Healing Retreats

If you are still on the fence, thinking it might be a nice idea but not sure it is worth it to add retreat to whatever you have planned already for that weekend or week off, give the following questions some thought. They may help you decide for sure whether or not now is the right time to plan a retreat.

Seven Signs You Need a Spiritual Healing Retreat

(1) You overreact when life gets stressful, easily becoming irritated, frustrated or impatient.

(2) You are not sleeping well or not waking up refreshed.

(3) You are at a transition point in your life and you need some direction.

(4) You are manifesting physical symptoms that you know deep down are stress-related.

(5) You have lost your center and have been feeling disconnected, unmoored or adrift.

(6) You have at least one unresolved issue that you have been promising yourself you would give some time and attention to so that you could create closure or healing, but you have been putting it off.

(7) You have experienced a recent loss and you know you need some unstructured time to process it and begin to come to terms with it.

How did you do?

If you answered "yes" more than you answered "no", then a retreat of some type is in order. But any affirmative answers mean you need to find time for reflection if only to determine how to resolve those concerns.

You can retreat with as much time as you have. Five minutes. Ten minutes or twenty. So if you are planning a vacation, you can add spiritual retreat the way you would add a side order to your restaurant meal.

But for a daily "change your life" kind of impact, you need at least twenty minutes a day. You can break that up and use the ten-minute modules as bookends at the beginning and end of your day or do it all in one shot.

How? I recommend deep breathing and some form of meditation, even if it is just a focus on your breathing or a candle flame or a tree in the distance. If you have a specific reason for wanting to retreat, a problem that needs resolution or an issue that needs healing, offer that up for transformation as you breathe in and out, deeply and slowly.

Journal about any insights that come to you.

If you are planning a weekend retreat, you have several options. You can visit a healing spa or spiritual retreat center and let them plan your retreat for you, you can plan your own weekend retreat in advance or you can take each day as it comes, which may be the best choice is you are adding this retreat to vacation plans you have made already.

No matter which retreat plan you choose, the first step is to identify what you hope to gain from the experience. Are you hoping to regain a sense of spiritual connection, hoping to heal an unresolved issue or just wanting to spend more contemplative time in nature?

Once you have identified your primary purpose, you can design your retreat around that goal. Planning should include lighter fare and a very relaxed schedule so that your mind, body and spirit are able to give themselves fully to the spiritual task at hand.

Fruits and vegetables, salads, plenty of water and plenty of rest will help lighten your body's load. Sleeping a little longer or taking a nap or two will help your body and spirit release whatever is no longer needed.

For the actual retreat time, you could incorporate any, some or all of the following into your schedule: meditation, guided imagery, journaling and reading whatever encourages and inspires you.