Meditation

Puerto Vallarta   

Join us for a week of health, with retreats, meditation, quiet time, fresh foods and with time to relax on the coast of Mexico on the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Hatha retreats, Tibetan retreats, Prahna retreats, meditation, stress reduction techniques, spirituality and more.Amenities include a serve-yourself breakfast, quaint rooms or spacious suites for all your needs; a refreshingly cool deep pool, the town's best-loved venue for super sized margaritas and spectacular sunsets, three scenic levels with stair access,
El Nido (The Nest) rooftop bar, and the romantic and inviting Chez Elena Restaurant, a favorite with locals and visitors alike since 1954.     

Chez Elena and Los Cuatro Vientos   
Vientos Travel Website 
011-52-322-222-0161



Nepal   

Top class hotel in Kathmandu
On this two-week meditation holiday you will experience two different aspects of Nepal. The holiday starts with time at a top class hotel in Kathmandu, from where you can explore its splendid cultural history, the unrivalled shopping experience of Thamel, optional guided visits to spiritual architectural wonders such as the ancient stupa at Bhodunath and Swayambu, the monkey temple, or if you prefer spend the afternoon lying by the pool at one of Kathmandu's best hotels.

An English-speaking monk, who is based at the meditation retreat centre, takes the meditation instruction. The content is flexible but will include an introduction to Buddhist history and ideas, practice at various meditation techniques and discussion about these techniques and how we can use them to cope with life in general.

Retreat Travel   
Retreat Travel Website
44 (0) 1463 81178



New Hampshire   

Symmetree Yoga is working in conjunction with the Darby Field Inn to create a customized yoga retreat to restore, revitalize and strengthen your body, mind and soul. The Darby Field New Hampshire Inn offers a quiet serene atmosphere where you can stop, take a break and listen to your soul. Yoga getaways can vary from a one night stay to a week long retreat. We offer private and group yoga instruction, basic rooms to deluxe suites, full country breakfast, gourmet dining and spa services.    

The Darby Field   
The Darby Field Travel Website
800-426-4147




Barre, Massachusetts    

IMS is a spiritual refuge for all who seek freedom from the suffering of mind and heart. We offer meditation retreats rooted in the Theravada Buddhist teachings of ethics, concentration and wisdom. These practices help develop awareness and compassion, giving rise to greater peace and happiness in the world.

The Retreat Center started its program of silent meditation courses in 1976. It offers a full yearly schedule of over 25 meditation courses, ranging in duration from a weekend to three months. Most retreats run for 7-9 days.

All Retreat Center courses provide instruction and practice in insight (vipassana) and/or lovingkindness (metta) meditations.

At the Retreat Center, most courses are designed for both new and experienced meditators. Instruction in meditation and evening talks about the Buddha’s teachings are given daily. Individual or group interviews with the teachers take place at regular intervals.

Insight Meditation Society    
www.dharma.org     
978-355-4378



Costa Rica    

Sat Yoga is an ancient spiritual teaching—a direct 'pathless path' to the supreme realization, as well as an approach to meditation and transformation of the ego.
Sat Yoga Institute offers: Healing and wellness retreats and advanced spiritual transformation retreats in lovely natural settings in Costa Rica, especially for those who come from other countries.

Classes in healthful gourmet cooking, using both alkaline vegetarian principles and those of Ayurvedic Psychoanalysis. First and foremost, the Sat Yoga Institute is dedicated to helping all beings who seek knowledge of the higher Truth that alone can redeem our Essence. We provide a place to meditate, to study, to grow and transform in a vibrant spiritual community, one that protects your individual freedom to approach your inner journey in your own way, to move at your own pace in your own direction as you feel called from within. The transfinite truth of Being can accommodate every path within itself, every permutation and transfiguration of the unlimited potentiality that we are.    

