What’s involved?

This retreat will place emphasis on the core intention of all mindfulness practice – to reduce suffering through recognising unhelpful habit patterns and perspectives and releasing tendencies to cling to them. We will draw on all three of the main underlying methodologies of mindfulness practice: stabilising, kindness, and insight practices. The early part of the week will emphasise practices and teachings that aim to establish calmness and stability of mind and the intentional cultivation of kindness as an attitude toward all experiences. We will then introduce insight practices using the Buddhist psychological framework of the three characteristics of existence as ‘ways of looking’ at experience. These insightful ways of looking, supported by stability and kindness, can enable us to discover a growing sense of ease, agency, and freedom in our lives.

We will consider how these teachings and practices can resource us both personally and collectively, and how the contributions we each make through our work in the world can be nourished by this sustained engagement with practice.

Whilst having their roots in Buddhist psychology, the themes, teaching, practice guidance and explorations will be presented in terms of their application to contemporary mindfulness programmes such as MBSR and MBCT.

There will be periods of instruction and teaching, guided and self-guided meditations, and in the latter stages of the retreat, some carefully facilitated contemplative inquiry in dyads or triads. We will also offer regular gentle mindful movements drawn from qigong and yoga to understand how body, heart, and mind can support one another in the cultivation of the qualities we are exploring. No particular level of health or fitness is required.

The retreat will include:

periods of both guided and self-directed practice
short talks
sustained periods of silence to enable participants to connect more fully with their inner experience
time to practice mindfulness informally between the scheduled sessions
opportunities for group inquiries with the teachers.
The teachers will also be available to talk to people individually as needed.

Who is the retreat for?

This retreat is suitable for people who have attended an eight-week MBSR/MBCT (or similar) course and who have a personal practice of mindfulness. It is open to anyone who meets these requirements and is particularly intended for people who teach or are training to teach Mindfulness-Based Programmes and others who are integrating mindfulness into their professional work.

This retreat will enable mindfulness teachers who wish to be included on the BAMBA Listing of Mindfulness Teachers to fulfill the requirement to attend an annual mindfulness retreat. It also fulfils the TTP retreat requirement at the Trained Teacher level.

Requirements to attend:

Attendance at an 8-week MBSR/MBCT (or similar). In addition, attendance of at least one day of guided silent mindfulness practice is recommended but not required.

Please ensure you are able to attend the entire event. If this is not possible, please contact us to discuss it before submitting an application.

Timings:

The retreat will start at 4 pm on 27th September and end at 12.30 pm on 2nd October 2024, followed by lunch.