Retreat For Personal Growth

A retreat is something you can look at in two ways. It can mean “to go back” – back to basic life skills, back to family connection, back to faith. Also, it can signify a return to focusing on your own self-care (a “re-treat”).

Ever since I was a young adult, I’ve wanted to attend an organized yoga retreat. In the late 1990s when my husband and I discovered yoga, we spent a summer yoga-ing and surfing (or at least trying to) in the San Diego area. I took surf lessons at a school in La Jolla that happened to offer yoga/surf retreats in Costa Rica a few times a year, and that’s when the idea was planted in my brain. Only the price and time commitment were out of my reach at that time. Someday, I thought.

Well, over 20 years later, I recently got to attend my yoga retreat, and it was glorious. Ingrid Yang is a 500 RYT yoga instructor who also happens to be a meditation expert, lawyer, and doctor. She lives, practices hospitalist medicine and teaches yoga in San Diego, ironically. She also holds small group yoga retreats around the world a couple times a year. This one was held at the Palmaia Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

The amazing Palmaia

I spent 4 glorious days moving my body, listening to traditional Mexican ritual music, eating amazingly beautiful food, connecting with 28 other inspiring people, and spending lots of time contemplating my life. Here are just a few images of my time there.

Though I had booked the retreat many months ago, it came at a good time. I’ve recently struggled with trying to predict the future, wondering where I’m going as a physician, as a coach, and as a parent. Worrying about how our transition to a more rural life will affect all these things. Feeling tired of the hustle that is a part of being an entrepreneur in both the clinical medicine and physician wellness spaces. And even though I preach about not comparing, I’ve still found myself comparing to others.

The shift

In the beginning of the retreat, I found myself reaching for my phone to record or show what I was doing. Then I realized how addicted I am to sharing on social to get that “I’m so cool” feeling. It’s exactly what I’ve recently been trying to get away from.

So I put my phone down – a lot – and just observed. And listened.

I had deep conversations with other retreat attendees, learning through their stories. When I shared my own stories with them, it reminded me of the immense gratitude I have for my life experiences. The sense of community I felt was similar to attending physician conferences; everyone there (several were physicians, but not all) had a unifying interest in yoga, wellness, and personal development.

Other attendees were on a quest for answers like I was. One for defining her business boundaries in the era of in-person vs. virtual services. One for knowing when to slow down at work and just relax into a simpler lifestyle. One for moving on from the devastating death of her business and life partner.

And as they likely had hoped, I figured I’d have some epiphany or vision of my future self while lost in deep meditation. But you know what I realized instead?

After all the movement and the rituals and the sound baths…

After the conversations and the meditations…

There isn’t an answer.

What I need to know, what I need to have, is already right in front of me. Right now.

“The more you honor the small things, the more likely you are to experience good things in the future…. The real retreat is within you.”

Eckhart Tolle

Other ways to retreat

Want to go on a retreat but don’t want to spend the time or money to do something like this? There are other ways to work a retreat into your life. When I was ill but didn’t know why, suffering with depression, deep fatigue, and worry for my future direction, I took myself on my own retreat.

I researched nearby, low-costs options with gentle yoga and meditation but couldn’t find one that fit what I wanted… so I made my own. I traveled by myself for a few days to Portland, where my in-laws had a condo that I could use. I set my own intentions for activities, including specific readings, daily walks to explore the city, and a day of complete silence.

It turned out great.

Retreats don’t have to be fancy to offer insight and renewal. Maybe you can steal a day away to retreat: plan a yoga class or other movement outing, followed by a slow and mindfully delicious lunch, followed by some alone time outside.

Have you ever been on a retreat? What did you learn? What does retreat mean to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below!