What happens after the plane tickets get booked, the phone gets stowed away, the “Out of Office” message gets switched on, and you arrive at the retreat center?

Whether you stay for three nights, a week, or an entire month, a personal retreat typically entails silence, meditation, mindful movement, and quiet walks. The simplicity of life in nature, and the opportunity to connect with the nature of your own mind, can help you recharge and return home to work and life renewed.

When we retreat in a group setting, an added element of community comes into the mix. Some retreats, like a Vipassana retreat, have meditators in silence for the duration, meditating 8–10 hours a day, eating vegan, and encouraging participants to examine the contents of their minds. Other types of retreats might make writing, painting, or poetry the center of the retreat.

Mind Oasis retreats are a little different. We take meditation seriously, but we believe retreat can also include laughter, beauty, good food, movement, and connection.

Mind Oasis retreats use the theme of “friendship and fellowship” because, in addition to spending time every day in guided meditation, we spend a lot of time nurturing friendships and coming together in community while learning new skills for navigating the complex world in which we live. We laugh together over nutritious food and yummy drinks. We take field trips for massages, hikes, and browsing local art galleries. A Saturday night bonfire and dance party is a must!

Perhaps this is what I love most about group retreat: we get to practice stillness together, but we also get to practice being human together.

What are some of the benefits of a group retreat like Mind Oasis offers each year?

Group retreat provides:

  • A quiet container for practice. With fewer distractions, we have an opportunity to experience a more clutter-free mind.
  • A friendly, like-minded community. There is something magical about being surrounded by people who are interested in mindfulness and meditation.
  • A shared purpose. Knowing everyone in the room is trying to find peace of mind makes the container more powerful and aligned.
  • A place for deeper concentration. As we move from one meditation session to the next, each session builds on the one before it, creating an opportunity to go deeper than we might in a single meditation session.
  • Clarity. As the outer and inner worlds slow down, our minds can become more alert and clear. This provides an exceptional opportunity to see the inner workings of our minds and get curious about how they work independent of distractions.
  • A place for feedback and insight. Sharing our experiences in a group setting allows us to learn from one another and discover how other people work with the struggles and triumphs that arise on the cushion.
  • Space for reflection. With increased silence and stillness comes the opportunity to better understand how our inner and outer worlds influence our day-to-day emotions, experiences, and reactions.
  • The opportunity for transformation. Something amazing happens in retreat, no matter the duration. By simply placing yourself in the container of a retreat, you often come out slightly different, and in some potentially wonderful way.

Every year at Mind Oasis, we offer a group retreat in the mountains of Colorado. Between 10 and 20 of us take precious time away from work and loved ones to travel to a mountain lodge where we stow away our phones, find some stillness and silence, and, perhaps most importantly, rest, hike, and eat mindfully together with strangers who become friends.

Saturday morning you will find us on a mindful sunrise hike in Rocky Mountain National Park, followed by hot chocolate and bagels. It is a simple, beautiful kind of morning, and exactly the kind of experience that can be difficult to make room for when everyday life is so full.

Retreat is a traditional practice for many of us who meditate. Sometimes we retreat alone. But the advantages of retreating in community cannot be overstated.

Want to experience it for yourself? Join us this fall. Space is limited. Learn more here.

Regarding solo retreats: As someone who has done many of these retreats, you are always welcome to reach out to me for personalized advice for your next (or first!) retreat. HMU: kvoss at MindOasis dot org.