Volunteer Efforts
During two volunteer sessions in 2022, the team created a documentary highlighting their efforts and the global community’s involvement which you can see here:

By March 2023, a smaller team evaluated the progress and planned further ecological restoration, with key participants including Project Manager Kat Ehrhorn and Biochar Consultant Pachi Coquet, Special Coordinator Bob Cirino, volunteer Hannah Cirino, Grant Writer Eunice De Alba and volunteer Rene Anguiano.
Expert training was provided by David Seibert Ph.D., UofA, Wildlife Corridors LLC, Borderlands Restoration Network (BRN) and Josiah Austin, neighbor and globally recognized sustainability rancher.

Progress and Challenges
Over two years, with volunteer efforts and full-time employees, approximately 4,500 basins were constructed, and tens of thousands of seeds were sown. Significant rainfall in 2022 tested the small earthen basins, revealing that stone-reinforced basins were more durable than those basins made without stone.

By early 2023, plant germination was observed, though some dirt basins washed out. Expert consultation indicated that to sustain trees without irrigation, more water in the soil was needed, achievable by slowing down water during rains and accumulating topsoil. Loose rock dams were identified as a key strategy.

Loose Rock Dams and Results
Loose rock dams constructed in sloped washes proved effective in increasing soil water content. A visit to Austin’s property showcased the long-term benefits of these methods, further motivating the team. Please watch this 9-minute video on Austin’s successes, Can Rock Dams Reverse Climate Change? to see the long-term results of what you have helped bring to Diamond Mountain.
Two local young men were employed to construct loose rock dams, in addition to basins while also building the demonstration garden, enhancing the effectiveness of the project.

Project Review

1) Objectives and Achievements
 – Design and Construct Earthworks-Based Rainwater Catchment and Retention Methods
– Completed 4,500 basins, 40 loose rock dams and 3 swales.
– Proposed: Continue constructing site-specific earthworks.

2) Restore and Protect Soil Viability
– Mulch and biochar added to demonstration garden and basins.
– Proposed: Continue mulching bare soil around infrastructure.

3) Reseed Native Vegetation Without Irrigation
– Planted 8,000 tree seeds and 30 species of wildflowers, grasses, and shrubs.
– Proposed: Continue seeding efforts.

4) Design and Plant a Demonstration Site
– Installed irrigation, planted 30 trees, created wildlife ponds and 3 swales, and built a trail with interpretive signage, benches and plant identification signage in Apache, Latin and English.
– Proposed: Plant shade vegetation around infrastructure and along trails.

5) Enhance Economic Viability Through Sustainability
– Employed local workers, secured a grant for further restoration, and attracted positive attention from local and international communities. Arid lands restoration has proven to not only be attractive to dharma students and volunteers, but also to institutions, scientists, governments, and activists interested in climate change solutions.
– Proposed: Cultivate and offer ongoing ecological restoration projects to attract positive attention into the future.

Lessons Learned

1. Small earthen basins need rock reinforcement to withstand heavy rain.
2. Documentation of each basin was impractical; broad-based site changes and yearly photos are more effective.
3. Volunteer recruitment was lower than expected; paid local labor proved more cost-effective.

Future Focus

1. Site 1 – Maintain the demonstration garden, add mulch, and improve water catchment.
2. Site 2 – Continue construction of loose rock dams and smaller earthworks.
3. Site 3 – Continue National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant by building loose rock dams and removing invasive species with $85,000 in contributions of management, volunteer hours, and education until September 2025.

Financial Summary
Total donations from DMRC and individual SkyHarvest donors with restrictions to Bear Springs amounted to $133,424, with $112,997.86 spent in 2021 and 2022 with a mix of volunteer and local labor, and the balance in 2023 continuing work on the demonstration garden, earthworks and seeding in site 2 with local labor.
Please see attached spreadsheet for a detailed presentation of the summarized expenses pie chart.

Summary
Protecting roads, soil and water – contributing to a healthier environment for all – can be achieved through the simple and effective techniques of earthworks and loose rock dams, using biochar, mulch and revegetation.
SkyHarvest sees the potential to collaborate with DMRC on continued ecological restoration priorities enhancing the environment while supporting economic viability and sustainable animal habitat at Bear Springs. This effort will be fostered through grants, corporate donations, and individual contributions, ensuring long-term success.

The following images are a collage of beings at DMRC:

The post Completion Report of Sustainable Animal Release through Ecological Restoration at Bear Springs appeared first on Diamond Mountain Retreat Center.

The team consisted of Project Manager Kat Ehrhorn, Biochar Consultant and Volunteer Coordinator Pachi Coquet, Special Coordinator Bob Cirino, volunteer Hannah Cirino, Grant Writer Eunice De Alba and volunteer Rene Anguiano.

We also had two days of expert training from Borderlands Restoration Network (BRN) Project Developer David Seibert PhD and a field trip to 15 year old loose rock dam project at Josiah Austin’s property which showed the results of this work.
SkyHarvest employees, Manny Tapia and Anthony Javier-Orona, also joined parts of the week for training and observation on loose rock dam construction conducted by Borderlands Restoration Network and Josiah Austin.

Through the support and generosity of private donors and Diamond Mountain Retreat Center, SkyHarvest set off with $133,000 in funding and an ambitious project: plant trees in the desert. A tree without water or soil will not grow, so the SkyHarvest team set out to install 4,500 small basins across the landscape that would slow down the water, build the soil and help seeds germinate.

Check out this professional documentary from volunteer session 2

Over the past 12 months, and two volunteer sessions, we have completed approximately 2,400 basins and sown tens of thousands of seeds in durable clay seed balls. In 2022 the project area received a very significant amount of rain, which tested our basins! Some held strong, but others washed away. It was clear that the basins constructed with stones (instead of only dirt) were the most durable and valuable basins.

