N and I brought in the New Year at an Integral Yoga retreat called Hariharalaya. For five days and five nights, we ate vegan, avoided caffeine and alcohol, limited our usage of electronic devices, performed Asanas, meditated, lounged around, and met a lot of wonderful new people. N already gave a great summary of the various activities, so I’ll try to avoid repeating too much of it.

I truly enjoyed the experience. There were many positives:

• I learned what yoga is all about—it’s more than just the poses and movements—and I appreciated a lot of the philosophies and habits that it teaches.
• We got to meet 26 people from all over the world, and every one of them was friendly, open-minded, and engaging.
• The food was so excellent that I never once missed meat or junk food.
• The meditation and downtime put me in a thoughtful, reflective mindset that was very pleasant.
• Like any vacation, it was relaxing and rejuvenating, but the effect was multiplied by the simple, stress-free schedule.

That last point may have been the most important one of all. Those five days were the longest I had been away from work since our honeymoon in Greece 14-1/2 months before. I love my job most days, and I’m very grateful that they allow me to work remotely on my own schedule while we travel. People need breaks from even the best job, though, and I somehow forgot how important it is for my overall happiness and well-being to put work aside for a while. A long weekend just doesn’t cut it.

Getting back to the retreat, it was an incredibly positive experience, a pleasant and unique way to bring in the New Year, but it wasn’t life-altering for me. It broadened by perspective and reinforced the benefits of good habits, but it didn’t dramatically alter my world-view. It reminded me how unimportant most of our daily concerns are, but it didn’t make me want to leave the material world behind. It gave me exactly what I needed—a much needed break, and a few gentle nudges to make some changes that I already wanted to make.

That pretty much sums up my experience at Hariharalaya. There are many interesting moments that I want to share and remember, but I’m going to split them up across several posts. Stay posted for more, and if you have any questions, ask them in the comments!