The 5th Annual Women’s Residential Retreat
Jan 16-19, 2020
with Mary Stancavage
Assisted by Sydney Reece* and Kimberly Nao (yoga)
Join us for this weekend of practice in community.
This will be a chance to experience an extended period of meditation that is so vital to our practice. Retreats offer the opportunity to move deeply into our experience and know the poignancy of the human condition and the capacity of the heart. Using the wisdom and compassion teachings, there will be periods of sitting and walking meditation, movement, dharma talks, discussion and inquiry. This form of practice supports our deepest intention to be free. This retreat will be held in noble silence and is suitable for all.
We use an inclusive definition of “woman” and “female” and we welcome trans women, genderqueer women, and non-binary people who are significantly female-identified. Attendees only need to identify as women in a way that’s significant to them.
COST
The retreat fees are tiered and we ask that you pay at the highest level you can afford. This will allow us to create a fund to provide scholarship support for those who might not otherwise be able to attend and to create a fund for future retreats. The teachers and staff are not being paid and there will be an opportunity to offer dana (donation) at the end of the retreat. Please contact us if you would like to make payment arrangements.
Room & Board Sliding Scale: $295-$695
Single Rooms are available for an additional $225
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A PAYMENT
SCHOLARSHIPS
We have some scholarship funds available for those who need support to attend this retreat. We understand the financial challenges associated with attending a residential retreat and hope to make it possible for as many women as possible to attend. We are especially aware of the issues faced by traditionally marginalized communities such as women of color and LGBTQI and hope to make this retreat possible for everyone who wants to attend. Please click HERE to apply.
*Unfortunately Amy Love had to drop out of the retreat but we are thrilled that good friend and wonderful teacher Sydney could step in at this late date.
Mary Stancavage has practiced meditation, yoga, and cultivated a spiritual practice for over 30 years and in 2009 was empowered to teach Buddhadharma. Mary teaches classes, retreats and does individual mentoring. She has taught at mindfulness at recovery centers, has co-facilitated Year-to-Live groups since 2008, and has had a weekly dharma class for ten years. She completed the Buddhist Chaplaincy Program at the Sati Center and served as volunteer chaplain at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. She served as Director of Against the Stream for ten years. She also served as Executive Director of the Mind Body Awareness Project for two. Mary sits on the boards of the Buddhist Insight Network and CLUE-LA: Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice. Along with teaching she continues to investigate what it means to live with an undefended heart. Fun fact: Mary has a Masters Degree from UCLA and worked as an archaeologist in Syria.
Sydney, M.Ed., is an educator, case manager, mindfulness-based stress reduction teacher and meditation teacher. She works with adults and homeless youth suffering from trauma, relapse and mental health issues. Currently, Sydney works with formerly incarcerated women as their employment/social enterprise associate. She is a highly practiced facilitator of group process, diversity and inclusion, recovery and complex trauma; trained through programs at UCLA, the University of Massachusetts’s School of Medicine’s Oasis Teacher Training Institute, InsightLA, Spirit Rock and Ruth King’s Mindfulness of Race teachings. Sydney is an educator with almost 20 years-experience teaching English Language Arts and social justice advocacy both nationally and internationally.
Kimberly Nao, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Education at Mount Saint Mary’s University where she directs the Instructional Leadership and Induction Programs. She teaches courses on language diversity, professional development, resilience for educators, and equity issues specializing in the intersection of race and gender. Kimberly facilitates diversity, equity, and inclusion workshops as a consultant for Peace Pros LA and has trained police officers, K-12 educators, and university faculty and staff with the goal of breaking down toxic gender norms that can lead to discrimination and violence. As a certified yoga instructor, Kimberly has studied yoga philosophy in the U.S. and India. She researches yoga as a new pedagogical frontier and believes that it is a tool of personal and social transformation. www.kimberlynao.com