Winter Solstice Retreat: Embracing the Dark, Inviting the Light

This winter solstice silent meditation retreat is offered online in a hybrid format, with teaching broadcast live over Zoom from the Upper Meditation Hall at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. Oren Jay Sofer, devon hase, Yong Oh, Heather Sundberg, Kimi Mojica and Fernmarie Rodriguez lead the days, which draw on Insight Meditation, Vajrayana and Qigong. It is open to beginners and experienced meditators alike.

The retreat falls at the time of the holidays and the New Year. It is an invitation to quiet the mind, ground in the body, open the heart, and use inquiry to give energy to practice. The emphasis is on turning toward the darkness, including difficulty and challenge, and opening to the coming light: the beauty, joy, wisdom and love within and around us.

What to Expect

The retreat begins on a Friday evening, with an opening session and meditation instructions around 7:00pm PT. The following days settle into a steady rhythm of silent and guided sitting meditation, walking meditation, morning and afternoon Dharma talks, daily lovingkindness practice and daily Qigong. Evenings bring talks and inquiry, and practice discussions run through the retreat. Complete meditation instructions are given, so no prior experience is needed.

The final days include a Winter Solstice ceremony, closing meditation and reflection sessions. The retreat ends around 11:00am PT on Wednesday.

Participants can ask questions during Q&A with the on-land teachers. They also meet in practice meetings on Zoom with a dedicated online Spirit Rock teacher. Optional online affinity groups are offered as well. The on-land teachers do not hold practice meetings with online participants.

The Teaching Team

Oren Jay Sofer teaches meditation internationally and holds a degree in comparative religion from Columbia University. He is a leader in Nonviolent Communication and the author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication and Your Heart Was Made for This: Contemplative Practices to Meet a World In Crisis with Courage, Integrity, and Love.

devon hase has practiced intensively in the Insight and Vajrayana traditions since discovering meditation in 2000, and has spent about four years in cumulative silent practice. She spent a decade bringing mindfulness to high school and college classrooms, and now teaches at the Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock and the Forest Refuge. Her friendly, conversational style emphasizes relational practice and the natural world. She co-authored How Not to Be a Hot Mess and the forthcoming This Messy, Gorgeous Love.

Yong Oh is a core teacher at the Durango Dharma Center and at Sacred Mountain Saṅgha. Yong's particular interests are nature Dharma, devotional expression, and supporting caregivers and communities of color in the Dharma.

Heather Sundberg has taught insight meditation since 1999 and completed the Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training. She has studied for three decades with senior teachers in the Insight Meditation and Vajrayana traditions, and has completed 3.5 accumulated years of retreat. Her teaching emphasizes embodiment, heart practice and emptiness-awareness practices.

Kimi Mojica is the movement teacher. Born on the unceded Ohlone lands of Yelamu (San Francisco) and now based in Huchiun (Oakland), Kimi seeks refuge on the water, learns from plant allies, and builds ecosystems of community care with their Kajukenbo martial arts community.

Fernmarie Rodriguez is a teacher in training. She holds degrees in Physics, Mechanical Engineering and Human-Centered Design, and spent fifteen years at Microsoft, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and NASA. She then turned toward the "inner universe," taking a global pilgrimage where she learned meditation and heart-opening healing practices.

Before You Go

The retreat is held in English and is appropriate for all levels. Registration includes the live broadcast of all Dharma talks, meditations and instructions, a retreat homepage with the schedule and resources, recordings of all teacher-led sessions, practice meetings with the online teacher, and Q&A with the on-land teachers. Recordings allow for self-paced engagement.

Meals and accommodation are not part of the online format. Teacher dana is also separate: at the end of the retreat there is an invitation to offer dana to the teachers and to Spirit Rock.

Spirit Rock offers the retreat on a sliding scale, with needs-based financial aid for those facing hardship, elders on fixed incomes, people with serious illness, Black, Indigenous and people of color who need assistance, and young adults aged 18 to 26. No one is turned away for lack of funds, as space allows.