Recharge at Home

How to Create Your Own Urban Retreat

The term "retreat" usually brings to mind at least three days of withdrawal from reality for introspection and connection to spiritual resources. Many retreats are held in beautiful and pastoral places, including yoga and meditation practices, workshops, and lectures, accompanied by quality vegetarian-vegan nutrition. They require the ability to stay away from our various commitments, a matching budget, and are difficult to maintain during the pandemic.

But that doesn't mean you should give up the possibility of recharging. In the last two weeks, we are finally starting to lift our heads above water. Thanks to the return of many children to educational institutions, some of us have the opportunity to enjoy something valuable: a few hours in an empty house.

If you can schedule a yoga class during your retreat, the experience will be even better. If you don't have to rush to work, there are many attractive things you can do at home without children. Sex, finishing that university paper, or just lying on the couch and staring at the ceiling are all options. But you can also take advantage of the empty house to organize a mini-retreat for yourself, sometimes called an urban retreat by our cousins from America.

Like a classic retreat, the urban retreat consists of strict detachment from the outside world, a core of spiritual and physical practices, enriched with theoretical content and accompanied by a refined approach to the needs of the body. The proposal is to build a three-to-four-hour program for yourself, during which you ensure complete privacy without visitors at home. Find, in advance, audio-visual or written materials that will allow you to meditate, practice yoga, and hear a lecture or read. Additionally, equip yourself with some basic food components such as good tea, some fruit, or a light and healthy dish to your taste.

If the idea speaks to you, the last thing you need is more recommendations. But in case you're new to the neighborhood, here are some sources of information and ideas to help you build your urban retreat.

Meditation:

I'll start with the free option: personally, I'm very attached to the Plum Village meditation school, the meditation center of Vietnamese monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. Calling Plum Village's app an "app" is a bit of an exaggeration. It is a large and diverse collection of dharma lectures and guided meditations that were recorded amateurishly and are available free of charge to anyone interested. Most of their materials can also be accessed via YouTube. Additionally, the Psycho-Dharma website has a collection of free recorded meditations in Hebrew.

For a relatively nominal fee, you can enjoy the HEADSPACE app and the Australian accent of the facilitator. The app needs to be downloaded, and its basic version is free, but more advanced materials require a subscription. The expensive option is the home neurofeedback device MUSE, which I previously praised. And if you have one, this could be the moment to dust it off and put it back to use.

To enhance the experience, you can light a candle. Prices range from Shabbat candles from a Chabad house to candles that cost as much as a nurse's entire salary.

Yoga:

Let's start with the free options: on YouTube, you can find endless yoga classes suitable for everyone, from a rubber boy to a scarecrow. One of the most successful channels, in my opinion, is YOGA BODY POSITIVE, which is suitable for anyone who thinks they are not suited for yoga. Those who find it easier to do yoga while watching guys will enjoy Yoga with Tim, and among the youth, Kassandra from Yoga with Kassandra is quite popular.

In terms of paid options, there are several apps. Daily Yoga, Yoga Studio, and Down Dog are cute apps that allow you to fill out a short questionnaire and receive a class consisting of yoga exercises suitable for your level and needs.

If you can schedule a live yoga class during your retreat from one of the various quality centers in Israel, the experience will be even better. You are not limited geographically and do not need a green passport to join a class held in another country. The effect of the online lesson can be enhanced by playing a suitable background on another device.

The consumer potential here is higher, and if you think about doing more yoga at home, it makes sense to purchase a yoga mat. You might also consider auxiliary objects such as blocks, belts, and a bolster. However, remember that yoga developed in a much less picky place than Tel Aviv in 2021.

Books and Lectures:

We start with free options: on the TED website, you can find many entertaining lectures fitting the spirit of the home retreat. If you're looking for a less engineered experience, the British philosopher Alan Watts has endless instructive lectures on YouTube and on a website founded by one of his sons.

A not-free but recommended option is to purchase one of Watts' books in Hebrew. For your urban retreat, I recommend "The Nature of Consciousness," which is made up of chapters that can be read separately.

In Hebrew, you can find many excellent articles, free of charge, on the Psycho-Dharma school blog. The most expensive option in this category, which I recommend from personal experience, is a subscription to the online magazine Tricycle. It offers excellent articles and a variety of introductory mini-courses on Buddhism. The courses are structured very successfully, with short, relevant, and excellent video lectures delivered by good teachers. If you can devote an hour a week, you can finish a course in six weeks.

Add a cup of tea to this part. As in the world of candles, the price spectrum ranges from what you have in your pantry to the most prestigious brands.

Before starting, ensure those closest to you know you're taking a break without panicking, turn on the boiler, and arrange a pleasant temperature around the house. It is very useful to hold the retreat in a clean and orderly house, in the morning, after a good night's sleep, and on an empty stomach. If you have more than half a day, then after this opening, both sex and writing the university paper will surely be even better.