Silence Retreat | A Powerful Tech DeTox
I just came out of a 6 day silent retreat organized by Art of Living and boy was it amazing?!! Due to us being in the covid era, this silence retreat was virtual — on a zoom, so I got to do it from the comfort of my own home.
Why do a silent retreat?
There are many reasons I would recommend experiencing a silent retreat. In short, it equips you with tools to manage your mind, experience deep rejuvenation and rest for the body and mind, while providing the right environment for the body and mind to de-tox and relax. You also get to take care of your food, sleep and rest in the process— Things we often neglect in the tech industry due to deadlines at work.
Here are three reasons the silent retreat is absolute must do in today’s fast-paced, deadline driven world.
- Tech DeTox
We are in an era surrounded by gadgets of all kinds. Actually, even one gadget (read the phone) is enough to keep us glued to the screen 24/7.
People have even developed the “phone anxiety” (or should we call it phoney?) — which happens when the phone is not next to you for more than a minute. This is the reality of the world we live in today!
So much exposure to the screen can start impacting our eyes, and even more so, our nervous system. We are so attached to our gadgets, that we even carry it into our private spaces (read restroom) — And that’s when the dependency on the tech starts to get shi***!
Jokes aside, it has been shown that stress builds up over time, especially when sitting in front of the desk and staring at the laptop or phone for prolonged periods of time. Eyes, shoulders and neck get strained from a sedentary lifestyle and we don’t even notice this until we do yoga or stretch our body.
And like my colleague mentioned to me at work after a guided meditation session, “The RPM (rotations per minute ) of the mind never seems to slow down except during a meditation.”
Hence, there is a need to de-tox from the tech world and just be with nature — both inner and outer. With a bunch of guided meditations, wisdom videos to reflect on, slow nature walks and yoga, I found the experience of silent retreat immersive, soothing and deeply rejuvenating.
2. Move slow so you can move fast
The bottom line in today’s deadline driven world is to move fast — be more productive, grow faster and to add spice into the mix — do it all right now!
Even to move fast and be more productive, we need to incorporate some time to “move slow”. Otherwise, its like using an “ax” to chop wood 24/7 but not getting time to sharpen the ax, which has become blunt in the process! What is the equivalent of sharpening the ax for the mind? It is in short, the ability to slow down the rpm of the chattering mind at will.
The silent retreat sharpens the ax of the mind with meditations and yoga, so you can be more productive and happier in the rat race that we are in today!
There is nothing better than having that switch on/switch off button for the mind in your hands, in your control.
3. Get a real vacation!
In the pre-covid era, a vacation would be packed with activities so we can get the most of the time at a favorite vacation spot. But this only means having to take a vacation from a vacation!
The silent retreat is more of a real vacation and the amazing thing during these uncertain and worrisome times of covid is that — You can do it from the comfort of your own home.
Even one deep experience of meditation can be so very rejuvenating to the mind-body-soul complex and soothing to the nervous system (it has been shown scientifically that meditation activates the para-sympathetic nervous system which calms the nerves and releases stress).
In today’s world of distractions and instant gratification — A true vacation would be not just be shutting off from the world but also from the constant chatter of the mind.
Gaining the switch to turn down the chatter of the mind!
And how does one shut off the constant chatter that goes on in the mind? That’s where breath work and guided meditations can really help. The Art of Living Silent Retreat combines powerful breathing techniques along with beautiful and deep meditations that make it really effective to go deep into the space of silence. I have tried many different meditations — Vipassana, mindfulness, and app based ones. Some of them do work on an on/off basis. However, nothing has given me a consistently deep and rejuvenating experience as the silent retreat that I just got done with.
In fact, I now get so thoroughly refreshed after a silent retreat, that I make it a point to do one about every 3 months — Timed right after a deadline at work.
Moving slow periodically so you can move fast towards your goals is the wise thing to do! Find one silent retreat (right at home) at a time that works for you here