Women of Color Retreat: Cultivating Wisdom and Self-Care in These Modern Times
DaRa Williams, Tuere Sala, Nakawe Berrios Cuebas
Wednesday, November 18 – Saturday, November 21
Take refuge in a community where we will be cultivating inspiration, awareness, and insight. Together, we will create a space of ease and support to share experiences and explore powerful tools to overcome the conditioning of neglected self-care so often experienced by women of color.
When there is overwhelm, anxiety, sadness and frustration in response to current global circumstances, when there is a sense of weariness engendered by conditioning born of lives lived through these bodies, hearts and minds, when there is a fatigue from holding space for others – come be replenished by the dharma and nourished through meditation practice. Learn and deepen body, breath, and heart practices that can be incorporated into your daily life, supporting a sense of balance and harmony. This is a spacious retreat to learn, practice, and rejuvenate in community.
Open to all, beginners and experienced meditators alike.
An optional daily period of mindful movement will be offered by Lissa Edmond.
Cost is sliding-scale: $120, $155, $190 or $300, your choice. Registration fees support the Insight Meditation Society’s work online and at our physical retreat centers in Barre, MA. Scholarships ($20) are available. We welcome you to reach out, nobody will be turned away for lack of funds. For more information, please email imsonline@dharma.org.
A note on dana (generosity)
Most IMS teachers—like insight teachers around the world—rely on the generosity of students for their livelihood, and receive no compensation from course fees. All IMS online teachers receive a modest dana advance from IMS to guarantee a minimum level of financial support. (Click here to learn more about the dana practice.) There will be an opportunity to offer a contribution to your teachers at the end of this course.
REGISTER HERE
Daily Schedule – all times listed in Eastern Standard Time EST:
Wednesday, Nov. 18
4 – 6:00 pm: Orientation and Opening session
Thursday, Nov. 19
10 – 10:45 am: Guided meditation with instructions
1 – 3 pm: Dharma talk and guided meditation
4 – 5:30pm: Group practice meetings
4-5 pm: Optional mindful movement (for those not in groups)
7 – 8 pm: Guided meditation
Friday, Nov. 20
10 – 10:45 am: Guided meditation with instructions
1 – 3 pm: Dharma talk and guided meditation
4 – 5:30 pm: Groups practice meetings
4 – 5 pm: Optional mindful movement (for those not in groups)
7 – 8 pm: Guided meditation
Saturday, Nov. 21
10 – 10:45 am: Instructions and guided meditation
12 – 1:30 pm: Closing session
REGISTER HERE
Teacher Bios
DaRa Williams is a trainer, meditation teacher and psychotherapist. DaRa has been a meditator for the past 25 years and is a practitioner of both Vipassana and Ascension meditation. She is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/Insight Meditation Society Teacher Training Program and is a guiding teacher at IMS. She is the program manager and a core teacher in the current IMS Teacher Training Program. DaRa has been a clinician and administrator in the field of mental health for over 25 years and currently maintains a private practice in Manhattan. She is a certified trainer and practitioner of Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy and Complex Trauma. DaRa integrates these skills, understandings, wisdom traditions and world views in her intention for contributing to the ending of suffering for all beings.
Tuere Sala is a guiding teacher of Seattle Insight Meditation Society and Capitol Hill Meditation Group. She has over 25 years of Buddhist meditation experience and is currently a participant in IMS’s 2017-2021 Teacher Training Program. Her teaching focus is on strengthening the value of everyday urban practice.
Nakawe Cuebas Berrios feels blessed to be able to study and journey through different healing and spiritual traditions in her life. The common thread between the many traditions that have touched her path has been the belief that health and wellness depend on a balance between the mind, body, and heart. The healing systems that she has studied are: Midwifery, Chinese acupuncture, Ayurvedic medicine and yoga. Spiritually the practices are Lucumi (Cuba), with roots from the African Yoruba culture and indigenous ceremonies. These practices helped to strengthen her connection to the Earth and Cosmos. Her ancestral home is Puerto Rico, blending the Spanish, African and Taino Indian roots that flow from her ancestors, and give her guidance and strength daily. Her Nuyorican roots are honored by her experiences growing up in New York City.
