Monthly Intensives

How often do you spend a day doing nothing at all? Probably not very often! Most of us fill our days with tasks—many of them distractions—from morning to night. Use the monthly intensive as an opportunity to set aside at least 3-5 hours—and if possible, a whole day—and simply do nothing, aside from your daily meditation. This will be more difficult than it sounds! Don’t distract yourself. You can move to a different room or go outside, but just be lazy and do nothing. Thinking is fine, but try to be aware that it’s happening. If you need to do anything, like prepare a meal or eat, then make sure to single-task and do it lazily. No rushing.

Spending time in nature can be a great mindfulness practice. We naturally become more relaxed, and the beauty and sense of awe that is so readily available inclines us toward gratitude and appreciation. We see impermanence and interdependence in action. Try to stick to slower, more casual activities. You could take a walk in a park, go hiking in the woods, or just lounge around by the side of a lake and do some sky gazing. Take advantage of whatever natural environment is available to you.

This idea probably comes as no surprise. Qigong and yoga can both be incredibly relaxing and meditative. For qigong, Eight Pieces of Silk Brocade is a popular sequence that almost anyone will be able to do with some practice. Plum Village Dharma Teacher Thich Man Tue also has a YouTube channel full of great qigong videos. For yoga, yin and restorative yoga sequences are very gentle and relaxing. Here is a yin yoga playlist from Yoga with Kassandra and here is a restorative yoga playlist from Yoga with Adriene. If you try these and they aren’t working for you, feel free to stop by the #yoga or #somatics channels to ask fellow community members for more recommendations.

Engaging in creative activities, like making art, playing music, or dancing can be a great way to fully immerse yourself in the present moment. If you have a preferred creative activity, then use that. Otherwise, consider something like mindful coloring, sketching, or watercolor painting. For musical activities, grab some percussive items from around the house (or hand drums, if you have them) and see what kind of rhythms you can come up with. You could also use your voice to improvise melodies or rhythms. For something somatic, try dancing or just moving the body around in space or on the floor. This is not a performance, so forget about making it “good.” Just try to immerse yourself completely in the activity.

Listening to Dharma talks or reading books about meditation and mindfulness can be a great way to use your intensive time outside of meditation. It can inspire us and help motivate us to practice earnestly. Dharma Seed has a massive collection of recorded talks, as well as many recordings of full retreats, which you could replicate on your own at home. AudioDharma is another similar site. If you would like to listen to readings of Buddhist suttas, there are several good resources listed at Reading Faithfully. For books, see our recommendations here. You can also read Pali canon suttas at Access to Insight or SuttaCentral, or Tibetan canon sutras in the 84000 Reading Room.

Source: Half-Day At-Home Meditation Retreat | Chris Bailey

Source: Course Timetable | Vipassana Meditation

Source: Sample Schedule | Plum Village