In early 2023, just before Spring officially starts, we see plants germinating in previously barren areas. The sprouts are too small to identify yet!

Though the seeds are still scattered across the landscape, the dirt basins washed out. After seeing this result and consulting with Josiah Austin (who has restored over 60,000 acres of desert grassland) and David Seibert (who has restored gigantic areas along the US-Mexico border through BRN) the path forward became very clear.

To have trees survive without irrigation in the desert, we must increase the total amount of water in the soil. To do that, we must slow down water during big rain events, and accumulate precious topsoil. The results we saw with the tiny rock basins would be amplified many times by locating the rock structures in the washes (the areas that water naturally rushes when it rains heavily) making them much more significant. Water rushing down a steep slope and then slowed by a loose rock dam will force saturation laterally up to 20 feet and more on both sides.

These two photos taken by the team at Bear Springs show before and after a loose rock dam is created to catch water in this small drainage.

We traveled to one of Josiah’s ranches where this method had been in process for more than 15 years and were astounded by the results.
Please watch this amazing video filmed on Josiah’s land near the Bear Springs site. Can Rock Dams Reverse Climate Change?

With these results and the insight from our restoration mentors, we will leave behind what didn’t work, and amplify what did work, we will more effectively and rapidly prepare the landscape to support tree life.

Review of 2022 

The Bear Springs Ecological Restoration five-part plan is designed to remedy the effects of these activities: erosion, soil degradation, species reduction, lowered aquifers and stress on economies.

The plan identifies five objectives. Below in green are status report in those five areas.

1) Design and construct site-specific earthworks-based rainwater catchment and retention methods
Completed
– 1400 basins volunteer session 1
– 1200 basins volunteer session 2
– 3 large swales

Proposed for 2023
– Focus on loose rock dams from highest elevations and down along washes in site 2
– Make ~100 more small stony basins in bare sections of site 2

2) Restore and protect soil viability.
– Mulch and biochar were added to the demonstration garden and basins in volunteer session 2.
– Basins are already retaining and revitalizing soil

3) Reseed native vegetation without irrigation.
– Seed stock acquired through the guidance and expertise of Borderlands Restoration Network, chosen for changing climate.
– Planted 8,000 seeds of 4 varieties of trees and many pounds of 30 varieties of wildflowers, grasses, and shrubs. 80% of year one seed is disbursed, 20% remains in inventory. Year two seed will be delivered in June 2023.
– Seed was encased in clay seed balls by volunteers to ensure the best chance of avoiding being eaten by animals and insects before conditions to germinate can occur.

4) Design and plant a demonstration site with mature irrigated vegetation and interpretative signage.
– Irrigation installed
– Large water tank ##gallons and drip line
– Two wildlife ponds with wildlife cameras. Click me to see photos and short videos of the animals at the pond.
– Walking loop with benches and interpretive signage installed so visitors can learn and engage with the restoration
– Planted 30 trees that are native, significant to indigenous culture, and designed to accommodate unknown climate change.
– Native American medicine garden within a traditional Ocotillo fence to demonstrate how ecological restoration can create valuable medicinal products
– Three types of earthworks installed, swales, basins and loose rock dam

This Great Horned Owl is one of many visitors caught on camera at the new watering hole.

5) Enhance economic viability through sustainability.
– SkyHarvest has hired local people to work on the Bear Springs project
– Borderlands Restoration Network, in collaboration with SkyHarvest and others, secured a grant from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation which will benefit Bear Springs. The grant is for $188,000 divided between three project areas, one of which is Bear Springs. The grant has a matching requirement from BRN, DMRC, and SH. The three organizations will collaborate to bring an additional value of up to $195,000 to the Bear Springs site 3. This investment will result in a minimum of 50 loose rock dams in site 3, removal of invasive species, planting of native plants and seeds and includes education for staff, volunteers and the public. The location of site 3 is a maximum of 75 feet left and right of the wash above the spring at the Ranch house, running from the south property line just south of the hairpin turn up to Blue Sky Dome, with intermittent earthworks implemented to the Retreat Valley Gate.
– Arid land restoration is a politically and socially attractive area of interest to institutions, the scientific community, governments, activists and others compelled to work towards solutions for climate change. SkyHarvest activities at DMRC are attracting positive attention and visitors to the place.

SkyHarvest employees Manny and Anthony are residents of Cochise County, AZ.

What did we learn?

1. Basins that are not reinforced with rock wash out in heavy rain and run off. In the future, all basins need to have rock on the downhill side. Jojoba which was planted did not survive the winter and will be replaced with an alternate species that did well.
2. The original report called for documentation of each basin and monitoring from a third source to measure success. Once implementation started, the team determined that documenting each basin would not be an effective method of evaluation. The future plan is to work with David Seibert and BRN to document broad-based site changes over a longer time frame, with yearly photos in the same locations throughout the sites. David may be able to connect us with graduate students at the University of Arizona for further study. We propose taking photos of a similar slope and face where we are not working to see the difference that our ecological restoration makes. Rainfall changes from one year to the next, so the health of the plants also changes. Having a control area will be the best way to measure results.
   The community of ecological restoration in Cochise County is vibrant. Now that we have made local connections with BRN, Hydrology expert Rudy Poe, and Josiah Austin (grasslands restoration expert/neighbor rancher) we no longer need consultation from Sonoran Permaculture/ Dan Dorsey. The local expertise and methods of measuring success are more applicable. We have also developed a relationship with Jared Allred, a local farmer who will supply us with the mulch needed at Bear Springs.
3. Volunteer recruit estimates were higher than actuals (estimated 30-50 volunteers per session, and the most recruited were 11). Paying for housing and catered food made volunteer hours in 2022 cost more than hired skilled labor by 2.5 times. DMRC has agreed to house volunteers as of February, 2023 for no charge, and catered food is not provided. Implementation for the 2nd year will primarily be paid local labor at a reduced cost.

