Grail Springs, Ontario Canada – ongoing programs

A Program for Mind, Body & Spirit

Our health retreat program doesn’t just work on a physical level but mental, emotional and spiritual because all are connected. It’s about making a shift in our perception in order to make a permanent change that is healthy and sustainable… AND the other good news is, when you choose ‘health’ for you, you choose ‘health’ for our planet!

Our Coaching Team is there for you everyday and knows exactly what it takes to help bring you a deep sense of well~being by addressing blockages through consultation, energy balancing, relaxation and exercise. Blockages that may have been keeping you from feeling vibrant, alive and happy will begin to dissolve, moving you towards your true mind, body and spirit best.
Results of our Retreat Program:

* Increased awareness of Self
* Increased awareness of the body~mind connection
* Increased energy and clearer thinking
* Decreased bloating, gas and water retention
* Reduced inflammation, less pain, fewer headaches
* Weight loss or balanced weight
* Decreases psychological & physiological reliance on sugar, caffeine and junk food
* Regular bowel movements
* Strengthens immune system
* Clearer skin
* Kick old habits
* Refocused, greater motivation, energy and enthusiasm for life
* Deeper connection with Spiritual Self

Activities you can do right now to promote the detoxification process:

* Drink lots of water throughout your day with a squeeze of lemon juice
* Add a few days of juice fasting into your week, even switching up a lunch or a breakfast with a healthy smoothie
* Eat a balanced alkaline/acid diet and ensure intake of minerals to promote enzyme activation
* Saunas or hot bathing regularly in detox salts, moor mud or seaweed
* Daily cardio exercise, stretching and yoga
* Daily walks taking in fresh air
* Skin brushing and massage therapies

Participants on the 5 to 21-night retreat receive a signed copy of our best selling book ~ filled with over 70 healthy recipes, detox drinks and smoothies, antidotes and great wellness tips for body, mind & Spirit!

Meditation Retreats by State in the US

Meditation Retreats in the United States. Here is a list of meditation retreats categorized by state in the US.

Why Go to a Meditation Retreat?

Meditation is a comprehensive word that stands for deep introspection, mulling, self arguing, drawing    a balance sheet of all the actions of our life and making plans to revamp it. Meditation also involves some thinking and breathing exercises to silence the turbulent mind and give it a new and positive direction. Meditation eliminates all the negative feelings and emotions such as jealousy, greed, lust, anger and so on that torment us day and night. Initially meditation should be performed under the guidance of some self realized and elevated guru or guide.

The best environment for meditation is one that is peaceful, sedative, relaxing, soothing and surrounded by raw nature. Usually meditation retreats are located among cool, serene and natural surroundings, by the side of lakes, rivers or atop mountains. This is what an ideal retreat aims to be.

A retreat, therefore, is a place where you retire for rest, relaxation and meditation. Obviously these mental and physical exercises can only be enjoyed at some place which is far from the madding crowds’ ignoble strife.

Meditation retreat, therefore, provides you a treat for your tired body and senses. It recharges, rejuvenates and reinvigorates the mind, the spirit and the body of the participant through lectures, programs, demonstrations, discussions and seminars on vital issues of life which are usually ignored and forgotten in the relentless pursuit of money, power and mundane pleasures. Meditation retreats are equally beneficial for those who are not religiously inclined, or, are not interested in spiritual part of meditation. A short stay in a calm and relaxing environment in the lap of nature itself balms and softens the taut nerves, more so when you are made to do some physical and breathing exercises. You are so treated that you tend to forget your day to day worries which by itself contributes to your vitality and health.

A meditation retreat can be a short stay of 24 hours on weekends and can be long enough to last for a few weeks and even months. Usually retreats are held in spacious and beautifully landscaped buildings which are fully furnished and equipped with all the amenities including air-conditioning and heating for comfortable living. There are dining halls, self contained bed rooms, mediation halls, lecture and entertainment theaters, and seminar rooms, besides open spaces and so on.

Participants in the meditation retreats are provided vegetarian diet and are expected to observe certain code of strict discipline and daily routine.

You are expected to get up at a certain fixed hour early in the morning, sometimes, even as early as 3.30 A.M. After the morning ablutions you are expected to sit in a room and meditate in complete silence, say, for an hour or so. After some break, you are again expected to attend the guided meditation classes followed by lectures delivered by the gurus or the experienced and self-realized persons. The lectures are usually devoted to the real aim of life and how to make it truly happy and peaceful. This is followed by breakfast and some rest. Again the participants gather in some lecture hall where interactive sessions are held.

Discourses on a certain subject are delivered and the participants are expected to express their opinions and problems and seek clarifications. The program goes on till the lunch time followed by rest in the afternoon. Again the same routine starts up in the afternoon sessions with different guides and teachers delivering lectures and moderating discussions. There are interludes for supper followed by dinner. The day ends with some entertainment or cultural program. By around 10 PM everybody is asleep. Participants are kept happily busy throughout the day.

The meditation retreats cannot run without money. So some meditation retreats charge fees for boarding and lodgings, while there are many others that run purely on voluntary donations, which means that those who cannot really afford are not deprived of the benefits of the meditation retreat.

Mahamudra Teachings from the Wisdom Dakinis of the Glorious Shangpa Lineage with Lama Palden

May 15 – 17, 2009
Join us for this precious opportunity to receive Mahamudra teachings from one of the first Western women to be authorized as a lama in the Vajrayana tradition.

Niguma, sister of Naropa, and Sukhasiddhi were both wisdom dakinis and mahasiddhas of the 11th century. The primary root teachers of the Shangpa lineage, their Mahamudra teachings on realizing the true nature of mind and reality are core instructions that help us to develop the prajna necessary for understanding and abiding in non-dual radiant sunyata—the union of natural openness and compassion. During this weekend, we will meditate, chant, and learn together as Lama Palden shares Mahamudra teachings from the Shangpa lineage.

Lama Palden will also share the Tibetan Yoga practice developed by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche for daily life. This practice, called lujong which means “body training” in Tibetan, powerfully opens the subtle channels of the body and facilitates the movement of prana, or subtle energy, through the channels in a way that allows one to more easily realize the true nature of mind and reality: the non-dual radiantly present emptiness.

Authorized as a lama in 1986 by her root teacher, Khabje Kalu Rinpoche, Lama Palden has been a student and practitioner of Buddhism for over 30 years and of Comparative Mysticism for over 35 years. Her primary teachers include His Holiness the 16th Karmapa, His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrul, Tai Situpa, Bokar Rinpoche, Dezhung Rinpoche, and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. She is the founding teacher of Sukhasiddhi Foundation in Marin County, California. Lama Palden has a deep interest in helping to make the teachings and practices of Tibetan Buddhism accessible and practical for Westerners, as well as in actualizing the deep feminine wisdom. Also a licensed therapist, she is engaged in facilitating psycho-spiritual integration and development through bringing together understandings and methods from Buddhism and the Diamond Heart work.

Please arrive between 2 and 5pm on Friday, May 15. Program ends with lunch at 12:30pm on Sunday, May 17.

At Bodhi Tree Forest Monastery & Retreat Centre