While I haven't ever been on a several-day retreat, I meditate periodically, and the most fitting way I've heard it described is this: "You spend so much time

While I haven't ever been on a several-day retreat, I meditate periodically, and the most fitting way I've heard it described is this: "You spend so much time trying to think that it's like clenching your fist all the time, and you've been doing it so long that your wrist is shaking and your knuckles are white and your arm is cramped and you don't even notice. You need to just stop, shake it out, and let it relax." I don't know whether doing a big blowout extreme retreat thing is worth it or not (I'm a bit wary of them being cult-ish), but meditating now and then really helps. It's a small and mundane-sounding thing, like flossing or getting enough sleep, but it adds up.