Without doubt, this is how many of us would define the best health retreats. And,if you are looking for short-term relief from the stresses and responsibilities of yourevery day life, then time away to give the very best to your body, is time well spent.For this purpose, luxury health retreats have great appeal and benefit.
But I think holistic health retreats are far better. Not only do they nurture and carefor the body, but they also nurture your mind. In other words, they take a ‘complete’approach to your wellbeing, touching upon and working to improve all that you are.
Consider for example, an egoistic, arrogant and vain person attending weekendhealth retreats. She or he spends top dollars to go to the best of the best. Nothingis spared. All that she could wish for – healthy nutritious food, exercise, recreation,location and community – is laid before her. Do you think, with all of this care andattention lavished upon her, that she will fundamentally change her personality?Will she overcome her arrogance or vanity? No, because no attention was givento her personality, to the qualities of her mind, only to her body. True, while beingthere she may relax and take the time to reassess how her life is going, andpossibly even make some valuable changes, but in the main, the ‘character’ of hermind remains unchanged.
Some people can see nothing wrong with vanity. Quite the contrary, they indulge init, totally unaware of the effect it has not only on themselves and their outlook, butalso on those with whom they come across. But vanity is the opposite to humility.When you are vain you are so caught up in yourself and your own selfish wants thatyou fail to observe clearly what is happening around you and the consequencescan be quite harmful physically, mentally and spiritually. On the other hand, whenyou are of humble disposition, you become perceptive, you develop the ability tolisten, to observe and to think and act appropriately. More importantly, in time, youbecome wise.In the Bhagavad Gita there is a verse that reads, ‘Wisdom belongs to the purehearted. A pure hearted one knows when to act, when not to act, when to speakand when to remain silent. From such a person emanates true joy and love’.
Wisdom springs from thoughts governed by profound spiritual knowledge,perception and genuine humility. Your mind is, in fact, your most valuablepossession. It is the engine room of your personality, or you can say, the driver ofyour life’s car. It is your mind that links your past with your present, and it is yourmind that shapes your future. Past thinking has created your present, and presentthinking will create your future.The Bhagavad Gita says, ‘The mind alone will either liberate you, or bind you’.Supposing you manage to find some affordable health retreats. My advice is tolook carefully to see if they can be of help not only physically but also mentally.Your world is your mind. See if participation in these retreats can help you to improve your mental outlook.
We all take time out for recreation and holidays. But in most cases the fundamentalquality of the mind remains the same. And when we return to our usual daily habitsand activities we find negative qualities like anger, jealousy, misery, depression,loneliness, frustration etc., are not far from the surface and quickly reassertthemselves given the first opportunity. We benefitted from relaxation and timeaway, but in essence not much changed mentally.That is why my best recommendation is for you to participate in yoga healthretreats. Not the ones that just offer physical yoga, but the ones that blend spiritualeducation in the program as well. Then you will be well on the way to improvingyourself mentally, physically and spiritually.
