CALENDAR

Nourish your wild heart in this women’s mindfulness meditation retreat in a beautiful nature preserve in northern California. Unplug from your busy life and your digital devices and connect with the healing energy of the natural world and the intuitive wisdom of your own body.

This retreat offers practitioners the opportunity to deepen their connection with the body, community and the natural world through meditation instruction, yoga sessions, and deep listening to the earth body internally and externally. We will be glamping and camping at Pomo Tierra, an 80-acre apple farm and collective with access to hiking trails, an oak grove, and natural waters. Meditation and yoga practitioners of all levels of experience are welcome.

Nature is an active, dynamic force that reflects and embodies the principles of dharma. The Buddha and early monks and nuns spent much of their time practicing in direct relationship with forests, living creatures, the elements, and the rhythms of the world. There was no false sense of separation and insight arose from this intimacy. In this camping retreat, we will explore the qualities of the Brahmavihāras (Kindess, Compassion, Appreciative Joy, and Equanimity).

This retreat will be held partly, or mostly, outdoors, weather permitting. This is a wonderful chance to try a silent meditation retreat while surrounded by the beauty of the Virginia forest. We follow the old tradition of using nature to support our spiritual journey. Nature has a lot of teachings for us, and we will explore some of those during this weekend.

This is a silent, nature-based Vipasanna meditation retreat. We will be camping along the Wind River in the Columbia River Gorge, a beautiful setting to cultivate a deeper connection with the natural world and bring the elements alive in our awareness and direct experience. Practice periods will include silent and guided sitting, walking meditation, and Dharma talks.

Do you long to embody the ease, freedom, and aliveness that is your true home? To do so, the Buddha implored us to “go to the forest, to the foot of a tree” as an onward leading condition for awakening to our true nature. In this home of spruce forests, alpine meadows, birdsong, and wandering moose, we practice immersed in the natural world. And we explore opening ourselves to the beauty, inter-connectedness, and preciousness of our true nature. During this retreat, we’ll be encouraged to look out and around, as well as inward, and to delight in what we see.

In the storms of our lives, we need refuge—a place of nourishment and support where we can replenish our tired bodies and troubled hearts. When the Buddha taught meditation, his first instruction was to go sit under a tree. We will practice together in the age-old tradition of being outside in the company of the natural world. Together, we will tap into the natural stillness and dynamism that surrounds us and teaches us balance. As we integrate stillness and movement, we move toward being active participants in the world while maintaining balance and ease in our hearts and minds.

Join us for a silent meditation retreat in the Rocky Mountains, where the beauty of autumn and nature offer a peaceful setting for deepening mindfulness and renewal. The retreat will alternate between sitting and walking meditation, with time spent outdoors and in the warmth of the lodge, fostering connection with nature and introspection. Ideal for those with some meditation experience, this retreat offers a balance of guided practice, dharma talks, and personal reflection to support inner peace and growth.

Paddling in the Sea of Cortez provides a unique opportunity to explore the power of a silent meditation retreat while immersed in the beauty and wildness of the Sea of Cortez. We will participate in an age-old tradition of going into the wilderness as a support for spiritual practice and inquiry. Immersed in this coastal wilderness, we will use meditation practices to increase our receptivity to the interconnectedness, preciousness and beauty that surround us. Through our enhanced openness and quiet, we have the opportunity to explore deeply the truth of our own nature. We will be in a supportive community as we explore this inner and outer journey. And our community will most likely be inter-species as we interact with the numerous other animals that live in and around the Sea of Cortez—fish, dolphins, whales, manta rays, birds, and the many other creatures of these remote islands.

In September 2026 Susie Harrington, Jaya Rudgard and Eleni Monos (assisting) will be offering a nature retreat at the IMS Forest Refuge. A unique opportunity to practice all day outside in the beautiful forest around the retreat center, while having the comfort of sleeping inside.