SkyHarvest focus for Bear Springs 2023 and beyond

Site 1 – Collaborate with DMRC to maintain the demonstration garden. Add additional mulch and improve water catchment on site 1.

Site 2 – Spend the remainder of initial budget on loose rock dams in the drainages of site 2 using a combination of volunteer and paid labor.

Site 3 – Contribute $85,000 in management hours, volunteer hours, and education from now until September 30th, 2025

In Summary, the board and staff of SkyHarvest see the potential to collaborate for many years with DMRC to implement ecological restoration at Bear Springs wash-by-wash through grants, corporate donations, and individual donations. Protecting the roads and the ground water on the property, while contributing to a healthier environment for all, can be achieved through the simple and effective techniques of earthworks, loose rock dams, biochar, mulch and revegetation.

Financial Report for Bear Springs 2022

The total donations for Bear Springs from DMRC and from individual SkyHarvest donors with restrictions to Bear Springs as of 12.31.2022 is $133,424.
$112,997.86 was spent in 2021 and 2022. The remaining funds will be spent in 2023 on loose rock dams in site 2. Please contact Kat Ehrhorn for the detailed report.

Implementation Schedule
The following proposed schedule was achieved apart from recruiting 30-50 volunteers per volunteer session, conducting a management conference in summer 2022, collecting metrics and volunteer session 3 was replaced with hired local labor.

1st Quarter 2022
1/15 Commence demonstration garden development
1/15 Commence event contract, production & promotion for Volunteer Sessions 1-6
1/15 DMRC irrigation through demonstration garden is installed
1/24 Commence Site 2 plan development
1/24 Wildcrafted seed inventory and seed quotes are prepared
1/30 Approve contract with DMRC by the end of January
1/30 Request and issue 1st Quarter Operating Funds to SH
2/6 On-Site Permaculturist arrives on site to prepare for volunteer session
2/15-2/16 Tractor work for swales on site 1
2/19 – 2/26, Volunteer Session 1, 20-45 volunteers at DMRC
a. Document baseline, commence data collection, and report
b. Begin installation of demonstration garden
c. Construct 1425 earthworks at Sites 1 & 2
d. Wildraft, procure, pelletize and sow seed inventory
e. Sow seed
3/15 SH irrigation is installed
3/22 30 trees planted by partner nursery
3/25 Plant understory shrubbery
2nd Quarter 2022
5/29 – 6/4, Volunteer Session 2, 30-50 people at DMRC
a. Plant seeds for monsoon Sites 1 & 2 total 1425 basins
b. Collect metrics data, analyze, adjust, repair, report
c. Wildcraft, pelletize and sow seed inventory
d. Continue demonstration garden development and installations
3rd Quarter 2022
Project management only
Collect metrics data, analyze, adjust, repair, replant, report
4th Quarter 2022
11/12 – 11/20 Session 3, 30-50 people at DMRC
a. Prepare for winter rains
b. Collect metrics data, analyze, adjust, repair, replant, report
c. Wildcraft, pelletize and sow seed inventory

The post Bear Springs Ecological Restoration Report – March 2023 appeared first on Diamond Mountain Retreat Center.

It’s been miracle after miracle that you were able to get time off work, convince your partner to take care of the kids, water the garden and walk the dog. Your friend convinced you that taking a ‘wellness weekend’ retreat is the greatest way to break up a stressful routine. But extracting yourself from the stressful routine has been even more stressful! With all the favors you’ve had to grant while begging to get away, this weekend had BETTER be worth it!

What is a typical wellness weekend about anyway? Typically, wellness care professionals focus on giving your body a variety of attention: from diet to detoxes, from exercises to relaxation. And indeed, at the end of two days being pampered in soft lights with gentle music while embraced by beautiful gardens, you go home on Sunday night floating on a cloud.

Then Monday morning comes fast with the alarm going off already! You arrived home late last night, threw your dirty clothes into the laundry basket while tripping over toys, chugging down coffee, and you’re back on the freeway. The boss is wondering where that report is that you promised before you left and your co-workers resent that you got time off, when they never do.

So what was the point of reaching total relaxation and calm for a few fleeting moments, when you’re pushed right back into the rat race? Was that really helpful, without any long-term benefits? You’re still without tools to recreate the state of calm in your daily life that the warm-hearted and well-trained professionals gave you.

Maybe there’s another kind of solo wellness retreat that could result in the same heavenly state of mind, but with tools that you also take home and are be able to continue using on your own. You’d sure like to somehow maintain keeping your awareness vibrant and empowered while feeling calm and collected, right?

Solo meditation retreats are an answer to this wish. Learning how to meditate, indeed, is easier to do when you’re away from the family on a solo retreat. But in the same amount of time as you spent at a wellness retreat while providers offer tender loving care, you can learn and then practice some easy ideas on how to generate and maintain a state of wellness, using your own mind while at home and at work.

The benefits of meditation are now confirmed at institutions such as Harvard, the National Institutes of Health, and the US Department of Health and Human Services. And you can easily access meditation classes online offered by private institutions that have preserved and also teach authentic lineages. Check out Meditation Studies Program at meditationsi.com for learning meditation techniques to apply at work. Or try Asian Classics Institute at asianclassicsinstitute.org for learning meditation applications that will bring your life to “Super Hero” levels with proven meditation training.

