Dates: Monday, September 16, 3:00pm – Sunday, September 22, 11:30am; 6 nights
Sliding Scale: $1600 – $700, PLUS a donation to the teacher(s) and retreat staff. Code 286R19.
15 CE credits available for $150, for psychologists and California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors.

This retreat is now now in progress.

Retreat Description:
This retreat is suitable for both beginning and experienced meditators. We will work primarily with the first of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, mindfulness of the body. The “32 Parts of the Body” meditation has rarely been taught in the West; you will be introduced to it from an Insight perspective of the true nature and wonders of the body. This practice has also been used for healing illness and most importantly to help eradicate the erroneous view of self. Various methods will be taught to strengthen mindfulness of the body and to explore the mind/body connection.

We will follow the usual format of an Insight Meditation (Vipassana) retreat, with periods of sitting and walking meditation, as well as qigong sessions for further exploration of mindfulness of the body.

Quotes from past participants:
“This retreat helped me realize more deeply the true impermanence of my body while cultivating a deep appreciation and gratitude for the miracle and mystery that this human body represents.”

“I really came to realize that my body, indeed, is a vessel in the truest sense of the word. I have always had great respect and awe for the workings of the human anatomy and physiology, but meditating on its parts and functions brought me even closer to the wonder of it all.”

Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the general public. Health care professionals will be able to incorporate the tools and practices offered in this program in ways beneficial to clients or patients. Continuing Education (CE) credit available. See below for attendance requirements and more information.

Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
Based on the content of this program, you will be able to:

• Describe the relationship between a health care professional’s mindfulness practice and improved clinical outcome;
• List at leases 4 benefits of mindfulness meditation that are useful in health care;
• Describe to clients the positive effects of deepening one’s quality of concentration in connection to reduced stress and improved well-being;
• Describe to clients ways to identify and ease mental and physical compulsions by developing kind, open, and non-judging attention;
• Incorporate practices with clients to identify and establish a greater balance of compassion for oneself and others;
• Incorporate skills to work more effectively with stress, and be able to share these skills with clients;
• Utilize non-judgmental, moment to moment awareness of the relationship between the body and mind, in ways that may be shared with clients;
• Incorporate mindfulness meditation skills with clients to improve their sense of well-being and personal life control;
• Incorporate mindfulness of breath practices to develop present moment awareness, and to calm the mind in preparation for, and when working with clients;
• Utilize a variety of qigong movements in preparation for clients or patients in ways that may reduce stress and improve patient care.

Continuing Education content level: Introductory

Financial assistance is available for all Spirit Rock residential retreats. Our scholarship rate is $40/night and available for all those with financial hardship with special funds allocated to People of Color (POC), folks with serious medical conditions, and young adults (age 18-26). Scholarship funding is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Scholarships are budgeted per retreat and because they are in high demand, can run out quickly. We encourage you to register for a retreat as close as possible to the registration opening date (lotteries are an exception).