YOGA, MEDITATION AND MINDFULNESS TRAINING & RETREAT FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
April 5-8, 2018
In this retreat/training, you will find peace, happiness and transformation.
Rejuvenate yourself and your healing abilities in this tranquil setting among the trees and coastal hills of California. Take a much needed time-out from your daily life and practice as a helping professional and nurture the relationship within, so that you return to your life fuller, with more peace and inner joy, completely mindful.
Experience the transformational practices of meditation, yoga, self-inquiry, present moment awareness, self-compassion, and noble silence along with their clinical applications in an ideal setting- the coastal hills nestled outside of San Luis Obispo, California (about one and half hours north of Santa Barbara). This perfect location is ideal for deepening your learning of yoga, meditation and mindfulness as a clinical practice and personal practice. All levels are welcome, no yoga experience is necessary.
The meditation and yoga retreat/training is a rich exploration into practices which cultivate happiness and healing on deeper levels. We will follow a balanced schedule of gentle yoga movement, meditation, clinical teachings and group discussion, transformational practices, mindful eating of organic healthy food, walking meditation in nature, time for personal reflection, silence and deep rest. We will journal our responses to inquiry questions, practice emotional regulation skills, learn to witness thoughts, calm our nervous systems, and experience inner quiet.
To ensure rejuvenation, there is plenty of time for walking, hiking, contemplation, and resting. The Sagrada Wellness Center in Santa Margarita offers an exquisite landscape with coastal wildflowers in the spring, walking and hiking paths, a pool/hot tub, and healthful and beautifully prepared vegetarian cuisine which is primarily gluten-free. Accommodations are simple, peaceful and in alignment with the eco-friendly atmosphere at Sagrada.
Retreat Schedule April 5-8, 2018
Thursday
- 1:00pm-3:00pm Arrival and check in
- 3:45pm Orientation
- 4:45 Yoga
- 5:30 Introduction to Meditation
- 6:00pm Dinner
- 7:00pm Evening Meeting
- 8:30pm Break
- 8:40 Meditation
- 9:00pm Break for night/free time
Friday and Saturday
- 7:30am Morning Meditation
- 8:00am Breakfast
- 9:00am Morning Session
- 11:00 Yoga
- 12:00pm Lunch
- 2:00pm Transformative Practice
- 4:00pm Break
- 4:30 Walking Meditation
- 5:30 Break
- 5:45 Dinner
- 7:00pm Evening Session
- 8:30pm Break
- 8:40pm Meditation
- 9:00pm Break for night
Sunday
- 7:00am Meditation
- 7:30am Breakfast
- 8:30am Morning Session
- 10:30am Break
- 10:45am Contemplation and closing
- 12:00 Noon Social Lunch
Reatreat Content/ Course Agenda
Brain Perspective: Nervous System Overload
Triune brain and mental healing
Negativity bias of the brain for survival; Reptile brain-avoiding harms for safety
Mammal brain (sub -cortical limbic system) approaching rewards for satisfaction
Default network, silence network, central executive network
Social brain; causes and conditions
Primate/human (cortex)- attaching to others for connection
Meditation and Yoga
Primary components of meditation
Guided meditation
Teaching meditation to clients
Impact of yoga on nervous system
Utilize simple yoga postures in treatment
Emotional self-regulation
Body scan and sensory input
Breath awareness and breathing practices
Approaching, not avoiding emotions
Cultivating inner refuge and pleasant inner atmosphere
Cultivate Healthy Thinking
sub consciousness/ conscious mind and therapeutic implications
Habit tendencies and neuronal pathways
Naming thoughts
Creating inner space and witnessing thoughts
Nourishing positive, resilient thoughts
Nourishing self-compassion and healing
Healing impact of compassion on brain
Primary and secondary causes of suffering
Heal shame with understanding, compassion and non-shame physiology
Non-anxious presense as clinician