“The path is made by walking” Antonio Machado

This meditation retreat’ taught over 7 days’ offers supportive conditions for deepening our understanding and practice of mindfulness. The emphasis is on personal practice with brief teaching inputs to help inform this inner work. These inputs will draw from both Buddhist psychological frameworks and from contemporary understandings.

The Theme of the Retreat

We will be exploring how to deepen and broaden our practice and understanding of mindfulness with reference to the seminal (traditional) teaching called ‘The 4 Foundations of Mindfulness’ (this approach is also aptly called, ‘The 4 Ways of Establishing Mindfulness’). You may already know about this formulation and/or have worked within it, but in case you haven’t we have attached an introductory document about it.

Why we are using this framework (‘The 4 Foundations’) as a basis for this retreat?

 i/ it informs, and is the basis of, the various 8 week MBC curriculum structures and so it fundamentally supports embodied teaching of these.

ii/ it is a traditional ( ‘tried and tested’ over millennia) way of practising mindfulness designed to deepen and broaden practice by developing awareness of the way the various levels, or dimension, of our lived experience dynamically interrelate and evolve. As this understanding becomes more fully known in experience we become more able to live in harmony with ourselves and within our world

Balancing Mindfulness with Compassion

In addition to the ‘4 Foundations’, in the evening sessions we will be introducing ‘Kindly Awareness’ practices that help create an experiential understanding of the all-important attitudinal stance we can develop towards ourselves, others and our world.

How the retreat will be structured

The guided and unguided formal practices, which make up the majority of the day, will be extensions of those found in Mindfulness-based Programmes. A typical day will begin with mindful-movement followed by an unguided personal sitting practice. After the breakfast break there will be a morning ‘cycle’ of practices*, including a short teaching input on the theme of the day. These ‘cycles’ of practice are so called because they combine ‘walking’ and ‘sitting’ to create continuity of practice without body strain.

*’cycle of practices’: this describes a flow of alternating walking and sitting practices

Following lunch and personal time there will be an afternoon ‘cycle’ of sitting and movement practices. Following the ‘dinner’ break there will be a shorter evening ‘cycle’ based around loving-kindness practices.

Informal Mindfulness (uncontrived mindfulness)

There will be plenty of time between these cycles to simply ‘be’ in the lovely surrounding of the retreat centre. Learning to let go and be present in  the informal contexts between and around the formal practice times  is a vital and potentially hugely enjoyable and nourishing aspect of this retreat

‘Silence’!

To facilitate this inner work the retreat will be in silence from the evening of Day 1 to the morning of the last day. In a retreat context this offers a precious opportunity to combine the warm support of ‘community’ with the spaciousness that silence facilitates.

Connection and Support

There will also be a daily, brief, structured ‘speaking from silence’ practice to enable us to reflect on issues and themes arising in our practice.  There will also be opportunities for sharing and connecting at the beginning and at the end of our time together.

This retreat is open to anyone who wishes to deepen their practice of Mindfulness. It will be of particular interest to MBSR / MBCT / other MBI instructors and future instructors.

It will start on June 3, 2022 in the evening and will end on June 10 after lunch.

Teachings will be in English with consecutive translation into French.

Fee: we invite you to choose the fee that suits you best.

- Basic rate : 520 € 

- Reduced rate : 480€ 

- Supporting rate : 700€ 

Details on the rates:

- The reduced rate is for anyone who feels that their financial situation does not allow them to pay the normal rate.

- The supporting rate is offered to all those whose financial conditions allow them to pay a little more and who wish to support ADM in its organization of meetings and retreats.

In case of cancellation:

- 30 days before the training: 50% will be refunded,

- Between 29 and 15 days before the training: 20% will be refunded,

- less than 15 days before the training: no refund.

      Except in cases of force majeure and upon presentation of proof, the refund will be 80%.

An additional budget is required for accommodation and full board (around 580€). Upon confirmation of your registration, you will receive the necessary information to book your accommodation.

To register, please fill out the online form

The number of places is limited.