Sat Yoga Institute    
www.satyogainstitute.org     
506-228-1503



Thailand    

Suan Pa Himawan Retreat Center, a sanctuary for meditators in the midst of rolling hills and mountainous scenery of Phu Ruea, Loei province, Thailand.
At the Retreat Center, you will find and learn one of the world’s simplest and most effective methods of meditation and live in a beautiful, comfortable environment. You will also receive personal guidance on meditation that best fits your unique character from experienced teaching monks.
We name our meditation retreat after an ancient concept in meditation, the Middle Way, which Lord Buddha referred to as the path that leads to enlightenment. In terms of meditation, it means taking the middle path or the center of the body to reach a desired destination or goal -- whether it is a serendipitous solution to a problem, a creative insight into life and living, or even freedom from emotional suffering.
The serenity and natural beauty of the surroundings make the retreat center an ideal place for meditation and conducive for listening to your inner voice that might have been silenced by hectic lifestyles, busy schedules and multiple responsibilities.

The Middle Way Meditation Retreat    
www.meditationthai.org     
66-8-9109-9219


Nevada City, California    

The Ananda Meditation Retreat is operated by a group of sincere monastics whose aim it is to offer ways to uplift and inspire others. We honor all faiths and religious beliefs, and rather than show the differences that exist within various religious beliefs, we honor the common goals that all spiritual aspirants seek: happiness, joy, inner peace and love.
We offer a variety of options to help you make the most of your retreat vacation. The Meditation Temple is open throughout the day and for meditations each morning and evening, as well as during those times the temple is not in use for a special program. Many walking trails exist both within the retreat and around the nearby forests and rivers.    

Ananda Meditation Retreat    
www.meditationretreat.org     
530-292-3024



Tibet, Nepal and India    

Sandra Straw is the principle guide on all the Journeys and Retreats – as well as being the facilitator for the Reiki Jin Kei Do & Buddho Enersense Courses and Wellbeing Retreats offered by Circle of Light. Sandra has been teaching spirituality and personal development for over 15 years and has a lifetime experience as a teacher for inner growth and healing. She lectures extensively and internationally.

She has become an expert on the culture and history of the ancient sacred lands she visits. When conducting her tours and retreats Sandra is often accompanied by shamans, elders, priests or Egyptologists as appropriate.

Our Journey incorporates many of the major attractions of these ancient Buddhist and Hindu Kingdoms. Beginning in the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, surrounded by Himalayan peaks we take a glimpse of medieval times revealed in its wooden buildings and temples, narrow streets, and palaces. Included is a stay in the famous Chitwan National Wildlife Park to enjoy elephant-back pursuits and the wonderful wildlife including the elusive tiger.     

Circle of Light International    
www.spiritualholidays.com     
0845 456 1007    
October 12-28, 2008



San Francisco, California    

Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, also known as Green Dragon Temple (Soryu-ji), is a Buddhist practice center in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition offering training in Zen meditation and ordinary work.  Our effort at Green Gulch is to awaken in ourselves and the many people who come here the bodhisattva spirit, the spirit of kindness and realistic helpfulness. This is how we offer our understanding of Buddha's Way.
Green Gulch Farm is located in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, in a valley that opens out onto the Pacific Ocean. In addition to the temple program of zen and study,it includes an organic farm and garden, as well as a guest house and conference center.

San Francisco Zen Center    
www.sfzc.org     
415-383-3134


Florida    

Meditation is for everyone, regardless of religious background, race, ethnicity, gender, or orientation. We welcome everyone, including people of all faiths, to any of our Kadampa meditation centers throughout the state of Florida and beyond, in the now 1100 Kadampa meditation centers and groups worldwide.

Meditation is a method for developing inner peace by working with the mind. First we learn how to identify our different positive and negative mental states, and then we apply methods for eliminating negative states and cultivating positive ones.

