WEekend Meditation Retreat - Berlin 01.02. - 02.02.2020

FINDING INNER QUIET IN THE CITY BUZZ:
Bringing Deep Listening, Rest & Curiosity to Meditation
  • Saturday & Sunday non-residential retreat, February 1st & 2nd 2020
  • Led by Rachel Sever & Noon Baldwin, founder of Ekuthuleni Retreat Center, meditation & Dharma teacher (see more below). 
  • Open for all experience levels. Beginners welcome, or come & deepen your existing practice. 
  • Periods of silence as respite from the noisy city & to practice finding stillness & buoyancy amidst the hubbub
  • Break through the myths about meditation & dive into curiosity within your body & whole self, with others, with the space around, & with the enjoyment of meditation 
  • Guided & silent meditations 
  • We'll explore the 4 postures of meditation
  • Guided somatic explorations to nurture curiosity about the messages & wisdom of the body 
  • Explore how our postures or movements connect into our thoughts & heart
  • Practice deep listening – internally & through guided mindful interaction exercises
  • Dharma talks connecting Buddhist and spiritual teachings into the practices we be doing, & time for questions both days
  • Loving-kindness (metta) meditations
  • LGBTQI+ friendly, & those from diverse religious and national origin-backgrounds are whole-heartedly welcome. 
  • Tea & simple snacks will be provided. Bring a sack lunch for both days.
  • Held in English at the beautiful Urban Healing Unit (UHU) near Treptower Park (there are several flights of stairs to enter the center)
  • Two full days: Saturday from 9:30 – 20h and Sunday from around 9 – 17h 
What if meditation is more simple than we think?
More curious?
More joyful?
More restful?

Retreat Cost
      The reservation fee is 40 €, to cover the basic costs of rent and snacks, as well as small travel costs for Noon. The payment for the retreat teachings and organizational work will be given as Dana (meaning "generosity", a donation) at the time of the retreat.

      Keeping the registration cost low allows this event to remain accessible for people with diverse incomes and backgrounds, relying on those who can offer more later to do so in order for those who cannot offer as much to still have access to the teachings. Giving teachings on the basis of Dana is the Buddhist tradition because the teachings are considered priceless, and this structure also allows everyone involved to nurture their own qualities of generosity. 

      When reserving this event please keep in mind that this donation for the teaching and other work is not included in the registration cost. (As a reference you might consider ahead of time that weekend retreats commonly cost between 100 - 400 €, or consider what you would pay for two full day workshops on another subject.)

Registering

     This retreat will be limited to 20 people. When you register for this retreat please make a commitment to come to both full days of the retreat as it will affect the experience for everyone if other members of the group people are not there one day. If you have questions about this please ask before registering. The registration fee will be due after booking (I'll contact you with info to pay as transfer or in cash) to secure a spot. The registration fee can be fully funded up to 2 weeks before the retreat, and after that will be non-refundable.
      Please book online with the link below or send an email to heartembodied@yahoo.com to register. 

Location

Held at the beautiful Urban Healing Unit (UHU) near Treptower Park (not actually at Rachel's normal Kreuzberg location as listed in the online booking)

About the teachers

To find out more about Rachel, click here. 
Picture
 Noon Baldwin is an ex circus artist & street performer who retired from the circus in 2004 to dedicate his life to spiritual practice, living in dhamma centers (France & South Africa) & Amaravati monastery, (UK). Noon co-created Ekuthuleni Rustic Retreat Place with Sumedha Bagshaw. Ekuthuleni is a back to basics meditation center in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. The emphasis is on meditation & ecological awareness, & bringing these two together. Noon's main influence is the buddhist tradition of Ajahn Chah , with an interest in all spiritualities, (following retreats & courses with Jaya Ashmore from Open Dharma since 2008).
​
He enjoys how the traditional & open spirituality practices meet as one in his heart. Noon's varied life experience brings a listening with vibrancy, an alive practice he loves to share. Connecting with curiosity & energy, with a sense of embodying spiritual practice through in depth body grounding meditations are Noon's fields of exploration. He is transgendered....a two spirit person all in one.

Workshop - Healthy Habits for Sitters

Do you spend a lot of your day sitting? Do you feel chronic tension in your neck, shoulders, back, or hips? 
Come to this 3 hour workshop with Rachel and Rebecca Rainey (a pilates, movement and eldoa teacher) to explore and learn healthy habits and self-care.
  • Explore using awareness to recognize patterns of tension from sitting
  • Learn to avoid sitting patterns that create long-term imbalances
  • Explore things you can easily incorporate into even busy days
  • We'll do a 30 minute pilates-inspired movement routine to balance the body
  • Individual sitting check-in and recommendations
  • Learn easy strengthening exercises to do on your own for muscle groups that get weak with lots of sitting
  • Learn stretches helpful to balance chronically tense muscles
  • Learn self-massage techniques
  • Learn some simple anatomy to understand why certain positions or habits create tension
  • Learn basics about the physiology of stress and the negative loops this can create
  • Learn to interrupt those stress loops! 
  • Small group of maximum 8 people 
  • Coffee, tea, and snack pause included
  • You'll leave empowered to continue exploring and improving your sitting habits. To help you on this journey, you will receive a booklet for reference and online access to the 30-minute "movement for sitters" routine

Workshop Dates

Attend one of the following 3 hour workshop dates:
  • March 21st, 2020, 15:00 - 17:15
  • July 11th, 2020, 15:00 - 17:15

Cost

75€ early-bird registration
(before February 15th for March workshop, before June 6th for July workshop).
90€ standard registration

Cancellation up to two weeks before -- full refund. Cancellation under 2 weeks: 1/2 refund. Cancellations under 48 hours are non-refundable.

Location
Helmerdingstr. 7, 10245, Ground floor (Near Ostkreuz)

Walking, Wellness & Meditation Retreat - South of France - FALL 2020

More info coming soon