Then make sure the retreat center where you do your solo retreat has meditation teachers onsite who can answer your practice questions. After studying on line, it’s really helpful on a solo meditation retreat to first practice with a person face-to-face and learn some more basics from different people’s experience.

For example, ancient scriptures prescribe that the first thing you need to do at home after your solo retreat is to set up a dedicated area for your meditation practice. It can be in a corner of your bedroom or other area out of the way of household traffic. With your intention, you state that when you come to this special place you will meditate. And this prepares the mind to settle more easily and quickly into quietude.

The next part of the warm up instructions say, every time before meditating, to clean the room where you meditate. Some have suggested that the condition of your room reflects the condition of your mind; if your room is messy, your mind could be messy, too! And the simple task of sweeping, for example, will wake up your body, while sweeping away thoughts of yesterday at work and plans for tomorrow.

Going deeper and considering karma and emptiness, scriptures say that cleaning your room before meditation is also a cause for creating a happy and healthy world.

After cleaning your meditation space, the ancients instruct us to set out beautiful offerings of objects to delight the senses. These are going to unseen beings, or to your many teachers, and can take many forms. Enjoy the task, be creative and make them attractive. Of course the ones to whom you’re making offerings don’t need these things, or won’t actually see them. What you’re doing is settling your mind into a powerful state of gratitude, thinking of the people who have helped you in your life. This is a moment of mindfully returning the kindnesses they’ve given to you, and is an important part of getting ready to meditate.

Then we’re told to sit in a comfortable posture. While you were on your solo retreat with expert guides, you probably had the chance to experiment and then experience the effects of meditating in different positions. Taking a full lotus posture, as instructed in scriptures, probably isn’t the most comfortable position for everyone in maintaining a straight back, and relaxed jaw and brow. So the result of your solo retreat at a meditation retreat center was that you could make an evaluation, while being expertly guided, as to your favorite position to then do every day at home.

Testimonials from solo retreaters repeatedly share that not only are they so very happy when they come home from a solo retreat with their newly acquired practice skills, but that families and fellow employees are happy too. Why? Because meditators have learned how to live a stress-based lifestyle while mentally clear and happy, when they are trained to continue maintaining that state of mind at home.

So every time you spend a weekend, or a week or a month in a solo retreat practicing your meditation skills, your friends and family will be happier and happier. And this is how meditation can change the world.
As the famous 13th century poet Rumi said, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

And this is the ultimate benefit of learning how to meditate while taking weekend solo retreats at Diamond Mountain, to continue developing your skills for the happiness of yourself and of everyone else around you every day.

The post Sustainable Wellness Weekend appeared first on Diamond Mountain Retreat Center.

You’ve meditated regularly for a while and had some great results. Now you’re ready to take your practice to the next step – you are ready to dedicate a weekend or a week or a month to uninterrupted silent meditation.

How do you choose where to go that will support this solitary, silent retreat?

Meditation is an ancient art form, a unique and creative method for self-expression developed thousands of years ago. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, “Meditation is a mind and body practice that has a long history of use for increasing calmness and physical relaxation, improving psychological balance, coping with illness, and enhancing overall health and well-being.”

While becoming increasingly popular in the west as a method for stress relief, the original understanding of the purpose of meditation was expansive, beyond belief actually, to our modern way of thinking. These ancient goals include reaching total enlightenment, a state of being that literally reaches beyond death. Can you imagine that? A state of being that is beyond other suffering, too, such as sickness and aging? These ancient goals also include being able to help all others reach a state of total happiness. Meditation is not about just being stress-free while you and everyone you know are still getting sick, getting old (if you’re lucky), and then dying.

So it is in ancient scriptures that every detail for a successful meditation practice is revealed. And silent meditation retreats are a vital part of your success, which you need to know to not only reach your current meditation goals, but explore the potential beyond. We look now into a sutra called the Prayer of Samantabhadra from where all teachings on how to prepare for meditation are based. Taught by Lord Buddha, we are also using Je Tsongkapa’s (1357-1419) commentary from the Lam Rim Chen Mo, Steps on the Path to Enlightenment.

And we learn that there are five parts to preparing for a meditation retreat:

1. How to prepare for meditation.
2. The six conditions for an ideal meditation environment.
3. The correct posture for meditation.
4. The actual mental process during meditation.
5. The object of meditation: what we meditate on.

This article will focus on part 2, the six conditions you need for your silent retreat. For his explanation of the first of these, Je Tsongkapa uses the Ornament of the Sutras (Sutralamkara in Sanskrit, or dode gyen in Tibetan), by Master Asanga, dated to about 350 AD. As his source for all six, he is using The Stages of Meditation (gomrim in Tibetan), written by Master Kamalashila around 750 AD. And an important source for the teaching on few wants and easy satisfaction, Je Tsongkapa is using the Treasure House of Higher Knowledge (Abhidharmakosha in Sanskrit), by Master Vasubandhu, written around 350 AD.

What is the the first important consideration of how to select a perfect retreat center?

