The word Hridaya is a composite of the Sanskrit words “hrid” and “ayam”, meaning Heart Center.

Join us for this special weekend, giving yourself a unique and profound opportunity to quiet the mind, rejuvenate the body and open the heart. The Hridaya Silent Meditation & Yoga Retreat will be three days spent in noble silence, allowing time to drop the everyday acts of doing and sink into just being.

With daily silent meditation, rejuvenating and relaxing hatha yoga, and daily life awareness practices, this weekend presents a path for the revelation of the Self and teaches how to live a life of stillness, surrender, and joy. This is the path of the Spiritual Heart.

In the Spiritual Heart tradition, we refer to the Heart Center which can be described in three parts: 1) A specific location in the chest; 2) An organ of knowledge through which we can live a more full and open−hearted life; 3) The essence of our being, our True Self. By focusing on the Heart and learning how to settle ourselves in this powerful center, we can drastically change our relationship to ourselves and to the world, giving us more space to be present, rooted, trusting and connected.

Hridaya Silent Retreats are created to intimately understand what meditation is and to feel the amazing inner transformation that it brings. During the retreat, we address broad aspects of the Spiritual Heart, from a variety of traditions, including esoteric Christianity, Sufism, Buddhism, Taoism and Yoga. All religious backgrounds and faiths are very welcome in the Spiritual Heart! The atmosphere will be one of love and strong spiritual support. No previous meditation or yoga experience is necessary as this retreat is designed for beginner and advanced meditators alike.

Using techniques from these vast, mystical traditions and Hridaya Hatha Yoga, we′ll learn how to create the best conditions for meditation including cultivating awareness, mental concentration, meditation techniques based on opening to the Spiritual Heart and how to apply these techniques in daily life. The last day will include practical and concrete integration practices like how to create a home practice and maintain an open heart off the mat. We’ll also practice daily Hridaya Hatha Yoga, which is distinct from other practices as it engages not only the physical body but the entire being. Asanas are performed with awareness, turning physical practice into blissful meditation.

Come for a weekend of true retreat in nature at the beautiful Yoga Lodge at Whidbey. Enjoy walks in the stillness of nature on Whidbey Island which perfectly facilitates the silence cultivated inside. We ask all guests to maintain this silence throughout the retreat, including no electronics, music, phones or other distractions. If you’ve never experienced this intimacy of silence, you will never forget what a gateway it can provide to cultivating more inward and outward love, presence and surrender. We hope you′ll join us for this special weekend dedicated to Hridaya, the Spiritual Heart.