Retreats
Event
The Spirit Rock Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training Program is an intensive 18-month program for yoga teachers and experienced practitioners that offers an embodied integration of yogic and Buddhist teachings and practice, led by nationally renowned teachers in both traditions. For testimonials from previous graduates of this program, click here. The program consists of three 10-day retreats (and a between-retreat curriculum) that weave together into one seamless practice yoga asana and pranayama, insight meditation, the wisdom teachings of the Buddha, and the wisdom teachings of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra and other classic texts from the yoga tradition.
The core of the training is the cultivation of mindfulness, the capacity to meet life moment to moment with open-hearted presence. In the deep inner and outer silence of the retreat environment, participants cultivate an integrated body-mind practice that encourages awakening on every level of being, including the physical, energetic, emotional, and interpersonal dimensions.
Asana (postures) and pranayama (breath and energy work) open, ground, and enliven the body, mind, and heart - thereby both supporting and expressing the more subtle meditative limbs of yogic practice. The yoga poses are also used as a powerful vehicle for training in - and embodying - core dharma principles, such as compassion, joy and lovingkindness.
Flowing between movement and stillness, this unified practice gently unwinds the contractions that can block embodied presence, while cultivating access to the spacious and kind awareness that is our true nature.
MYMT II offers a solid, non-dogmatic understanding of the entwined history, philosophy, and techniques of both yoga and Buddhism. Participants leave with the skills and understanding necessary to practice and teach yoga in a way that supports mindfulness, compassion, and an understanding of core Buddhist principles such as impermanence and the interdependence of all life.
Please note that this is not in itself a comprehensive yoga teacher certification program. Rather, it is a training in Buddhist mindfulness and Insight Meditation - and the integration of these practices with classical yoga practice - for people who are already yoga teachers or experienced students. Each retreat combines vipassana meditation, asana, pranayama, private interviews with both yoga and vipassana teachers, dharma and yoga talks, interactive workshops and discussions, and explorations of the interface between yogic and Buddhist philosophies and practices. A good portion of the retreats will be spent in silence, following a full schedule of seated and walking meditation. The daily schedule will also include approximately 2.5 - 3 hours of yoga asana and pranayama.
Between retreats, the curriculum will consist of a commitment to a daily practice of sitting and yoga; regular homework assignments in both the Buddhist and yogic traditions, which include readings, recorded dharma talks, practices, and suggestions for journaling and reflection; regular discussions on dharma and yoga practice with a fellow program participant; and regular teleconferences with program faculty. Upon completion of the program, all participants will receive a certificate of completion from Spirit Rock.
When we develop our capacity for skillful living, we discover that it is possible to feel a sense of well-being in daily life regardless of whether life is pleasant or difficult. In his new book Emotional Chaos to Clarity: How to Live More Skillfully, Make Better Decisions, and Find Purpose in Life, Phillip Moffitt maps out the journey from being caught in the contraction and turmoil of emotional reactivity to the openness and clarity of living with a responsive mind. In this weekend retreat based on the book, Phillip will guide you through specific Buddhist teachings and practices that can help you develop a set of life skills that can profoundly improve your ability to respond to any difficult life situation. Abiding in the vantage point of a responsive mind creates the possibility to experience and appreciate the joy and peace that are always already here.
The retreat will include sitting and walking meditation, dharma talks, small group discussions, and participatory exercises. This exploration of Buddhist teachings and practices can help you develop a set of life skills – such as setting priorities and identifying core values and intentions - that can profoundly improve your ability to respond to any difficult life situation and help you discover a renewed enthusiasm for life.
Prerequiste: Completion of at least one 3-night silent Vipassana retreat.
This is a seven-night Vipassana retreat emphasizing body and energy awareness. In the systematic teaching of Vipassana meditation, it is mindfulness of the body in stillness and movement that are taught first. Thus, mindfulness of the body becomes the ground for understanding emotions and mind states as they arise in practice whether they are pleasant or difficult. Moreover, for many meditation students practicing mindfulness of the body arouses various kinds of bodily energetic experiences that can be confusing, alarming or enticing.
This silent retreat will offer teachings and a time for discussion of such energetic experiences. Many subtle understandings in regard to stillness and movement will be explored. The primary focus of the retreat is to help you learn how to utilize body awareness more skillfully in your meditation and in daily life. A number of different movement practices may be offered during the retreat.
With JoAnna Hardy, Erin Treat, Alex Haley, Leslie Booker (trainee), Solwazi Johnson (trainee)
Do you lack clarity about your life’s direction? Do you feel that you’re unable to cope with difficulty when it arises? Does emotional chaos get in the way of making good decisions and acting wisely? If so, you’re not alone. Most people have one or more areas of their lives that are impacted by the emotional chaos of reactive mind.
You don’t have to be caught in emotional chaos. Imagine feeling a sense of ease and well-being each day of your life regardless of whether life is pleasant or difficult. This is possible when we learn to apply mindfulness and intention to our daily experience. Through cultivating responsive mind, we free ourselves from the turmoil that emotional chaos causes.
