Photo by Melanie Warner Spencer

For years, my things to try list has included attending a yoga and meditation retreat. Countless times Ive found myself perusing the retreat schedule at Flowering Lotus Meditation Center in Magnolia, Mississippi, ultimately unable to make it work with my vacation time or off days. Then of course the pandemic hit, eliminating my chance to participate in an in-person retreat for the foreseeable future. Dashed were the visions of dharma talks and vegan temple food that were dancing in my head. (For the record, Im not vegan, but I do love many vegan dishes and work them into my weekly menus as home.) Determined to begin 2021 on a healthy note, I was inspired to create an at-home retreat to take place on Jan. 1 complete with, if not vegan, at least vegetarian, meals. My husband Mark was game to join me, so we agreed on a half-day (he isnt as into yoga and meditation as me) and included some time spent in nature to cap it off. Below is a sample of our schedule. This plan can be easily abbreviated to a morning or afternoon, or extended over a full day to a weekend with just a few simple tweaks (which Ill explain later).

Preparation:

Sample Schedule:

10:30 a.m. Yoga

11 a.m. Meditation

11:30 a.m. Dharma (or Dhamma) Talks

11:45 a.m. Mindful Cooking and Lunch Break

1:15 p.m. Outside Time or Quiet Contemplation

1:30 p.m. Dharma (or Dhamma) Talks

1:45 p.m. Meditation

2 p.m. Yoga

2:30 p.m. Neighborhood Walk or Nature Hike

Tips:

If you decide to create your own retreat at home, share in comments or email Melanie at melanie@myneworleans.com.

Read more:

Putting the Om in Home: How to Create a Yoga and Meditation Retreat - My New Orleans