30-Day Alchemy of Being Retreat

While prior meditation retreat experience (such as a 10-Day Hridaya Silent Meditation Retreat) is strongly recommended, what truly matters is a sincere longing for silence, Self-Inquiry, and transformation. If you feel this call, please contact us, and we can explore if this profound journey aligns with your current aspirations.

Unlike standard Hridaya Retreats, after the first 3 days, this program mostly unfolds in solitude, supported by a daily 2-hour guided Hridaya Meditation and papers featuring carefully selected spiritual texts and questions for contemplation designed to lead you deeper into the sacred inner world and the revelation of the Spiritual Heart.

While Sahajananda designed this program and selected the daily readings, he will not be on-site during the retreat. Other experienced Hridaya teachers will hold the space and guide the morning meditations.

Although most of the retreat consists of individual practice, you’ll be gently supported by daily guided meditations, carefully chosen inspirational texts, and thoughtful journal prompts. Additionally, experienced Hridaya teachers will be available for discreet emotional and practical support, if needed.

Silence provides the sacred space necessary to hear your soul clearly, encounter yourself much more intimately, and cultivate subtle spiritual insights that may otherwise remain obscured by everyday distractions and mental activity. During the retreat, you will receive inspiring texts about the virtues and beauty of solitude.

Except for reviewing the retreat booklet, no reading is permitted on days 1-3. On days 4-30, you will be given chapters or short excerpts from spiritual books chosen by Sahajananda to support the retreat journey. These selections should be read slowly and contemplatively to allow subtle insights to emerge spontaneously. In order to keep the focus on the retreat’s daily topics and fully follow the sacred flow that unfolds, no other reading materials are allowed.

We recommend a daily practice of 2 hours of Hridaya Meditation. You can find guided meditations on Insight Timer and YouTube, as well as more information on our website.

If you are not already a Hridaya Hatha Yoga practitioner, we strongly recommend reading more about this approach on our website and doing the recorded classes shared on our YouTube channel.

On a more mundane note, we suggest that you pay all of your bills, create email autoresponders, and deal with any other “real world” issues before the retreat begins. Try to make peace with anyone you have issues with, deal with as many unresolved problems as possible, and tell your dear ones how much you love them. This is very important, as thoughts of unresolved issues may become distracting while you are in solitude.

You may provide your loved ones with the info@hridaya-yoga.mx address and our phone number (+52 958 688 58 89) for them to send you a message should an emergency arise. (You may want to inform them of the kind of “emergency” you would like to hear about.)

To best support the retreat experience, participants agree to stay on the grounds of the Hridaya Center for the length of the retreat. In fact, on Days 4-30, Sahaja recommends that participants stay in their rooms as much as possible.

Of course, you will join the group for daily morning meditation. And, if you can maintain a meditative attitude, you may leave your room for short periods to practice in the yoga halls, do walking meditation, or gaze at the ocean and stars from the school’s terrace.

When leaving and returning to your room, try to stay as internalized as possible, being aware that others may be walking around the property or meditating. Please avoid looking at other participants, so their privacy and solitude are respected.

We recommend arriving a few days early to acclimate to the area. There will be an orientation session at noon the day before the retreat starts, so be sure to be here by then.

We also suggest that you plan to stay at least a few days after the retreat ends to enjoy the echoes of the experience and harmoniously reintegrate the outer world into your new expanded consciousness.

If you would like to extend your stay at the Hridaya Center, please email us for more information.

Challenges are natural during a silent retreat and shouldn’t be seen as issues to fear, but as opportunities for profound transformation and insights. The structure of this retreat offers the stability of the Witnessing Attitude, regular Hridaya Meditations, Hatha Yoga practices for grounding and sublimation of stagnant, limiting energies, inspiring readings, and contemplations to help you embrace challenges with openness and trust.

On the morning of Day 31, we’ll gather for a final 2-hour meditation. This will be followed by a closing ritual and a sharing session with other participants.

The retreat fee includes simple vegan meals. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served during the first three days of the retreat, breakfast and dinner will be served on Days 4-30, and breakfast will be served on Day 31. Except during the first three days, meals will be delivered to your room.

Note that we generally cannot cater to specific dietary requirements, allergies, or food intolerances. Please contact us for more information or if you have specific questions.

Although the meals served are filling, we recommend bringing some non-perishable snacks. Good snacks include nuts, protein bars, and dried fruit. You may also want to bring olive or coconut oil, spirulina, and other superfood supplements. (You can buy oils, nuts, and some kinds of dried fruit in Mazunte or Pochutla. Other items are best brought from home.) We recommend bringing an airtight container with a lid to store your snacks, to avoid inviting ants and other unwanted visitors.

Note that tea will be served with meals. If you would like tea outside of meal times, please bring your own tea bags. A kettle will be available to boil water.

By you! As the retreat is a solitary experience, retreat center staff will not enter your room to clean. Cleaning supplies will be available, and you will be provided with fresh sheets and towels each week.

We suggest the following:

• Toiletries (enough for the whole retreat!)
  • Toothpaste, toothbrush
  • Shampoo, soap, conditioner
  • Sunscreen
  • Medications (if applicable)
  • Menstrual supplies (if applicable)
• Washing powder (you can hand wash clothes on-site)
• A yoga mat (if you prefer to use your own)
• A sarong or mat towel
• Earplugs and an eye mask
• A journal or notebook and writing utensils (you may find you have many contemplations, so best to pack more than you think you might need)
• Nail clippers
• A flashlight
• A watch or battery-powered clock and/or a timer for meditation/yoga sessions
• Ample batteries for your electronic items (flashlight, clock, timer, etc.)
• A water bottle and/or thermos
• Mosquito repellent
• A cloth napkin
• Light, comfortable, modest clothing
• A shawl
• Non-perishable snacks
• Tea bags
• Items for your altar

Note that you are responsible for bringing everything that you will need for the duration of the retreat. Although our on-site staff will be there to support you in case of emergency, they will not shop for snacks or specialty items. So, please carefully think through your needs and pack accordingly.

The Hridaya Center is a drug-, alcohol-, and tobacco-free environment. By participating in this retreat, you agree to refrain from these substances and follow all standard Hridaya Retreat Guidelines, including sexual abstinence, mauna, avoiding looking in mirrors, etc. This program also serves as a digital detox. In order to support interiorization, cell phones will be collected before the retreat and stored in our safe for its duration. To support your stay, please bring a flashlight and clock.

Also, it’s important to remember that entering a retreat is not escaping from the world and its challenges, but a longing of your being to dive deeper in silence. During a long-term retreat, you may experience highs and lows. The first few days or weeks may be the most challenging, as you need to adapt to new conditions, and you start facing some limiting patterns and fears. But once the mind relaxes and tastes the first drops of the Heart’s nectar, your experience will become more and more simple, light, joyful, and fulfilling. To deepen in Self-Inquiry, have the aspiration and determination to follow the guidelines and do your sadhana (spiritual practice) wholeheartedly.