One week ago I emerged out of the desert from my sixteenth meditation retreat – also called a Vipassana or Insight retreat.  This particular retreat was 10 days, however others I’ve attended in this tradition range from 5 days to 1 month through Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Against the Stream.  Retreats are humbling, challenging, nourishing and eye opening for me. One might think the higher the number, the easier they get but that has not always been my experience.  However, it has repeatedly been 100% worth the challenge, time and money. 

Some things do get easier like getting in the rhythm of the schedule and knowing that the discomfort in my body will pass after the first couple of days from sitting for more than 6 hours a day (thank GOODNESS for an hour of Qi Gong each day).  The body starts settling in and remembering how good it feels to be still after a few days and then the mind generally tends to follow in its path.