The Food4All Cafe provides all vegan gluten-free meals for students during retreats

In a world of constant notifications, responsibilities and overstimulation, intentionally stepping away for moments of peace and quiet can seem almost impossible. Yet, according to Swamini Shraddhananda Saraswati, founder and director of Kula Kamala Foundation & Yoga Ashram, in Reading, Pennsylvania. “stepping away for spiritual retreat may be exactly what we need to balance and reconnect.”

“This hectic, fast-paced world can take a toll on our nervous system, inhibiting our health and happiness,” says SwaminiJi, as she is affectionately known. From phone alerts and social media to responsibilities and financial pressures, “our nervous system often suffers from overload, leading to a chronic state of fatigue, fight or flight, freeze or fawn, and severe illnesses.” A retreat offers a way to counter such imbalances by creating space to pause, reset and reconnect. It can be an opportunity to support physical, mental and emotional well-being while renewing a connection with what is sacred.

“Chaos brings chaos and balance brings balance,” notes SwaminiJi. A spiritual retreat provides an opportunity to disconnect from everyday demands and “empowers us to nourish balance” through teachings, practices, silence or simply being present. “We cannot pour from an empty cup,” she adds. Retreat allows us to replenish rather than continually giving from an exhausted place.

The meditation path welcomes students daily from sunup to sundown

More than simply a vacation or getaway, “a retreat provides a deliberate pause from daily stressors—an opportunity to reset the nervous system, shift perspective, and reconnect with the sacred and with the self,” explains SwaminiJi. This intentional break can be transformative, even when it lasts only a day or two. Stepping outside familiar routines can create room to notice what has been overlooked and see life with greater clarity.

One of the most common changes she observes in retreat-goers is “the discovery of, or the return to, peace and joy,” along with relief from the guilt many feel for wanting to take time for themselves. Participants are surprised that even a short retreat away from familiar routines can be refreshing and transformative, describing the experience as “a breath of fresh air” or “just what I needed to see things more clearly.”

Kula Kamala offers several ways to take part in spiritual retreats. Local day retreats provide a brief respite for those with limited time to devote to themselves; weekend retreats offer a short-term reset; and extended retreats allow for deeper immersion in “learning, practice, stillness, quiet and peace.”

The Kula Kamala Foundation lives in a repurposed and renovated elementary school building

International pilgrimages to destinations such as Ireland and India add another dimension, inviting participants to explore spirituality, culture and self-discovery. She notes, “While in India, participants experience yoga and meditation from within the cultural and spiritual tradition from which they emerged.”

To SwaminiJi, a retreat is not simply travel or vacation. “A spiritual retreat or pilgrimage, at its very core, sets the intention of spiritual exploration and self-inquiry.”

Over the years, her commitment to her own time in retreat has deepened. “I am a more peaceful, happier, healthier person when I retreat regularly—when I take time to go inward,” shares SwaminiJi. Retreat helps her remain “energized, inspired and purposefully engaged in the sacredness” of her own life.

For anyone feeling “a desire to recenter, to go deeper or to be more peaceful,” SwaminiJi offers a simple invitation: “Come and retreat.” In doing so, she says, people can discover space to “pause, reflect, recover and return to what truly matters.”

Kula Kamala Foundation & Yoga Ashram is located at 17 Basket Rd., in Reading, PA, with a second ashram location in Galway, Ireland. For more information, call 484-509-5073 or visit KulaKamalaFoundation.org. 

Sara Gurgen is a frequent contributor to Natural Awakenings.