Take a Retreat Day!
We have all had some time to recover a bit from the holidays. Most of us have the decorations put away, the thank you notes written, and have embarked on some new habits for this year. At this point, we now know whether or not those habits or resolutions might stick or not. Who else has been getting their credit card bills this week? The tax forms are flying in as well - have to face that all soon enough. I am often reminded of how January 24th, just upcoming, is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year because of those items combined with the dark and cold weather. The light is returning, but are you noticing?
In prior years I have often run a day or overnight retreat to address some of these things. How do we connect with our own light? Going on retreat is the perfect way to just sit back and take stock and remind yourself of your own light nature. How do we remove the sense of separation that we may have built up?
Sometimes, scheduling or financial concerns may prevent you from being able to take that retreat for yourself - maybe your favorite teacher is not free on the date or time that you are, maybe you spent your last dime on holiday presents, maybe your car has died. So, what to do? I suggest that you take a retreat day anyway! Can you set aside a day or at least a few hours just to nourish yourself? You don’t need to leave your town, and you can even do this without spending a dime.
Depending on your financial resources, you could: schedule a massage, schedule a Reiki healing, go to a yoga class, go to two yoga classes, go to an art class, make some art at home (no class needed), take a walk, meditate, listen to inspiring music, do a free meditation from insight timer, a free yoga class from the Kripalu website, a free healing on soundcloud by Brett Bevell, mindfully prepare a delicious meal, read an inspirational book, sit next to a stream, listen to a yoga nidra on Spotify, put on your favorite music and dance, pull out your journal and start writing. . . Sit for a moment and plan your time. What would nourish you?
Then, the hard part! Put this on the calendar. Turn of the phone, stay away from the computer, pretend that you are AWAY. Follow the agenda with diligence, and feel free to flow and modify, but set aside the time and have the discipline to take care of yourself.
I am going to do this myself, and would love to hear if you are successful and what you decide to do!
Love you all!
Copyright 2020 Nancy C Murray
Nancy C Murray is a yoga teacher, yoga therapist, Reiki master and spiritual leader. She leads public and private yoga classes and healing sessions, transformational courses, and also retreats and spiritual journeys.
