Yoga and Meditation

John Porter, an ad executive from San Francisco, had been around the globe to exotic locations and often stayed in posh resorts. Yet, while he was gearing up for his 2005 trip, he felt a strong desire to experience something different — something more meaningful. His deeper journey led him on a week-long sojourn to a meditation retreat on Scotland’s Holy Isle. There, John took courses to help him learn meditation practice, which he still uses almost five years later.

Travel and Leisure Magazine recently ranked their top 10 worldwideretreats to learn meditation. Topping their list was Ananda in the Himalayas, a dramatic 100-acre property in Uttaranchal, India, which provides wide views of the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, the temple villages of Hardiwar and Rishikesh, and the Ganges River. Facilities incorporate a 21,000-square-foot spa, meditation and yoga pavilions, a tea lounge, an antique billiards room and the former maharajah’s palace.

Here, people will be given one-on-one guided meditation tailor made to their personal needs. Stretching, Buddhist meditation teachings, yoga and breathing techniques are taught in one-hour classes throughout the day. This retreat attracts all kinds of individuals, including many luxury travelers who have never been to a spiritual getaway previously.

The Shambhala Mountain Center in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado may look a little garish for the United States at first, but this complex is fashioned after traditional Buddhist shrines. The 600-acre retreat center is situated in the Rocky Mountain Valley and contains botanical gardens, a bird sanctuary, meditation halls and shrines. While staying in one of their 65 elegant single or double rooms, you will learn meditation (various forms of Buddhist meditation, specifically) through workshops, week-long immersive programs and specialized courses for artists. You may even find yourself meditating on a hike in the woods or floating languidly in a canoe down the river. If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can take a pilgrimage to Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia or Bhutan.

A third destination to learn meditation is the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. Located on a 200-acre property surrounding a grand mansion, you’ll find 79 dormitory-style single and double rooms with shared bathrooms, dining facilities, outdoor Buddhist shrines and meditation spaces. For a more intense pilgrimage, you can stay at the Forest Refuge, a long-term retreat center set several miles back into the countryside. The practice here involves Vipassana (insight) and Metta (loving kindness) meditation. You’ll sit and you’ll walk, but your meditative practices will all be done in complete silence. Eventually, through silence, you will find insight and self-awakening.

There are so many benefits to learning some easy meditation techniques that it’s surprising more people don’t take up this rewarding pastime. It certainly doesn’t have to be difficult, either, because there are lots of easy meditation exercises you can learn.