Resources

Nature Meditation Programs and Retreats

Nature Meditation Programs and Retreats:

Awake in the Wild – Baja, Mexico and throughout the US – nature-based mindfulness practice and mindfulness retreats led by senior guiding teacher Mark Coleman from the Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Awake in the Wild Experience (AWE) – New York – led by Sara Overton
Desert Dharma – Utah and western Colorado – Insight meditation programs and nature retreats led by guiding teacher Susie Harrington
Marin Outdoor Adventures – Zen Explorers – Marin County, San Francisco – led by Nicki Clark
Mindfulness in Organizations – Missoula, Montana – led by Christine Lustik
New Mindful Life – Led by Rochelle Calvert
Climate Change Coaching Program – Led by Anne-Marie Brest

Nature Retreat Centers:

Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center – Jamestown (an hour outside of Boulder), Colorado – 180 acres of private river, meadow and woodland at an altitude of 8,500 feet adjacent to National Forest and just a few miles from the Indian Peaks Wilderness; a home for low-cost meditation retreats and workshops in nature. Led by Johann Robbins and David Loy.
Vallecitos Mountain Ranch – 50 miles west of Taos, New Mexico – Nestled 8,880 feet above sea level in the Tusas Mountains, where wildlife abounds among alpine meadows, mountain ponds, ponderosa pines and aspen groves. The 135-acre private mountain retreat center, surrounded by 300,000 acres of National Forest, is a dedicated wildlife refuge frequented by elk, deer, bear, beaver, wild horses, eagles, 60 species of birds and many other creatures. Led by guiding teacher Erin Treat.

US Meditation Retreat Centers/Programs

Massachusetts

Cambridge Insight Meditation Center – an urban meditation center located in Cambridge. Lead by Larry Rosenberg and Narayan Liebenson.
Forest Refuge, Insight Meditation Society – specifically designed to encourage sustained, longer-term retreat practice for experienced meditators
Insight Meditation Society – one of the oldest and most-respected meditation retreat centers in the West, offer guidance in vipassana (insight) and metta (lovingkindness)
Kripalu Center of Yoga & Health – the largest and most established retreat center for yoga, health, and holistic living in North America.

New York

Blue Cliff Monastery – Thich Nahn Hanh community in upstate, NY.
Garrison Institute – Garrison, NY
Omega Institute – Rhinebeck, NY – Founded by Elizabeth Lesser in 1977, Omega offers diverse and innovative educational experiences that inspire an integrated approach to personal and social change. Offers program on campus in Rhinebeck, NYC, or Costi Rica.
Menla – Center for Health and Happiness – Phoenicia, NY
– Run by the Tibet House since 2002
375 Pantherkill Road, Phoenicia; t: 845-688-6897

Washington, DC

Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW) – a spiritual community that teaches and practices Insight (Vipassana) meditation in the DC metro area. IMCW has grown from a small group led by Tara Brach to a large and thriving community.

California

Insight Meditation South Bay – Offer programs in the Silicon Valley area, including Mountain View, San Jose, Saratoga, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Los Altos.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center – Woodacre, CA – Set among 411 acres of serene oak woodlands in the secluded hills of West Marin County, California. Home of many insight meditation teachers including Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sylvia Boorstein, James Baraz, etc. Along with IMS, it also offers training for new meditation teachers.
a: 5000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Woodacre, CA 94973;t: (415) 488-0164

NYC Meditation Centers

Brooklyn Zen Center (Zen)
– A Soto Zen community in the tradition of San Francisco Zen Center’s founder, Shunryu Suzuki.
a: 505 Carroll Street, Suite 2A, Brooklyn; t: (718) 701-1083
New York Insight Meditation Center (Insight)
– An urban Insight (Vipassana) meditation center. Offers talks, weekly sittings and courses as well as daylong and weekend retreats and workshops.
a: 28 West 27th St., 10th Fl, betw. Broadway & 6th Avenue; t: (212) 213-4802; e: info@nyimc.org
The Rubin Museum of Art – Mindfulness Meditation Series (Insight) – weekly meditation session led by Sharon Salzberg, New York Insight Meditation Center, and the Interdependence Project.
The Shinnyo Center for Meditation and Well-being (Shinnyoen)
– Provides workshops, one-on-one guided meditations by appointment, and special-themed meditation programs. Provides public access to its meditation halls and rooms.
a: 19 W. 36th St.; t: 212-868-9838; e: info@shinnyocenternyc.org
Tibet House US (Tibetan)
– Founded by Robert Thurman at the request of the Dalai Lama to present Tibetan cultures to the West. Offers weekly meditation programs.
a: 22 W. 15th St.(betw. 5th & 6th Ave); t: 212-807-0563

New Jersey Meditation Centers

Newark Center for Meditative Culture
- A diverse urban meditation community founded in 2012; programs comprise of meditation classes, daylong retreats, sitting groups, and workshops.
- e: info@newarkmeditation.org; a: 2 Park Place, Newark, NJ 07102; t: 862-227-3288

Online: Worldwide Classes, Podcasts, and App

Worldwide Insight – Every Sunday, 11am PST, 2pm Eastern US time, 7pm UK time, 8pm European time, 4am Monday Australia time

Sessions with Dharma teachers with diverse backgrounds and cultural perspectives
A range of both world-renowned teachers and lesser known voices
Teachings you don’t hear on retreats: Bringing dharma wisdom to daily life themes such as work, relationships, sex, communication, culture, ecology and consumerism, as well as ethics, meditation and the liberation of the heart.

Dharma Seed – free podcasts and dharma talks from Western Vipassana teachings since the 1980s

Insight Timer – An app that connects more than 1 million meditators worldwide and keep track of your meditation practice. You can personalize sounds of bells, ambient background sounds, saved your personalized settings for a sit into a presets. After a sit, you can log into a journal and write down your reflections.