Mindfulness Association Member’s and Teacher’s Retreat

Friday 26th February at 7pm to Wednesday 3rd March at 3pm

With Jacky Seery

Price: £250.00 for MA Members

Booking: Please contact info@mindfulnessassociation.net

Much of modern life is organised around doing, achieving, and solving. Without realising it, we often bring this same goal-oriented mindset onto our meditation cushions and into our teaching rooms—turning presence into a performance and practice into a project.

The Wise Heart is an invitation to pause, undo, and rest. Over five immersive days, we will explore the shift from a “doing mode” driven by subtle effort to a “being mode” rooted in open, courageous awareness. Through deep silent practice, gentle movement, reflective inquiry, and compassionate community holding, you will discover how to:

• Unhook from the subtle habit of trying to manufacture “good” meditation states.

• Process restlessness, resistance, and self-judgment with ease and humour.

• Reconnect with the innate wisdom of the body as an anchor for open awareness.

• Live, practice, and teach from a place of authenticity rather than effort.

Whether you are seeking to replenish your own practice or deepen the depth of your teaching, this retreat offers a spacious container to lay down your efforts and simply arrive home to yourself.

Suitable for Mindfulness Association members, practitioners with an established practice, and mindfulness teachers looking to fulfil annual retreat requirements (aligned with BAMBA guidelines).

However, the focus of the retreat will be the practice of presence, including mindful QiGong movement, body awareness practices and daily life practices.

The first weekend of this retreat will include the option of attending sessions from our spring membership weekend, led by other MA tutors.

This retreat is suitable for those who are just starting their mindfulness training as well as those who have years of practice experience. It is suitable for mindfulness teachers and will meet the BAMBA retreat requirements including periods of silence. To meet the needs of mindfulness teachers, there will be some optional sessions during the retreat to support mindfulness teachers in developing their teaching practice, in particular enquiry skills. For more details about the MA Membership please click here.

The teacher inhabits the practice of mindfulness. This is particularly conveyed through the teacher’s body in terms of his/her physical and non-verbal expression. Embodiment of mindfulness involves the teacher sustaining connection and responsiveness to moment-by-moment arising (within self, within individuals and within the group) and bringing the core attitudinal foundations of mindfulness practice to all of this. These attitudes are non-judging, patience, beginner’s mind, trust, non-striving, acceptance, and letting go (Kabat-Zinn, 1990).

Teacher-Specific Layer (MBI-TAC Domain 3: Embodiment)

For teachers attending, this retreat provides dedicated space to reflect on how non-striving directly improves teaching quality and inquiry:

• Embodied Presence vs. Expertise: Moving away from the pressure to sound like an “expert” or deliver a perfect session. Learning to teach from the raw, lived experience of the moment.

• Holding the Container without Steering: Practicing non-directive inquiry during student interactions—allowing space for the participant’s own process to unfold without jumping in to “fix” their pain or give advice.

• Pacing and Rhythm: Embodying a slow, spacious tempo during practice guidance, allowing silences to hold weight without feeling the urge to fill them with text or instructions.

There will be opportunities to enhance and practice your inquiry skills too as well as share with your like-minded community of mindfulness teachers.

This retreat will satisfy your retreat requirements for your BAMBA registration.