Enjoy a time of rest in an exceptional setting
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Taking a spiritual retreat: a benefit for the body?
Contrary to what you might think, a spiritual retreat can have real impacts on your body and mind! And this isn't just armchair psychology.
Whatever the reason for your retreat or its duration, you'll benefit from an almost complete and free treatment of your entire being, including your body! In short, it's magical, it's a gift.
Spiritual retreat, a huge boost of energy and meditation
(Real) scientists have tried to evaluate the effects that a retreat can have on your neurological system. A study conducted on about fifteen participants shows the impact of this time of meditation on the brain... and it's fascinating (1).
After spending more than a week in an abbey, scientists conducted analyses on retreatants. They observed that they had fewer Dopamine and Serotonin transporters (the happiness hormones, among others responsible for the feeling of well-being), and having fewer isn't a bad sign. On the contrary! The fewer there are, the more these hormones are available to the brain, so in essence the better you'll feel. (1)
Also, going to an abbey allows you to meditate greatly. Now, meditation is a practice that, done regularly, allows you to better manage anxiety, and for fans of precise and established scientific facts, here's a top-line found deep in the archives in a scientific journal that talks about the benefits of meditation:
«Regular practice [of meditation] significantly modifies brain activity, with a protective effect on the brain: it develops neural plasticity while increasing the tissue thickness of the left prefrontal cortex, involved in cognitive and emotional processes as well as in the feeling of well-being.» (2)
In short, all good.
Going on a spiritual retreat to regain great physical fitness
Now, if we look at what happens at the body level, a spiritual retreat will relax you and give you a real boost of energy and vitality.
These effects are due to the fact that a retreatant experiences a lot of time in silence and calm, that they are far from all stress, from all worries, and that they only have to let themselves be carried by their desires between rest, work, divine offices, reading in the sun or walks in the fresh air.
Also, in an abbey, you rebuild your sleep capital. No staying up late, early rising (especially if you go to Matins) and nothing too worrying to finish off the day, in short a punch return to the essential that does your body good.
The art of solitude and digital disconnection
It's becoming increasingly difficult to find yourself alone these days, constantly grabbed by information in an ultra-connected world where everything moves at 200 miles per hour. Have you ever felt this need to say stop? To find yourself alone to appreciate the moment?
While solitude and silence can be scary at first, it can only be an enriching experience. Being alone encourages self-knowledge and self-understanding. It allows you to let yourself go into reflection, to live at the rhythm of the sun and peaceful introspection!
Experiencing digital fasting
In hand, on the desk, on the nightstand, in the pocket, in the car, in the living room... our screens are everywhere and multiplying (phone, tablet, computer, smartwatch, television)... the French spend on average more than 4 hours on screens each day!
The problem is that the effects of such exposure are not to be taken lightly. We don't want to scare you but all these digital habits can have harmful effects on your body: stress, insomnia, isolation, fatigue, overexcitement... in short, a nice cocktail that a retreat in an abbey can help you avoid.
Indeed, it's the ideal place to do a digital detox. Upon arrival, you can for example ask your hosts to keep your devices to deliberately cut yourself off from them for a set time.
However, even if you don't make this radical request, you'll see that in any case the poor network coverage and the atmosphere of a spiritual retreat push you to your limits and you'll no longer feel like staying on your phone at all.
Thanks to this experience, you'll come out with renewed energy, a rested mind and full of good habits concerning your use of electronic devices!!
Conclusion
We've already written an article about the benefits of a spiritual retreat (here) but there you go, there are so many that we did it again! Now that you have no more excuses, consider booking your retreat!
Sources:
(3) It's proven, meditation is good for the brain! Article published in Les Échos in September 2019.
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