If you've been exploring meditation for a while, you've probably heard about retreats. During a retreat, a meditator will set aside their normal life/responsibilities/technology to commit to a monastery-style routine of simplicity and intensive practice (usually with trusted teachers, in a beautiful setting, for somewhere between 3 and 10 days). Consecutive days of consistent meditation in a serene environment like this can completely revolutionize the way a person experiences meditation—and life. Personally, attending a retreat was the thing that finally pushed me over the hump from being an on-and-off meditator to being a committed, daily practitioner.
If you've never sat longer than 30 minutes, jumping into a retreat can seem intimidating. Saturday, November 19th, get your feet wet with a half-day of retreat style practice! This is a terrific way to get a bite-sized taste of the flow of retreat—especially if you've never attended one before. We'll alternate periods of sitting and walking, with a little time for Q&A, and even a small amount of gentle relational mindfulness at the end. Don't worry—most meditations will only be 30 minutes. The longest will be 45. In this half-day session, you will...
- Dip out of your ordinary life and into the stillness of a retreat-like environment.
- Practice the basic tools in the Mindfulness-Based Emotional Intelligence toolkit.
- Experience the mounting benefits of calm, concentration, and connectedness that come with continuous practice.