Turning Towards the Wisdom of the Body: The Body as a Portal to Awakening—A BIPOC Retreat

This five-night silent meditation retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, is held for people who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color. Amana Brembry Johnson leads it in the Insight (Vipassana) tradition, with the body as the doorway into practice: body, breath, and thoughts, met with kind attention.

What to Expect

The retreat begins on a Tuesday with check-in between 2:30 and 4:30 PM, followed by an opening orientation and a gradual settling into the rhythm of retreat. From Wednesday through Saturday, days are built around multiple sitting meditation sessions, walking meditation, Dharma talks and reflections, and individual practice meetings with the teachers. Meals are taken in silence. On Sunday there are final meditation sessions and closing Dharma reflections, along with an invitation to offer dana to the teachers and to Spirit Rock. Departure is at 11:00 AM.

The teaching starts from a simple observation: ease is the natural state the body longs to return to, yet daily life entangles mind, heart, and body in layers of tension. Through foundational mindfulness practices, the retreat aims at a direct, lived understanding of the three marks of existence, impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and emptiness, as felt truths rather than concepts. Silence holds throughout, except for teacher-led Q&A, small groups, and other practice meetings.

This retreat runs concurrently with another, and all sessions take place in the Upper Meditation Hall on the upper campus, which makes for a smaller, more intimate retreat setting.

About Amana Brembry Johnson

Amana Brembry Johnson is a meditation teacher and community leader with more than four decades of contemplative practice across multiple spiritual traditions. She is a Core Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, and a coordinating teacher for residential retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

The Setting

The retreat is residential at Spirit Rock in Woodacre, and all sessions are held in the Upper Meditation Hall. Five nights of lodging and all meals, with snacks, are included. Most rooms at Spirit Rock are single occupancy, with only 16 of 80 rooms double. Single rooms are initially prioritized for people with serious medical needs, and a limited number are guaranteed at the highest sliding scale tier. Shared rooms are available at every rate. The retreat can hold up to 80 participants.

A retreat commuter option exists for those who cannot stay overnight. Commuters attend the whole retreat with meals and a shared daytime resting area, and must have completed at least one weeklong silent residential Insight retreat in person. It opens only once the retreat is full with a waitlist, though people with caregiving or similar circumstances are invited to ask sooner.

Before You Go

The retreat suits beginner-to-intermediate practitioners and is open to those with prior silent retreat experience. First-time residential participants are welcome and can contact Registration to talk through preparation. If you have never meditated, Spirit Rock recommends attending two or three daylong programs first. The retreat is taught in English.

Pricing is on a sliding scale, with scholarships available, including options for BIPOC practitioners, elders, young adults, and parents or guardians raising children. Teacher dana is not included in the registration fee and is offered at the end of the retreat. Transportation to and from Spirit Rock is not included.

Because participants live closely together, anyone who is sick is asked to stay home. Spirit Rock does not require proof of vaccination or COVID testing, and masks are optional.