1. Stay in a place which is conducive to meditation, tunpay yul (Tibetan)
   This seems obvious enough.
   a) It should be a retreat center where things are & easy to find,& in the sense that you have all necessities without any trouble. Everything you need to be comfortable physically should be there: enough clothing, good shelter, meditation and yoga equipment, and ideally, food is prepared for you.
   b) It should be a & good place, & in the sense that there are no fearful creatures such as wild animals or the like, nor any fearful people like enemies who would try to harm you. It should be a safe place.
   c) It should have a & good environment, & in the sense that it is not too hot or too cold and doesn’t cause any kinds of sickness to develop in you.
   d) There should be & good friends & there, in the sense that your companions in the retreat center share your sense of morality, and your world view. You will also want experienced practitioners in silent meditation retreats to be close at hand, to advise you on the finer details about how to have a successful meditation retreat.
   e) The retreat center should & have goodness,& meaning that during the day, there are not many people around and during the night, it is quiet (sound is the worst distraction). Solitude and quietude should drive you into your mind, the last frontier.
2. Live simply; you don’t need many things, dupa chungwa (Tibetan)
   The second condition is that you keep your wants few; you have no great attachment to things like fine clothes, or a lot of things. You have an attitude that you don’t need much to be satisfied.
3. Be satisfied with the things you have, chok shepa (Tibetan)
   The third condition is that you are easily satisfied; you always feel like you have enough, even if all you have are clothes or the like that are the worst. This and the prior point are very important. Once you go into your silent retreat, let go of everything and be satisfied. Don’t think you need something more or different to have a good retreat.
4. Give up being too busy, ja ma pong (Tibetan)
   The fourth condition is that you give up trying to do too many things. You give up actions like business; you avoid being too familiar with others; you stop practicing the normal distractions such as watching movies. Do only the minimum amount of activities as are necessary for your self-care. The retreat center should take care of your phone.
5. Maintain a very ethical way of life, tsultrim dakpa (Tibetan)
   The fifth condition is that your morality is perfectly pure. With regard to your vows of individual freedom and your bodhisattva vows, never break down the foundation of your training: the things you have been taught that are naturally wrong to do, and those that the Buddha has prohibited. If you do commit such deeds, you are quick to regret them, and you try to make up in the proper way. This will keep your mind clear and available for meditation. Bottom line: avoid harming (inflicting physical or mental suffering on) any being.
6. Get rid of sense desires and desire for worldly pleasures, namtok pang (Tibetan)
   This is about the things your senses are attracted to. The sixth condition is that you totally rid yourself of thoughts of desire and the rest. You can meditate on the problems of desire in this life—how it can bring you to death and to bondage. You can meditate on the problems it brings you in the life after—a birth in the realms of misery or the like. Or else meditate on how each and every one of these pretty things in the suffering cycle of life is going to end; how quickly it disappears; how surely it will be torn from me before very long.

Now, how in the world can you find a retreat center that will provide you with all this silent retreat support?

Diamond Mountain is a unique meditation center in remote southeast Arizona that was built for just this purpose. It was designed for meditation retreats and is operated while backed by these instructions and others that date back several millenia.

Two hours east of Tucson, Arizona you’ll find over 1,000 acres of quiet, remote and beautiful landscape. Isolated, eco-friendly cottages were built by long-term meditation retreaters of past, and were designed with meditation-based priorities. There are passionate retreaters and
students of the Tibetan Gelugpa lineage on-site who can help you access all the information your heart could desire regarding why and how to do long retreats yourself, just as was instructed by ancient and other successful meditators.

Diamond Mountain Retreat Center staff can offer decades of experience and access to hundreds of thousands of ancient scriptures handed down meticulously and ready to pull from the shelves to answer your every question.

And with scripture-based support, you can jump into the exploration of that final frontier with perfect confidence. While you’re in silent meditation, your needs are being cared for with the utmost of attention, backed by scriptural authority.

The goal at this Arizona retreat center is to service your every meditation need while doing your silent retreat. Your enlightenment, and the enlightenment of all beings, is the business of Diamond Mountain Retreat Center.

The post The Best Place for your Silent Retreat appeared first on Diamond Mountain Retreat Center.

The practice of meditation is thought to have originated in India over 5,000 years ago and since then has spread all around the world. The word “meditation” comes from two Latin words meaning “to ponder.” People practice this ancient art of self-reflection in many different ways including sitting quietly and focusing on one’s breath as it goes in and out of your body, practicing yoga postures or even using mantras. Although there are many types of meditation, they all involve some kind of concentration on either an object like a candle flame or an idea such as love for another person. If you want to learn more about this from trained meditators seek out a spiritual retreat center for instruction.

Meditation helps your memory and focus

Meditation can help you focus on the present and be more in tune with your surroundings, which can help improve your memory. Studies show that people who meditate regularly have better memories than those who don’t. Meditation helps you be more mindful of what’s happening around you, which means that when someone says something or asks a question, you’re able to pay attention and process it quicker. This also makes it easier for you to remember what happened during conversations so that if someone mentions an important detail later on (like where they last saw their keys), then it will come back to them quickly rather than having trouble recalling details from earlier conversations.
Meditation also helps people become more aware of their bodies—from how their feet feel on the floor as they walk or sit cross-legged in meditation, to noticing subtle changes in muscle tension throughout the day as they go about their daily routine—which improves our ability to notice changes before they become serious problems down the road.
Plus, it will help you focus on the present moment which can lead to better focus overall. One of the best ways to start meditating is by focusing on breathing techniques that keep your attention in the here and now. As soon as any thought enters your mind, gently bring yourself back to focusing on your breath until you regain control over the distraction. This helps clear away all notions of time – present or past – so that only what is happening right now matters in terms of where your attention lies at any given moment during meditation sessions

Meditation can reduce stress, pain and anxiety

Meditation has been shown to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and boost the immune system. Being more mindful can also help you relax and focus your mind. Meditation can help you:

• Reduce stress levels: This helps to reduce inflammatory responses that can contribute to pain. For example, mindfulness practice has been shown to help people with rheumatoid arthritis decrease their pain and improve their quality of life by reducing stress levels.
• Manage pain and anxiety: A better ability to focus on the present moment means less time spent worrying about what happened yesterday or planning for tomorrow’s worries, which helps stop the cycle of negative thoughts that can keep us in a perpetual state of anxiety or depression.