In this weekend workshop based on his new book Emotional Chaos to Clarity, Phillip Moffitt will guide you through a process of personal inquiry to identify where emotional chaos is adversely affecting your life. Then, through teachings, small group discussions, and participatory exercises, he will introduce you to a set of life skills – such as setting priorities and making wise decisions - that can profoundly improve your ability to respond to any difficult life situation and help you discover a renewed enthusiasm for life.
Through an exploration of the components of skillful living, this workshop will help you discover how to:
-Know and act from your core values at all times
-Gain wisdom from both pleasant and unpleasant experiences
-Discern between thoughts, words, and actions that cause harm and those that do not, and act accordingly
-Know your true nature, the “essence” of your character
-Have an inner life in which love can flourish even if your outer life is filled with challenges
-Free yourself from believing your views and opinions or the story of your past and instead, have a “don’t know” mind
This unique 8-day vipassana retreat will be held in noble silence and offer sitting and walking meditation, and mindful movement instruction. The movement classes will emphasize bringing attention to the inner experience of the body in order to strengthen the concentration in the sitting and walking practices. This retreat will emphasize both the wisdom practices and the compassion practices in order to achieve a healing balance in mind, body, and heart.
Phillip will be co-leading this retreat with Adrianne Ross, M.D. Adrianne has been involved with meditation and healing since 1978. Her teaching is influenced by Burmese and Thai streams of Theravada, as well as Dzogchen. She leads retreats in Canada and the U.S. and teaches MIndfulness Based Stress Reduction to people with chronic pain and illness.
Do you sometimes feel that you're unable to cope with difficulty when it arises? Does emotional chaos get in the way of making good decisions and acting wisely? If so, you're not alone. Most people have one or more areas of their lives that are impacted by the emotional chaos of reactive mind. Imagine feeling a sense of well-being every day regardless of whether life is pleasant or difficult. This is possible when we learn to apply mindfulness and intention to our daily experience. Through cultivating responsive mind, we free ourselves from the turmoil that emotional chaos causes.
In this retreat based on his book Emotional Chaos to Clarity, Moffitt will lead an exploration of Buddhist teachings and practices that can help you develop a set of life skills, such as setting priorities and identifying core values, that can profoundly improve your ability to respond to any difficult life situation.
Join Phillip Moffitt for a weekend of self-inquiry, assessment, and life visioning. Your 30s and 40s are a transitional time in life. For most people, these decades are a time to make unique choices about how you want your life to be, and to find and step into your power. Yet these years can be fraught with questions, concerns, and fears. How do I know what will make me happy? What is meaningful? How can I be more authentic? Who am I, anyway . . . and how do I make big decisions? This workshop offers tools, practices, and principles that can help you answer these questions.
The program will explore topics including intimacy, self-esteem, fulfillment in work, money, doubts and insecurities, and life balance. Each day there will be teachings, small group discussions, personal inquiry, and participatory exercises. You’ll have the opportunity to assess the issues in your life, develop options, and create a plan for making decisions. Each day there will be a movement practice and a meditation experience. The workshop will emphasize making wise choices through clarification of your values. Written assignments will allow you to get clearer on where you are presently in life and also create a vision for yourself. This retreat will specifically focus on looking within versus dwelling on external circumstances. Expect a weekend of self-exploration, self-inquiry, and ultimately, self-knowing for people in their 30s and 40s.
When we develop our capacity for skillful living, we discover that it is possible to feel a sense of well-being in daily life regardless of whether life is pleasant or difficult. Phillip Moffitt maps out the journey from being caught in the contraction and turmoil of emotional reactivity to the openness and clarity of living with a responsive mind. In this retreat, Phillip will guide you through specific Buddhist teachings and practices that can help you develop a set of life skills, such as setting priorities and identifying core values, that can profoundly improve your ability to respond to any difficult life situation and help you discover a renewed enthusiasm for life. Abiding in the vantage point of a responsive mind creates the possibility to experience and appreciate the joy and peace that are always already here. The retreat will include sitting and walking meditation, dharma talks, and time for questions and answers.
The Buddha’s Satipatthana teaching of the four foundations of mindfulness begins with mindfulness of the body. One of the key instructions is to be mindful of the four elements – earth, water, fire, and wind. In other suttas, he includes space and consciousness in his list of elements.
In this three-day retreat, we will explore how to deepen our practice by focusing on each of these elements. Our specific focus will be on recognizing on how each element manifests as stillness and movement. Included in our inquiry will be the subtle understandings of emotions and mind states that are revealed through such practice.
This retreat is open to students of all levels of practice.
Concentration (samadhi) defined as the collection and unification of the mind, was emphasized by the Buddha as one of the aspects of the Eightfold Path. It can bring joy to your practice and develop the skillful use of pleasure in the meditative process. Whatever your level of practice, you can improve your Insight Meditation (Vipassana) by strengthening your concentration skills. Your ability to concentrate will develop in response to the attention you give it.
This retreat offers a series of techniques for staying on the meditation object for extended periods of time. We will explore the factors of concentration that lead to the deep absorption states known as jhana. Teachers will also give instruction for utilizing concentration during insight practice.
Prerequisite: Prior experience in insight meditation practice, including at least one 7-day retreat or two 5-day retreats.
