How a weekend mindfulness retreat can re-wire your brain
Precious retreat moments: time to slow down, breathe, connect.
“Every time we ponder a thought, act on an impulse, or dwell on a desire, we are setting in motion a cause that will have a future effect. Mindfulness enables us to choose wisely.”
Spending time on a meditation retreat is an increasingly popular way to develop focus and clarity whilst nurturing wellbeing. But did you know that the positive changes we can feel whilst, and after, being on retreat, are mirrored by positive structural changes in the brain? Lucia Cockcroft, mindfulness teacher and co-founder of Satvada retreats, explores more.
That lasting calm feeling
Have you ever been on a meditation or mindful yoga retreat and experienced a feeling of deep wellbeing - a wonderful sense of being present; of truly unwinding - that lasts long after you’ve come home?
Perhaps you have had a similar experience at the close of a mindful yoga class? The internal process is the same - yet the far longer time we have on retreat, combined with a calming natural setting and prolonged absence of digital distractions, means that your nervous system has so much more time to re-balance and carve new neural pathways.
It can be tricky to put into words, but somehow, post-retreat, we feel calmer and more connected; less reactive to external stressors; more alive. Everyday home or working life continues as usual, with its many demands - but something has changed.
It turns out this little something is our own internal wiring. It’s true: incredibly, being on retreat for as little as a few hours can change your brain.
How practice, and retreat life, re-wires our brain
During mindfulness and meditation practice, the prefrontal cortex, your brain’s policing and regulating area, starts to reclaim control over the part of your brain controlling instinct and survival - the amygdala.
Whilst the amygdala, or fear centre, is crucial for our survival, the stresses of modern life mean that it is often hyper-activated, whilst the prefrontal cortex responsible for decision-making and emotional regulation, shrinks. And with raised cortisol levels we are in a permanent state of fight or flight.
Mindfulness practice leads to the area of the prefrontal cortex expanding, giving us more control over our basic survival responses and to regulate our emotions. At the same time the insula, responsible for interoceptive awareness (sensing internal bodily sensations) becomes more active.
The structural changes don’t stop there: with a few days of intensive meditation practice on retreat, the area of the brain associated with rumination and self-orientated thinking, the posterior cingulate cortex, quietens. It’s this region, a key part of the default mode network, that can keep us stuck in exhausting loops of regret and worry.
It can be freeing and life-changing to feel these survival responses - that so often keep us in a cycle of difficulty and distress - begin to dampen and loosen their grip.
And with these shifts, you can begin to recognise the imprints of stress before it becomes too acute or overwhelming.
When we take ourselves off on retreat, internal changes begin as soon as we step into the nurturing new environment: by switching off phones and other noisy devises, the stream of digital stimulation is removed, allowing the nervous system to move from fight or flight (sympathetic) to parasympathetic (rest and digest).
Whilst it’s a shift that feels real and profound, it’s fascinating to know the changes are occurring on a neurological level as your stress response is rewired.
Neuroplasticity: your brain's superpower
Neuroplasticity is the brain's capacity to reorganize and form new neural connections in response to experience. A recent scientific discovery, we now know that the carving of these new pathways can occur indefinitely; the process does not stop at a certain age, as was previously thought.
This re-wiring process is more commonly cited in relation to eight-week mindfulness courses (such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, MBSR) whereby the brain experiences increased grey matter connected with learning, memory and emotional regulation.
But neuroscientists have also found that that intensive mindfulness practice can trigger measurable brain changes within days of sustained practice, lasting for weeks after the intensive practice period (such as on retreat) has ended.
How does it feel?
So how exactly does the internal shift manifest and impact our wellbeing?
Spending time on retreat invites a healing break from everyday distractions. As noise and clutter quietens, space is cleared for renewed clarity and purpose. We begin to see what is important.
Being immersed in a retreat environment promotes mind, body and nervous system regulation. When we feel moments of peace we can cope more effectively with life’s challenges.
With the invitation for rest and renewal we often sleep better on and after retreat, affecting our entire mind body responses. REM sleep, in particular, helps integrate emotional processing and memory formation.
Focused practice over just a few days can boost our energy levels and even reduce chronic pain.
Space for consolidation
While single meditation sessions can lead to us feeling calmer, sustained practice over a few days allows these states to begin to consolidate into traits. The brain needs this continuity to strengthen new neural pathways while allowing stress-related patterns to weaken.
Sometimes taking ourselves away on retreat can be perceived as an escape from life. But can we view this time as a neurological investment, as well as a way to deeply take care of ourselves?
Brain scans show that the structural changes initiated during intensive mindfulness practice continue developing for weeks afterwards, with participants reporting improved emotional regulation (with less reactivity), sounder sleep, and enhanced mental clarity.
By giving your brain the space and conditions it needs to reset and rewire, you are literally changing the organ through which you experience the world.
Taking it further:
Satvada retreats runs small group Guardian-recommended luxury mindfulness weekends at a spectacular venue in rural Norfolk. Complete beginners extremely welcome. Go here for more.
Short UK meditation, relaxation and mindfulness retreats