On this site, you'll also find information on all Kadampa Buddhist Centers and branches in Florida, Kadampa Buddhism in the USA and worldwide, Buddhist Festivals, Buddhist Temples, and more. There is a link to all you'll need by way of Buddhist meditation supplies, whether it be books, audio, or cards and posters.  It is traditional in Kadampa Buddhist Centers to do regular meditation retreats. This allows us to digest the teachings we have heard and to gain some precious familiarity with them. The more sessions we can attend, the more peaceful and concentrated our mind will become, and the more relaxed and happy we will feel.

Meditation in Florida        
954-537-9191 / check for all other Florida locations



Colorado    

Shambhala Mountain Center is a mountain valley retreat located on 600 acres in northern Colorado. Since 1971 the Center has offered hundreds of programs on Buddhist meditation, yoga and other contemplative disciplines. Tamed by thirty years of use as a contemplative retreat, Shambhala Mountain Center is a place where one of the basic truths of Buddhism—that people can be profoundly open to the wisdom of the present moment—is always readily available.

Shambhala Mountain Center is both an introductory and in-depth training center for students of the Buddhist teachings. The Center is also a non-sectarian facility where the insights of Buddhism can mix with other traditions of human transformation and be applied to educational, cultural, artistic and business disciplines. Shambhala Mountain Center is available for use by third party groups for their own retreats and conferences and by individuals interested in their own personal growth.

Shambhala Mountain Center    
http://www.shambhalamountain.org/     
888-788-7221



Berkshire Mountains, Massachusetts    

Kripalu offers a curriculum of more than 750 educational programs and spiritual retreats attended by over 25,000 individuals each year. Kripalu’s faculty includes world-renowned experiential teachers along with prominent visionaries, authors, artists, and inspirational speakers. All programs are carefully designed or selected to serve the needs of a broad spectrum of people, ranging from those likely to appeal to people just beginning their transformative journey, along with those likely to serve the needs of longtime practitioners. Some programs draw from the world’s great wisdom traditions while others are based on the pioneering work of contemporary teachers. A program offering that has tremendous breadth and depth naturally flows from our guiding view, which embraces all systems and techniques that help harmonize body, mind, and spirit, create balance and thriving, and return individuals to the vibrancy that is their birthright. In the face of such diversity, one thing can be guaranteed: every Kripalu program will bring you into the presence of a leading figure in his or her field and invite you to explore and celebrate the wonder and mystery of life.

While grounded in yoga, it is important to understand that Kripalu does not espouse a narrow or sectarian mindset. According to the Kripalu tradition, yoga is an honest and unfettered inquiry into all practices, philosophies, techniques, and approaches that produce thriving for individuals, families, communities, societies, and the planet. This "nondenominational yoga" includes perennial wisdom gleaned from all the world’s religions and spiritual traditions, together with the amazing knowledge gained from science, psychology, and contemporary researchers. It also includes healing techniques drawn from traditional, allopathic, and complementary/alternative medicine that help individuals heal and return to high levels of functioning.

Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health    
www.kripalu.org     
866-200-5203


Switzerland    

The secluded domain of the Abbey of Fontaine André is located in Neuchâtel, overlooking the Lake of Neuchatel and the Alps. The atmosphere of the domain is very peaceful, due to the appeasing presence of  the nearby woods as well as the source which comes directly from the mountain. The Abbey is the perfect place to reconnect to your inner source. The tranquility of the place will allow you to unwind and rest. You will be able to choose how much privacy you need, whether you want to eat with the community or alone with yourself. The main building (picture above) was built around 1100 and offers 13 simple rooms. If you want more privacy and silence there is also the Maison Collomb which has 3 rooms and allows for more quietness. The Community manages a bio farm with sheep and goats.The lifestyle in the Abbey is simple, authentic, and respects the environment. The food comes mainly from the domain itself.There is also a Spiritual Path in the nature which helps to reconnect with who you truly are. The Spiritual Path takes between 1 and 2 hours to complete. Transportation time is 2 hours by train or car from Zürich nternational Airport and 1h30mn from Geneva International Airport.     

Mysweetzerland.ch    
www.mysweetzerland.ch     
41 32 730 31 22