Yoga Retreats: A Mindful Vacation

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Yoga Retreats A Mindful Vacation
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• Going on vacation is a great opportunity to get
  away from the routine and stress of daily life.
  For some, its the perfect opportunity to
  experience something different, explore an
  unfamiliar destination, and try new
  activities.While this may be typical for an
  average getaway, many people these days are
  seeking to make their time off more meaningful by
  choosing a new focus for their time away.
• Mindfulness has become a huge buzzword of lateas
  scientific research, magazine articles, and blog
  postsextoll its benefits. Celebrities from Oprah
  Winfrey to Clint Eastwood to Gwyneth Paltrow have
  helped make mindfulness and meditation more
  mainstream. But what is mindfulness and why is it
  something worthwhileto pursue on vacation?

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• Mindfulness A Simple Definition
• At its most basic, mindfulness is about being
  aware of and attentive to your mind and the world
  around you. It means remaining fully present and
  aware as an observer of the steady stream of
  thoughts that flow in and out of your mind from
  moment to moment. Rather than drifting off into
  memories of the past or daydreams of the future,
  mindfulness requires a certain rigor to return to
  the present moment. It also connotes a
  non-judgmental approach where you are just
  observing the thoughts that naturally arise in
  your consciousness not attaching to them, but
  merely witnessing them as an impartial observer.

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• Yoga Retreats - A Haven for the Mindful
• Spiritual seekers have been embarking on
  pilgrimages and retreats for centuries.The desire
  to get away from the routine of daily life and
  devote oneself to discovering deeper truths seems
  to be an intrinsic part of human nature. In our
  modern world, yoga retreats can often serve a
  similar purpose and their popularity has been
  increasing. Some yoga retreats emphasize the
  physical aspects of the practice or on enjoying
  new adventures in a distant land, but others
  focus attention on meditative approaches to
  calming the mind and raising awareness of the
  present.

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• The various practices of yoga go hand-in-hand
  with mindfulness. Whether youre practicing asana
  (the physical postures), pranayama (intentional
  breathing exercises), kriya (purification
  practices), meditation, or other aspects of yoga,
  youre reflexively drawn inward toward a state of
  greater concentration and increased awareness.
  Thats not to say your mind wont wander of
  course it will, youre human but it will be
  easier to maintain your intention and the
  surrounding circumstances will continue to offer
  positive reinforcement.

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• Inspiration in Nature
• While on retreat, the yoga shala and meditation
  hall wont be the only places conducive to
  mindfulness practices, however. Most yoga
  retreats take place in remote locations,
  surrounded by beaches or mountains or
  rainforests. Being immersed in nature brings us
  greater awareness of our surroundings as we watch
  the sun set or the moon rise, hear the songs of
  the birds or the chirps of crickets, watch
  monkeys jump from branch to branch or whales
  breaching in the ocean.
• Getting up close and personal with nature can
  promote mindfulness by enhancing our sense of
  wonder and bringing us into the present moment.

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• Even something as simple as pausing to watch the
  methodical marching of ants or a spider spinning
  its web can raise our awareness of all the
  intricacies of life that often go unnoticed.
• Connection with Others
• Another aspect of a yoga retreat that can
  contribute to mindfulness is the fellow
  participants who youll meet there. Youre bound
  to encounter like-minded travelers who are also
  seeking inspiration from their yoga and
  meditation practices and yearning to live more
  mindfully.

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• Being surrounded by a community of others with
  similar intentions creates the perfect setting
  for diving deeper into mindfulness techniques and
  then applying those techniques outside of the
  classes and seminars. Basic activities such as
  walking back to your room or brewing tea or
  eating dinner can take on deeper significance
  when greater awareness is placed on those
  actions. When a cohesive group shares the common
  aim of mindfulness, it enhances the experience
  for everyone.

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• Experiment with New Activities
• One of the best ways to really encourage
  mindfulness is to immerse yourself in a new
  experience. Yoga retreats set the stage for just
  that. Youll get a chance to explore a new locale
  and potentially a new culture.
• Being someplace novel or trying something new
  often frees you to experience the sensation of
  beginners mind a concept from Zen Buddhism
  that connotes a feeling of openness and
  exploration, free of judgment or goals. Your
  awareness expands and the subtle details come
  into greater focus.

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• If you venture out, you may be visiting an
  historic church, an ancient temple or another
  sacred place. You might shop at a local bazaar or
  wander cobblestone streets trod by generations of
  travelers before you. Or maybe youll try an
  exciting activity like riding a zip-line or
  learning to surf or sea kayaking out on the
  ocean. Any of these activities can pull you right
  into the present moment, where you feel fully
  aware of thoughts in your mind, sensations in
  your body, and the wonder of the world around
  you.
• This unification of thought and feeling in the
  present moment is the experience of mindfulness.
  Being on a yoga retreat gives you so many
  opportunities to

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• explore it in depth as well as learn how to
  cultivate that feeling so that you can integrate
  it into your daily life upon your return.
• Prana del Mar is a premier beachfront yoga
  retreat in mexico. Located at the southern tip of
  the Baja peninsula featuring luxurious rooms
  suites, delicious cuisine internationally-acclai
  med yoga teachers. Come on a yoga vacation to one
  of the most beautiful mexico yoga retreats
  wellness retreats in Mexico. For more details of
  all inclusive yoga retreats, visit our website -
  pranadelmar.com