Meditation Improves Energy Levels and Sleep

If you’re looking for a way to increase energy levels, meditation may be just what you need. Mindfulness can help you relax, reduce stress and feel more energized.
According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, meditation is effective for improving the quality and duration of sleep. Meditation can help you relax by lowering their blood pressure and heart rate, relieving tension, reducing muscle tension and releasing muscle tightness. It also encourages a general feeling of well-being which may contribute to relaxation during practice.
By practicing mindfulness techniques such as observing thoughts without judging them or analyzing them we will be able to change our habitual response to situations that cause anxiety or worry into one that reduces these feelings. In other words it teaches us how not to react in an automatic way but instead respond more appropriately so we don’t get caught up in cycles of negative thinking which often lead ourselves down rabbit holes where everything seems hopeless!

Mediation Helps to Increase Happiness. Give it a try!

Overall, these benefits collectively help you to reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions.

• Examples of negative emotions that meditation can help you to reduce: Stress, anxiety, and depression.
• Examples of positive emotions that meditation can help you to increase: Joy, happiness, and love.

So, how much time are you willing to commit? If you have a busy schedule and can only find five minutes a day, that’s great. If you want to meditate for an hour or more each day, that works too. One of the best ways is to seek out a retreat center, ideally in a remote place like Southern Arizona. You just need to do what works best for your lifestyle.
Meditation has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety as well as increase energy levels and improve sleep quality. It helps us become more mindful of our thoughts and feelings by allowing us some quiet time away from the busyness of life to reflect on what we are grateful for or what needs improvement in our lives. Meditation also helps us be more positive because it teaches us how not let negative thoughts pull us down emotionally.
So there you have it! We’ve covered all the benefits of meditation in this post, and hopefully you are now convinced to give it a try. For guidance on getting started or getting better at practicing meditation and mindfulness, visit Diamond Mountain Retreat Center in Southern Arizona where you can retreat to improve this spiritual practice.

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For some, these issues come and go. For others, however, especially those with previous injuries, back pain can be a debilitating problem during a retreat. It’s very hard to meditate when all you can focus on is the pain in your spine!

Fortunately, back pain doesn’t have to be the end of your spiritual career. In this article, let’s take a closer look at how you can protect your back during a meditation retreat, relieve your pain and prevent future problems.

Position yourself for success

Posture has a huge effect on how well your back weathers a retreat. Granted, even if you have perfect posture, there’s no guarantee you’ll never have back pain during meditation. But if you’re stiff, slumping or sitting unevenly, you’ll be very lucky not to have some problems after a few days. So what makes a good posture for meditation?

• Most importantly, the back should be straight and upright, maintaining the natural curves of the spine.
• You should sit equally balanced over both sitting bones.
• The knees should be lower than the hips, allowing the lower back to balance without strain.
• The chest should be open, with the shoulders relaxed back and down.
• The head should be neutral with the chin parallel to the floor.

In general, it’s a feeling that your buttocks are anchored to the floor while a string at the top of your head is gently pulling you towards the sky.

Bad posture: back is rounded, shoulders slump forward, head falling down and knees too high.

Another bad posture: leaning forward, the shoulders are sinking down and the neck arching back.

Correct, balanced meditation posture. Notice that the hips are higher than the knees, the head is level and the back is aligned.

You may find it useful to use one of the classical positions for meditation. These four are the most common:

Sukhasana: The “easy pose,” also known as just sitting cross-legged. It’s the simplest way to sit on the ground, but after a while it can lead to slumping and put stress on the lower back. Sitting on a cushion will help keep healthy alignment. You can also support the knees with cushions if they don’t rest on the floor.

Sukhasana: The “easy pose,” also known as just sitting cross-legged. It’s the simplest way to sit on the ground, but after a while it can lead to slumping and put stress on the lower back. Sitting on a cushion will help keep healthy alignment. You can also support the knees with cushions if they don’t rest on the floor. Sukhasana, or sitting cross-legged, is easy and comfortable for many people.

Siddhasana: The “pose of perfection,” siddhasana is perhaps the most stable pose for long meditations. First bring the left heel to touch the perineum, so you’re almost sitting on the heel with the leg folded. Then tuck your right toes into the crease between the thigh and calf of the left leg. The right heel rests against the pubic bone. It takes a bit more flexibility to get into siddhasana, but if you can sit comfortably like this, you’ll find it provides a very stable base and ‘locks’ your lower back into a natural upright position. Siddhasana, a classical meditation posture, is stable to maintain for a long time.

Vajrasana: For the “thunderbolt pose,” come from kneeling to sit with your buttocks on your heels. The heels should be brought out slightly to create a bowl for the buttocks. Hands rest folded on your lap. You might want to put a cushion under them so your shoulders can stay upright. This pose is very balanced but it’s hard on the knees if maintained for a long time.

There are many modifications you can make with cushions to take the pressure off. Most simply, either place a small cushion between your heels and buttocks, or pile a few small cushions between your legs to sit on.

Vajrasana is a stable and upright meditation posture that easily maintains the natural curves of the spine.

Virasana: The “hero’s pose” is complicated to describe but pretty simple to perform, and it’s very friendly to the back. To do it on the left side, first bend the right leg so the knee is directly in front of you and the heel is touching the left buttock. Then cross the left leg over the right so that the knees are on top of each other and the left foot is touching the ground, towards the right buttock. You can also sit with the right leg on top, whichever is more comfortable for you. If this is your main meditation posture, you can sit mostly on the side that’s most comfortable, but be sure to sit sometimes on the opposite side so you don’t create an imbalance. A cushion under the buttocks makes it much easier to sit in virasana for extended periods.

These last two – vajrasana and virasana – give the most support and alignment to a sensitive back. They are also the two poses that will not aggravate sciatica, and might help relieve it.

