How to Design a Meditation Retreat in Your Home
If you want to make meditation a regular part of your day, there’s no better way to do it than by making your own retreat.
All it takes are a few bright ideas and a bit of free space, and you’ll be able to get away from it all whenever you feel the need. Just what you want when you get home from a long day at work, or you want to chill out and relax over the weekend.
To give you plenty of food for thought, we’ve compiled some handy hints and tips that will have you building your own retreat in no time at all. Let us know how you get on!
Ensure You Have Plenty of Natural Light All Year Round
Natural light is probably the best way to raise your mood in a couple of seconds. We’ve evolved to be bathed in natural light, and yet so many of us spend our days cooped up in offices with artificial strobe lights for company.
Letting the light flood in is the best way to put yourself at ease, and it will enable you to get the most out of your time in your retreat. It’ll also lift your energy and transform your mood by stimulating your body’s natural processes.
Add Some Timber Cladding to the Walls for That Zen Look and Feel
The walls are such an important thing to consider because they’re by far the largest surface you need to cover. Making a feature of them by using some timber cladding is a great idea if you want to feel like you’re somewhere else for a few minutes. Get the balance just right, and you’ll be well on your way to a room you never want to leave.
Keep the Floor Neutral with a Stained Wooden Floor
A light stained wood floor is a great idea if you’re looking for a neutral and harmonious space that welcomes you the moment you open the door. Just make sure that you give it a nice smooth finish so that you can meditate barefoot and feel free. It’ll be well worth the extra effort when you’re stretching out and making yourself at home in your new retreat.
Adding a Water Feature Will Allow You to Switch Off and Relax
Portable indoor water features not only look great, but they also sound great. There are few things that are more relaxing than the sound of running water, so why not try it out and see what you make of it. If you want to be able to drift off to your own individual island of calm, the gentle trickle of running water is just what you need to hear to imagine the sea lapping at the sandy shores.
Keep Your Yoga Mat Nearby So That You Can Stretch Whenever You Need To
If you’re into yoga there’s no better place to practice it than in your own personal yoga retreat. Often it’s the little bits of friction that will break up your day and cause you to lose momentum, so work on getting rid of them.
Keeping your yoga mat at hand is a great way to ensure that you never get distracted when you go in search of it. It’s these little touches that will enable you to make the most of every minute in your retreat, and really feel at ease there.
Stay Away from the Stairs So That You Don’t Hear Noise
Always try to avoid basing yourself under or near the stairs. They’re one of the noisiest parts of the house with people coming and going seemingly all day long. The stomping up the stairs may only last a few seconds, but that can be enough to break your concentration and shift your focus.
Now you’re no longer thinking about how to be at peace with yourself. You’re thinking about the noise, wondering who was doing it, and asking yourself why they were doing. This gives you an idea of how quickly the mind wanders, and how it will take even longer for you to get it back on track.
Play Music and Keep Your Phone in a Different Room to Avoid Digital Distractions
Playing music is a great way to add a sense of peace and calm to your chosen space, but you really want to avoid playing it off your phone. It probably feels like second nature to take your phone with you wherever you go in the house, not least of all because it allows you to access any song you want.
The problem is that it’s bound to ring or buzz with delight when it gets a notification during your meditation session. This breaks your concentration, shifts your focus, and puts you right back to square one.
