The purpose of a spiritual retreat is to be in quietness, to be restful and embracing of one’s solitude. It is the essential time-out you would require for contemplation and self-enquiry.  In olden Hindu traditions, vanaprastha represents the fourth of a man’s ordained stages in life, it was a time dedicated for spiritual pursuits, requiring giving up a householder’s priorities and taking a step ahead toward renunciation. While that idea is somewhat incompatible for modern life, you still may follow the path by taking a retreat of a week or more away from the pressing priorities of everyday to delve deeper into the workings of your atman or soul. Spiritual retreats in Nepal-- the very birth land of Buddha has myriad opportunities to initiate into meditation and soul-search, some also tailored for short terms.

Why Become a Part of a Spiritual Retreat in Nepal?

Spiritual Retreats are different from other kinds of activity-based retreats held in the vibrant Nepal. Here’s why you should join:

• To Successfully Meditate Without Guidance: Meditation is a state of mind which ideally must be pervasive. Going through the motions of each day, each moment in time, you must be fully conscious and full of intent. This state of being comes with arduous training that cannot possibly be achieved by following YouTube video guides. Training thoroughly over the retreat days, you will be able to self-practice successfully.
• To Effectively Chuck Out Unwholesome Habits: The retreat will give you more awareness and control over your baser instincts. Be it unreasonable cravings for unhealthy food, lethargy, or irresponsibility, you will have more power to curb them.
• To Feel No Inclination towards Competition: Competitiveness is not essentially a bad thing. However, it could be a driving force when you are not attached excessively to the outcomes of what you are competing for. Spiritual vacations in Nepal will follow a curriculum adjusting your thought processes making you work in life with positive inspiration but with no fear of losing. The journey itself holds value, not the destination!
• To Be Able to Handle Silence: A big part of the retreat program is going to be about culturing quietness within. You will be in spaces filled with silence and initiated into exercises to quieten the babbling of your mind.
• To Fill Others’ Lives With Inspiration: Human challenges include dealing with death of loved one, embitterment or end of relationships, the challenge of dealing constructively with failures in life and career-- these crises need support and inspiration from those around. Only when you have garnered enough faith and a patient and positive attitude towards life can you be inspiring for others. Spiritual retreats in Nepal can prepare you.

How to Choose a Spiritual Retreat in Nepal?

Spiritual Retreats in Nepal - The Buddha birth land and a major spiritual center for yoga, has a plethora of options to choose from. Here are the markers of a truly good spiritual retreat:

• A Monastic Center for Tibetan Buddhism: Some monasterial spaces in Nepal are made the center for spiritual pursuits, like the Kopan Monastery in Kathmandu. You will find clean and spacious guest rooms in these types of enclaves where life is in the company of the buddhist monks of Nepal. The well-known ‘Discover Buddhism’ course at Kopan can be a major benchmark achieved in your spiritual quest.
• Yoga and Meditation Curriculum: Yoga and meditation curriculum is a marker of a complete spiritual retreat. Basics of hatha and ashtanga yoga along with the principles of yogic meditation are accessed by the attendees on these retreats, laying the path forward for finding spiritual clarity.
• Teachers of Yogic Tradition: Check out the teacher’s list and their qualifications when looking for spending spiritual holidays in Nepal. Does the center have practicing yoga teachers and spiritual gurus who are called ‘swamis’ in their faculty? Then this retreat might be a good one to choose.
• Vipassana Curriculum: Vipassana means to see things clearly. Vipassana meditation is neither centered around a mantra, nor prescribes an initiative to focus. Vipassana teaches non-action. The curriculum will take you beyond the pain of sitting locked in a meditative position. On the other side of endurance, there is release.
• Philanthropic or Karma Yoga Duties: Attending Spiritual retreats in Nepal leads practitioners toward self-less services. During or after your stay at the country, you can participate in welfare programs for children in remote mountain villages, cleanliness project in the higher altitudes of the Himalayas where there’s a threat of pollution, and such other projects.

What Do You learn from a Spiritual Retreat in Nepal?

• Learn and realize the ideals of yogic life-- the ethics of ahimsa or non-violence, karma or selfless action, moksha or liberation as the ultimate goal.
• Absorb the blissfulness of the mountain environs of Nepal and find that much needed space for self-enquiry.
• Connect with like-minded souls to grow stronger in your spirit an action.