Mindfulness Silent Day Retreat

Modern life seems to be about running.  From the demands of our home lives we run to our responsibilities at work and all the while trying to balance them against our social and spiritual lives... and just maybe finding a moment for ourselves sometimes. Just trying to make it all work can be daunting, then when we add in the worries most of us have about what the future holds, health concerns, financial and relationship pressures and we can sometimes feel overwhelmed.  We feel stretched, stressed and many times like we are just chasing our tails.

Mindfulness is the experience of being present, right here, right now. We take the time to stop and pay attention to our actual experience.  When we do this, we find we become more easeful. We feel open, grounded and more alive. No matter what is going on in our life, in our thoughts, mindfulness offers us all the opportunity to genuinely relax, breathe and let go. In this retreat, we use mindfulness and meditation to explore this experience in a very easy, simple and practical way. Rediscover your inherent sense of ease.

Specific practices we will explore during our daylong retreat will address:

• Self-criticism: concrete alternatives we can use in our daily lives.
• Motivation: practicing compassion rather than criticism to keep our edge.
• Burnout: If you are a caregiver (clinician, therapist, parent, etc.), ways that you can use self-compassion to support you in your work.
• Resistance: alternative strategies.
• Creating delight: practicing ways to savor and embrace our lives.

No meditation experience required. This mini retreat is open and appropriate for beginners and veteran meditators alike.