A final note on posture: When you go deep in meditation, the muscles relax and you might gradually start slumping or leaning off to one side. Perfect posture isn’t the goal of meditation, so don’t get stuck on it, but you have to make sure you’re not hurting yourself without realizing it. It helps to check in with your body every so often. If your posture has really degenerated, correct it very slowly and with awareness of every movement.

Virasana is a seated meditation posture that supports the lower back and can relieve sciatica.

Use props to support your meditation posture

During a retreat, use all the props and tools that are available to you. Don’t get stuck on the image of a perfect yogi sitting effortlessly on bare ground: it doesn’t matter what it looks like but what it feels like!

Cushions are the most basic tool to support your posture. If possible, take a few more than you think you’ll need so you can experiment throughout the retreat. As I mentioned earlier, in most sitting poses it’s important to have a cushion under the buttocks. Lifting the hips keeps the lower back from rounding backwards and helps you maintain a healthy position without strain.

The trick with cushions is that they should slant forwards.

Otherwise, your hips are still basically on a flat surface, not much better than the ground. Some meditation cushions, especially the “half moon” shaped ones, are designed to tilt your hips in this way. If you only have flat ones, position yourself so your sitting bones are right on the edge of the cushion. You’ll feel how your pelvis tips slightly forward. This puts your hips and lumbar spine in the healthiest, most stable position. In general, sitting higher will allow your back to be more relaxed (and take some strain off of your knees). So don’t skimp on the cushions!

Another excellent prop to keep your back safe is the meditation bench. This is a small, tilted bench that you can sit on as if in vajrasana but with your hips comfortably supported above the floor. Add cushions to make the seat as high as you need. You can buy a meditation bench online or, if you’re a bit handy, make one yourself.

Finally, the most effective and underappreciated meditation prop for people with back problems: the chair. Many people have a lot of resistance or shame about meditating in chairs. There’s absolutely no reason for this! Again, what’s important is not what you look like while meditating but what’s happening on the inside. Using a chair doesn’t make you any less spiritual.

On the contrary, feeling more comfortable means you can focus on your meditation, and you can keep your body more pain-free in the long run. Sitting in a chair, or alternating between a chair and the floor, is a great way to rest your back. It also gives your hips and knees a break. There are a few points to consider for an ergonomically correct meditation position in a chair:

1. Firm base. Make sure the seat of your chair is firm and solid, and don’t try to pad it with a lot of blankets. A soft seat won’t give your back the support it needs.
2. Correct height. With your feet placed flat on the floor, your knees should be at a 90-degree angle with thighs parallel to the ground. If the seat is too low, lift yourself by sitting on a cushion. If it’s too high, lift the ground by placing a cushion under your feet.
3. Tilt pelvis. Just like when sitting on the ground, your pelvis should be tilted slightly forward. You can do this by sitting on the edge of a low cushion.
4. Sit upright. Avoid the temptation to lean back against the chair. An upright posture is still important here. If you need extra support, you can sit a few inches from the back of the chair, and place a thick cushion between your sacral area and the chair back.
5. Hands elevated. When the hands rest directly in the lap, it often drags the shoulders forward and down, making a slump in the upper back. Instead, keep them on a cushion so your elbows are at closer to a 90-degree angle.

Often people get held back in meditation simply because their body is uncomfortable. You might not even realize that this is what’s causing pressure and agitation while you meditate. So if you’ve been struggling for a while with sitting on the floor, definitely give the chair a shot! It might jumpstart the quality of your meditation on the spot.

Prepare your body for meditation

So now you’re all set up for a back-friendly meditation, but what can you do off the cushion to prepare your body for pain-free sitting? Your body is probably not used to being totally still for so many hours every day, and this alone can cause stress. Walk as much as you can during breaks (you can even practice walking meditation!). Try to let your body relax and move naturally. Stretching is a very good idea before meditation. You can do some simple warm-up’s or a few minutes of yoga.

Hatha yoga is a very important element, both for preparing your body for meditation and keeping your back healthy in the long run.

I strongly recommend doing yoga every day during a meditation retreat. Outside of your full practice, do a few asanas for the back before any long meditation session. Taking the spine through its full range of motion helps maintain the health of the intervertebral discs, encourages flexibility and blood circulation, and prevents calcification of the vertebrae.

Any movement is better than no movement, but some asanas are particularly valuable:

• Backbends. Back-bending, chest-opening poses like bhujangasana, ardhachandrasana, ushtrasana or setubandhasana counteract the normal tendency of the back to round forward over long hours of sitting. Practiced gently, they prevent and relieve back pain. (But really, be gentle! Never push yourself in these poses. If your problems are in the lower back, ask a yoga teacher for modifications.)
• Cat pose. Marjaryasana (“cat pose” or “cat-cow”) alternates between arching and rounding the back. It’s a great way to loosen the back, release tensions and restore the natural curves of the spine.
• Twists. Twisting poses, especially ardha matsyendrasana, work wonders on the spine. Just be sure to stretch tall through the back before going into any twist.
• Hip-openers. More flexible hips will allow you to maintain a better seated posture. Bhadrasana (“butterfly pose”) is a simple and very effective asana for helping you sit more easily, taking stress off of your back.

Cat pose, performed by arching and rounding the back, improves flexibility of the spine and works out any tension.

Cat pose, rounding stage. Breathe out in this position and inhale when arching.

Other recommended yoga poses for a healthier back

Ardhachandrasana – elongates the spine and reverses the effects of slumping. Enter this asana by first stretching up and then leaning backwards, so you are lengthening the spine more than bending it. The hips push forward. You can tighten your buttocks to protect the lower back or place your hands on your lumbar area for support. It’s a demanding asana to hold for long, so practice it in a few rounds. If you feel dizzy, open your eyes and come out immediately.

