The Power Of Retreat

Retreats are a great way to advance your understanding of a set teaching and/or meditation practise. By dedicating certain periods of time to practise can seem like overkill, but the feeling of calmness and level of understanding experienced during these times may be very profound.
You can do organised retreats or do a solo retreat for varying lengths of time. Both are great ways to learn and deepen your practise.
If you want to do organised retreats you can find may different retreats online, at different price ranges and to suit different abilities. The last thing you want to do is turn up to a retreat that is for advanced meditators and try to meditate for hours at a time, when your only use to doing your practise for 15 minutes 3 times a week.
Doing a solo retreat involves more planning, but the seclusion can be a great way to keep yourself from distractions and give you time to really let the teachings and meditations set in (Please note that there are some solo organised retreats available online). However one of the main benefits of doing the solo retreat and planning it yourself, can be the level of control you have over the subject you chose to do the retreat on.

I try to do a solo retreat once every 2 to 3 months depending if I'm busy or not.
Here is how I plan my solo retreat:

• First I decide the length of my retreat, often a weekend or long weekend suits me more.
• Next I chose my location, I have found a log cabin out in the sticks that allows me to cook and be left alone at a reasonable price.
• Next I chose my subject, this is one of the most important and exciting parts. Its best not to chose subjects that are to complex to start with. If you are following a certain lineage or teacher seek advice about what subject to do. Even if you don't have a teacher, you can e-mail a local meditation centre and ask for advise. 
• Finally you set the structure of the meditation. To maximise the day try to start early say 6:30 or 7am, but its up to you. Then set out how you would like to do the retreat. Then go and do it! Here is how I plan my structure:

         6:30am - 7am Breakfast
         7am - 10 Meditation followed by online teaching (Found before retreat) and subject reading.
         10am -10:30am Take a break (try not to do anything to distracting)
         11am -1pm Meditation followed by online teaching and subject reading.
         1pm - 2:30 Have lunch and relax and try to let the subject mater from the morning sink in.
         2:30 - 4pm Meditation followed by online teaching and subject reading.
         4pm - 4:30pm Take a break
         4:30 - 6:30pm Meditation followed by online teaching and subject reading.
         6:30pm - 7:30 Have diner and relax
         7:30 - 9pm Meditation followed by online teaching and subject reading.
         9pm - 9:30pm relax before bed
         9:30 Time for bed and some much needed rest.

Ultimately this is how I structure my solo retreat, and as you can see, I try to get as much out of that time as I can. In order to get a better idea of retreat structures, you can also check out organised retreats and try and mimic them if you like. What I love the most about doing my solo retreat, is tailoring it to suit me and I would advise you to do the same. Some people might want to do yoga and or other practises too, while others may wish to do less.
The structure above may seem hectic to look at, but when you are doing it, its not to much really, and when you come away, you feel great, refreshed and relaxed.

Please note that if you suffer with any kind of depression, anxiety or any other kind of mental health issues it would be worth consulting your GP and Teacher prior to doing a solo retreat as a precaution.

Again thank you for your time and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.