Labor Day Insight Meditation Retreat

This Labor Day Insight Meditation Retreat is a five-night silent meditation retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, rooted in the Theravada Buddhist tradition of Insight (vipassanā) meditation. It is led by James Baraz, Howard Cohn, and Dawn Mauricio, with Terry Vandiver as movement teacher and Eve Decker as teacher in training. Both experienced practitioners and newcomers to Insight meditation are welcome.

The retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing clarity and depth of practice. Traditional instructions are offered in a spirit of lovingkindness.

What to Expect

Check-in is on Wednesday between 2:30 and 4:30 in the afternoon, followed by orientation, time to settle into your room, and the first evening instructions. Thursday through Sunday are full retreat days. Each day holds several periods of sitting meditation alternating with walking meditation, guided yoga and movement sessions, a Dharma talk, and rest and study time. Meals are taken in silence. On Monday there are final sitting and walking periods, a closing talk, and a brief council, with checkout by 11:00 in the morning.

The retreat is silent except for teacher-led Q&A, small groups, and other practice meetings. You will meet with the teachers individually and in small groups, which gives a steady place to bring questions about your practice.

The Teachers

James Baraz is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock. He started the Community Dharma Leader program and the Spirit Rock Family Program, and has led the online course "Awakening Joy" since 2003. He is also a guiding teacher to One Earth Sangha, a platform devoted to Buddhist responses to climate change.

Howard Cohn is one of the original Spirit Rock teachers and has led Insight Meditation retreats worldwide since 1985. He has led the Mission Dharma Community for over 40 years, emphasizing the ever-present awareness that is our natural state and the wisdom and heart qualities that emanate from it.

Dawn Mauricio has practiced since 2005 and teaches across Canada and the United States. Her approach is playful, dynamic, and heartfelt, grounded in relational and embodied practice. She is the author of Mindfulness Meditation for Beginners and a Somatic Experiencing practitioner. Her training includes Spirit Rock's four-year Retreat Teacher Training and its Dedicated Practitioners' Program.

Terry Vandiver has led mindful movement and gentle yoga at Spirit Rock for 30 years. She studied with the Iyengars in India and has taught Iyengar style classes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Eve Decker has practiced vipassanā since 1991 and is a graduate of Spirit Rock's Path of Engagement and Community Dharma Leader programs. A longtime musician with eight albums, including original Dharma music, she brings song into her teaching and leads "Sit and Sing Sanghas" and classes on lovingkindness, the brahmavihāras, and forgiveness.

The Setting

The retreat is held at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, in Marin County, with practice taking place in the Upper Meditation Hall. Spirit Rock has 80 residential rooms, and most are single occupancy; only 16 are doubles. Single rooms are limited and are first prioritized for people with serious medical needs, while a guaranteed single room comes with the highest sliding scale rate. Five nights of lodging and all meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are included. Transportation is not.

Retreat commuters, who attend the full program and meals but sleep elsewhere, can use a shared daytime resting area. Commuters must have attended at least one weeklong silent residential Insight retreat in person beforehand, and the option opens once the residential retreat is full with a waitlist.

Before You Go

The retreat is taught in English and is open to new and experienced students alike. If you are new to meditation, completing two or three daylong programs before a five-night retreat is encouraged. People attending their first silent residential retreat may be eligible for the Toni Ko Scholarship, and the registration department can offer guidance on readiness.

Spirit Rock offers its retreats on a sliding scale, along with needs-based financial aid, and payment plans are available. Teacher dana is not part of the registration fee. At the close of the retreat there is an invitation to offer dana to the teachers and to Spirit Rock. Bring your own toiletries and any retreat supplies you need. Because people live closely together, anyone who is sick is asked to stay home.