What happens on a silent meditation retreat?

Silent meditation retreats encourage participants to commit to a period of silence in a specific setting. This period of time can be as short as a day but is typically 3 or 10 days long. Some people desire to attend a silent meditation retreat to deepen their meditation practice and explore what it feels like to practice silence. Vipassana retreats are well known to use this method to explore the nature of reality, but other styles of meditation will also similarly hold silent retreats. Some students practice silence for more extended periods or return to find silence for a few days regularly. During the retreat, silence is the key; all activities, meals, yoga, reading and resting are done without talking. So what happens on a silent meditation retreat?

Arriving into silence

A silent meditation retreat will usually start with a period of non-silence to allow students to arrive in the retreat centre and understand any rules and regulations for the days that follow. This is the perfect time to prepare the mind and body for silence. The simple practice of being somewhere different can induce feelings of excitement and nervousness, and these emotions must have time to subside and give way to a sense of calm and relaxation. Given the absence of communication; most retreat centres will devise simple rules for you to follow when you use facilities, eat meals and contribute to the daily working of the retreat centre. You may be invited to do daily tasks during the retreat that you can sign up for before the silence starts. The orientation aims to avoid unnecessary questions or issues arising during the retreat, so external distractions and stimuli are reduced.

Time to disconnect

A silent meditation retreat is a great opportunity to have a complete digital detox, to turn off your smartphone and other devices and to find connections in other ways. This can be facilitated by leaving your smartphone in a specific place or giving it to the retreat leaders when you are in silence. In a world where we are ever connected, this can be a challenging moment. To prepare, it may help to tell family and friends that you will be offline for a few days. Retreat centres will issue participants with an emergency contact number that you can share with your loved ones if any issues arise and you need to be contacted. In reality, you are likely to feel that you have missed very little from being disconnected for a few days. To fully immerse in silence, some practitioners also avoid writing, listening to music or wearing anything that could be distracting to themselves or others. Food will be simple without the addition of spices or strong flavours, all to support your own inner journey of deep reflection.

Starting the silence

The period of silence may start after an evening meal or from waking up the following day after arriving at the retreat centre. Most retreats will have a team of teachers and guides who provide an ideal environment for you to be silent in. This can vary but can include some guided meditation sessions, talks and the ability for silent discussion. Silent meditation will be introduced gradually to enable you to be more comfortable with sitting for long periods. The first day is usually a gentle introduction to give you time to get used to long periods of meditating.

Sitting in silence

Most people who want to explore a silent meditation retreat already have an established meditation practice, so sitting for 10 to 20 minutes is not challenging. Meditation retreats are also accessible to new practitioners, but it is important to understand how to prepare and experience. The silence and sitting are gradually increased over the following days to allow you to go deeper into the meditation practice, building to hours in one sitting. This can be challenging, but consistency is the key to getting greater benefits from silence. Simple techniques can help to reduce distractions and external stimuli; moving the body with some simple yoga asanas before the start of the sitting period, wearing headphones or an eye mask to reduce noise and light, wearing comfortable clothes and using blankets to keep warm.

Creating habit

Sessions for meditation will be interspersed with time for meals, tasks and free time. The timetable will be the same each day, with bells or gongs signifying the start and end of sessions. These daily rituals create a habit and make it easier for you to focus on meditation. The routine creates familiarity and calms very quickly, allowing you to leave all your stresses behind.

Creating connection

When you are not sitting for meditation, it is usually possible to take time to connect with nature and spend time outdoors. You may find that the silence has the effect of heightening all your other senses, sounds, smells, colours and touch. To really benefit from this, take the time to be aware of everything around you and the emotions that they create.

Dealing with challenges

There will be moments in the silent retreat when meditation feels challenging. You may even experience physical discomfort during the first couple of days. You will find ways to get through these times, and by doing so, you will be better equipped to deal with difficult situations in your everyday life. By finding ways to manage negative thoughts and emotions, you can train your mind to respond more consciously in the future. You may also find that you experience very vivid dream states during the silence, adding to feelings of confusion or discomfort. It is important to remember that you are participating in a silent retreat voluntarily, and at any time, you can leave the retreat and break the silence. You will find that retreat staff give you a way to communicate or identify yourself to the staff if you need help or really need to discuss leaving. The process is intended to be explorative and beneficial, not traumatic.

Breaking the silence

Depending on the length of the silence, there will be a ceremony or ritual to end the silence and help you re-immerse back into a world with noise before you head home. This can take the form of a circle to allow participants time to reflect and feedback if they would like to. You will feel a sense of calm as you start to integrate back into normal schedules. Hopefully, the benefits will stay with you long after you leave the retreat centre. Some of the best conversations you have will be with other practitioners; when you both leave the silence, the quality of thinking and communication will be enhanced.

Keep meditating

The experience of a silent meditation retreat will give you techniques and tips that you can use in your meditation practice at home. No matter how long you stay in silence, you will feel a sense of achievement that you were able to sit in stillness. You may even find that you are drawn back to finding silence in your day or attending another silent meditation retreat in the future.

If you have enjoyed reading this blog and want to receive more news from Resilience Yoga, CLICK HERE to sign up to join the community and receive your FREE Level 10 Life workbook

I help doctors create a purposeful, flexible career outside full-time clinical medicine so they can control their time and have more balance in their lives. To find out more book a FREE 60-minute discovery call. https://calendly.com/resilienceyoga/60min

Image by Mohammed Alizade on Unsplash.