When: 8 Oct 2025 - 12 Oct 2025
Where: Online Event
Tutors: Julia Wallond, Karunavira
What’s involved?
The retreat will be held within a container of silence. Within this supportive environment, we will deepen our personal and experiential engagement with the core meditation practices taught in courses such as Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, alongside offering an opportunity to explore theoretical understandings that underpin them. In particular, we will structure the retreat around the four ways of establishing mindfulness as expressed within Buddhist psychology. These teachings will be offered as a framework to support first-person exploration of experience in formal and informal mindfulness practice – the core curriculum will be the immediacy of personal experience. Whilst having their roots in Buddhist psychology, the themes, teaching, practice guidance and explorations will be presented in terms of their application to mainstream mindfulness programmes such as MBSR and MBCT.
The retreat will include:
- periods of both guided and self-directed practice, including mindful movement
- short talks
- group exchanges with the teachers
- sustained periods of silence to enable participants to connect more fully with their inner experience
- time to practice mindfulness informally between the scheduled sessions
- an explicit emphasis on continuity of awareness and integration between the scheduled sessions and the informal ('at home') periods between
- some interpersonal mindfulness practice in dyads may also be included to support us to bring compassionate awareness into our experience of interacting with another – and to deepen contemplation on the teaching themes
The teachers will be available to talk to people individually as needed.
A core teaching intention for this retreat is to offer a structure and atmosphere within which we can deeply look into experience with the freshness of beginner’s mind, enabling new insights and perspectives to emerge.
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 is also an element of our Training Pathway, delivered in association with Bangor University's Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice (CMRP).
Pre-requisites for attending:
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 before submitting an application.
Timings:
The retreat will start at 4pm on Wednesday 8th October and finish at 12.30pm on Sunday 12th October 2025.
Wednesday (8th October): 4pm - 6pm - opening session
7.30pm - 8.15pm - evening practice
Thursday - Saturday: 7.15am - 8am - morning practice
9.30am - 12.30pm - guidance talk from teachers & practice (including movement/walking practice & a short break)
3pm - 6pm - practice session and group meetings (including movement practices & a short break)
7:30pm - 8.15pm - guidance talk & practice session.
Sunday (12th October): 7.15am - 8am - morning practice
9.30am - 12.30pm - practice & closing session.
Participants will be encouraged to have an intention to cultivate silence to whatever degree is possible during the retreat.
It is important to us to be able to fully welcome everyone. If you have any specific needs relating to disability or health conditions that may impact on your ability to attend all of the sessions please contact us before the event so that we can discuss ways that we can support you.
All times given are UK, BST (British Summer Time). If you are attending from a different time zone, please check equivalent timings in your time zone.
What to bring/wear:
A mat, cushions and a blanket would be helpful to support your meditation space at home.
Location:
Online, via Zoom. A Zoom link will be sent nearer to the start date.
Please check you have the best internet connection possible. Use of an ethernet cable can improve the quality of the connection.
Rates:
Full Rate of Online Event - £408
Bursary-assisted places are available on this event until 6 weeks before the event starts, we encourage early applications. If you would like to apply for a bursary-assisted place less than 6 weeks before the start date of the event please get in touch to discuss if an application is possible. When applying for a bursary-assisted place, please first register on the event and select the fee ‘I’m applying for a bursary-assisted place’. Once you have registered for the event you will also need to complete and return a bursary application form.
To find out more about our bursary schemes, criteria for bursary applications and to complete the bursary application form please visit: https://home.mindfulness-network.org/bursaries/
Employer's rate - Recognising the large administrative overhead of dealing with employers, we will be adding a £50 surcharge if the employer is paying directly; where possible we would advise applicants to pay themselves and reclaim on expenses to avoid the charge.
The Application and Payment Process:
Our application and payment process involves the following steps:
- We receive your application form and assess it to ensure this course is suitable for you. We endeavour to make assessments within a week but if the retreat leader is on annual leave or on retreat then this can take a little longer.
- Upon offering you a place we will issue an invoice for the full amount.
- Your place is confirmed once we receive full payment.
- We will email you the joining instructions in advance of the course.
Payment and Cancellation Policy:
Please read our Terms and Conditions for information regarding payments and cancellations.
For more information:
Please email us at retreats@mindfulness-network.org
Click here to sign up to this event.