Setubandhasana -(bridge pose) restores the natural curves of the spine. This asana is great for restoring the spine to its most natural alignment. Over time, it can even correct scoliosis. Feel that the hips are pushing towards the sky and the chest comes toward the chin. The knees should be at a 90-degree angle. If your arms are not long enough to grab your heels while maintaining this, you can just touch them or leave them palms down on the floor.

Bhujangasana (cobra pose) – opens the chest, makes the spine more flexible and can relieve back pain. When entering this asana, emphasize that you’re stretching the spine longer rather than pushing upwards, to avoid crunching the lower back. Only go up as much as is comfortable. For a restorative modification, practice sphynx pose instead (with forearms resting on the floor).

 Ardha matsyendrasana (the “Lord of the fishes” pose or seated spinal twist) – releases tension in the lower back and prevents calcification of the lumbar vertebrae. This is one of the most healing asanas in yoga and very effective for preserving the mobility of the lumbar spine. Practice it after backbends to release any tension and restore the spine to its normal alignment. Perform it first to the left (twisting clockwise), then to the right (twisting counterclockwise, as shown). Always inhale and stretch up through the spine before going in or out of a twist.

Badrasana – opens the hips, making it easier to sit for long sessions without putting stress on the back. Sit on the edge of a cushion to tilt your hips at the right angle. In this asana, be careful that the back stays straight and upright, with the shoulders back and chest open. It’s a very comfortable and beneficial asana to hold for a long time. For this, you might place cushions under your knees to support them if they don’t touch the ground.

Going to the root of back pain – holistic approach for reducing back pain.

Yoga can also address the cause of back pain at a deeper level. A lot of back problems are related to an imbalance in muscle development throughout the body. The human body works as a holistic integrated system, where motion (or stillness) is created by the balanced action of opposing parts. When you move any part of your body, one set of muscles contracts and the other releases. It’s easy to understand that if one side of a muscle pair is much more developed than the other, it will apply force unequally and pull the bones out of alignment.

For example, if you work a lot to strengthen your core abdominal muscles but neglect your back muscles, the front of your body will become tight and exert more pressure. The back won’t have the power to support itself. Hence, back pain.

Yoga can either correct an imbalance or, if practiced carelessly, make it worse.

It’s important here to take a careful look at your yoga practice, or seek guidance from a teacher, to see if you’re over-emphasizing one part of your body at the expense of another.

You might feel that one side or the other is naturally stronger than the other, and you’ll have to modify your practice to compensate for it. In general, be sure to include asanas that strengthen and stretch both front and back. (Poses that increase strength do it by contracting those muscles, so you’ll need to stretch that side also to balance it out.) Asanas with two sides (like trikonasana or garudasana) must be practiced equally on the left and right.

A balance of backbends and forward bends helps maintain back health. However, don’t go straight from an extreme backbend to a deep forward bend (or vice versa) without a neutral resting pose in between.

Finally, always warm up before doing backbends! Overzealous backbends are a common cause of problems even in those with healthy backs. Start with mild flexion and go deeper only as is comfortable, focusing on elongating the spine as it bends.

Does your back pain come from your emotions?

Sometimes, the key to handling back pain is actually what happens in the mind. All too often, we take pain as something to fight against. We try to suppress it, ignore it or push through it. Afraid to show weakness, we feel ashamed if we can’t hide it.

In reality, pain is simply a way that the body communicates with us. After all, usually we only notice a body part when it starts causing problems! Pain is the body trying to tell us that something isn’t right, that something needs attention. This is a very positive thing.

We all want our bodies to work well for us. For this to happen, we need to honor the body, to respect its limits and give it the care it needs. Never try to push through pain. A little discomfort is one thing, but if your body is really hurting, change what you’re doing.

Sit in a chair, do whatever stretches are helpful and change meditation positions often. Be sensitive and attentive to what your body needs. In short, learn to direct awareness, compassion and skillful action towards yourself, as part of your spiritual practice.

You don’t need to feel guilty about having pain. Instead, listen to what your body is telling you. Do you have an old injury that needs more care? Do you need to exercise more or change the way you’re exercising? Do you have a repressed emotional issue that’s creating a physical problem? Pain in the lower back in particular is often associated with suppressed emotional pain.

Of course, not all back pain is psychosomatic. Injuries, sciatica, strain and degenerative conditions certainly account for many cases. However, current research shows a close connection between back pain and stress, anxiety and other mental factors – even in cases where nothing can be found physically wrong with the back. This is a huge topic so I won’t go into the details here, but essentially, when intense emotions like stress, anger or fear are suppressed, the brain redirects these impulses to form a contraction in another part of the body. The pain becomes a sort of lid over the emotions you don’t want to feel.

The good news is that if your back pain actually started in your mind, a meditation retreat is the best thing you can do for it! Meditation, especially in a strong process like a retreat, allows you to bring loving awareness to your subconscious patterns. It brings detachment, so you can experience those suppressed emotions and allow their energy to dissipate without overwhelming you.

Conclusion

Back pain during a meditation retreat is something that almost all of us will experience sooner or later. For those who have severe pain that regularly interferes with their practice, take hope that there are many possible solutions. Changing your meditation posture, using more props and a rehabilitating yoga practice might make your next retreat much more comfortable.

Also keep in mind that many retreat centers, including Diamond Mountain, will have a professional masseuse on hand to help with any issues that flare up during a retreat. The bottom line is that back health is vitally important for everyone. Whether you need healing now or you’re just concerned to prevent future problems, take care and be attentive to it.

This way, meditation and yoga can be a joy to you for the rest of your life.

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