Mindfulness in Nature - A Weekend Retreat
Friday, April 22 – Sunday, April 24, 2022
“If we surrendered to Earth’s intelligence, we would rise up rooted, like trees.”
Rainer Maria Rilke
Celebrate Earth Day Weekend with a mindfulness retreat in the natural environment surrounding Sugar Ridge.
This retreat will deepen your connection to nature. Under the guidance of the multi-talented Ameeta Dudani, you will experience immersive and guided nature-based mindfulness practices, including meditation in nature and forest therapy (“shinrin yonku”), with the aim to support healing and connection, as well as yoga and guided discussions.
The intentions of this weekend retreat are first and foremost to rest and restore, to connect with yourself and your body, and help you to deepen your relationship to nature.
Mindfulness is a practice that helps us to pay attention to our life as it is happening and respond to our experiences with wisdom and kindness. Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as “the awareness that arises from paying attention to our lives, with purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally.” By practicing mindfulness in nature, we can deepen our inner connection incorporating the wisdom of nature (of which we are part), to support our ability to live with peace, compassion and gratitude regardless of our life circumstances .
Given that this is a mindfulness in nature retreat, most activities will be held outdoors during this retreat (weather permitting). Therefore, please bring layers and appropriate clothing/footwear for the outdoors. All needs will be respected and accommodated. There is no requirement to participate in all that is offered in this retreat – all activities are invitational and optional. The most important takeaway is to honour and take care of your needs this weekend, and you will be supported to do so.
No prior knowledge or experience in mindfulness or meditation is required for this retreat, and the time spent will help you to deepen your practice if you have prior mindfulness experience.
Weekend Schedule
Friday, April 22
3 – 4 pm Arrive and settle in to your cabin
4:00 Earth day meditation and welcome meet and greet in the studio
5:30 Dinner
7:00 Restorative yoga class or workshop
Saturday
7- 8 am Sitting and walking meditation outdoors
8:30 Breakfast
10 -12 Guided Walk – mindfulness in nature/shinrin yonku (forest bathing)
12:30 pm Lunch
Free time – bird watch on the patio, enjoy a good book or hang out with your new friends
3:00 Sit spot meditation, walking meditation
4:00 Gentle afternoon yoga
5:30 Dinner
7-8:30 Nature writing and inquiry workshop – guided journaling
Sunday
7- 8 am Sitting and walking meditation
8:30 Breakfast and pack up your cabin
10 – 12 Guided Walk – mindfulness in nature/shinrin yonku walk + Closing tea ceremony
12:30 Lunch
Depart at your leisure – stay as long as you want to enjoy the property and explore on your own.
Meet Your Guide!
Ameeta Dudani, PhD, C. Psych. (https://drdudani.com) is a Clinical Psychologist and a mindfulness teacher/consultant. She is also a registered yoga teacher (RYT-200)- with advanced training in accessible yoga, yoga for anxiety and depression, and trauma sensitive yoga- and she has received certification in Wilderness and Remote First Aid from Red Cross. Ameeta works as a Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychologist at an inner city Family Health Team and in private practice. She provides mindfulness-based psychotherapy and mindfulness training/consultation to educators and health professionals. She is a teacher with the Ontario-based nonprofit, Mindfulness Everyday. Ameeta’s favourite way to teach mindfulness is in nature. For the past five years, she has curated mindfulness in nature programs for the Kortright Centre (Toronto Region Conservation Authority) and the Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary (Victoria, BC). She also presented a workshop on this topic at the inaugural BC Mindfulness Summit.
Ameeta is a devoted mindfulness practitioner and lifelong yogi. She has been practicing mindfulness meditation regularly since 2012. She believes that mindfulness is a superpower that promotes self-acceptance and healing from the inside out. Her primary teachers of mindfulness are nature and all beings. Her practice is deeply influenced by Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh as well as by pioneers of the secular mindfulness movement such as Jon Kabat-Zinn and Daniel Siegel. Ameeta has always had a love of nature – some of her favourite memories are hikes and outings with the “nature studies club” that she helped to initiate in high school, which stimulated her love for the outdoors. Being a lifelong lover and a strong advocate of nature-based learning and eco-therapy, Ameeta incorporates practices in nature in her work whenever possible. She believes that nature is truly the best teacher of mindfulness and that by regularly immersing ourselves in nature we can care for ourselves, each other, and the planet.
Registration Details
$575 + HST for shared accommodation (up to 3 – 4 people in a cabin)
$650 + HST Semi-private (just 2 people in your cabin)
$825 + HST Private cabin (just you in a cabin) No longer available – please email [email protected] to be added to a waitlist
“If we surrendered to Earth’s intelligence, we would rise up rooted, like trees.”
Rainer Maria Rilke
Celebrate Earth Day Weekend with a mindfulness retreat in the natural environment surrounding Sugar Ridge.
This retreat will deepen your connection to nature. Under the guidance of the multi-talented Ameeta Dudani, you will experience immersive and guided nature-based mindfulness practices, including meditation in nature and forest therapy (“shinrin yonku”), with the aim to support healing and connection, as well as yoga and guided discussions.
The intentions of this weekend retreat are first and foremost to rest and restore, to connect with yourself and your body, and help you to deepen your relationship to nature.
Mindfulness is a practice that helps us to pay attention to our life as it is happening and respond to our experiences with wisdom and kindness. Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as “the awareness that arises from paying attention to our lives, with purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally.” By practicing mindfulness in nature, we can deepen our inner connection incorporating the wisdom of nature (of which we are part), to support our ability to live with peace, compassion and gratitude regardless of our life circumstances .
Given that this is a mindfulness in nature retreat, most activities will be held outdoors during this retreat (weather permitting). Therefore, please bring layers and appropriate clothing/footwear for the outdoors. All needs will be respected and accommodated. There is no requirement to participate in all that is offered in this retreat – all activities are invitational and optional. The most important takeaway is to honour and take care of your needs this weekend, and you will be supported to do so.
No prior knowledge or experience in mindfulness or meditation is required for this retreat, and the time spent will help you to deepen your practice if you have prior mindfulness experience.
Weekend Schedule
Friday, April 22
3 – 4 pm Arrive and settle in to your cabin
4:00 Earth day meditation and welcome meet and greet in the studio
5:30 Dinner
7:00 Restorative yoga class or workshop
Saturday
7- 8 am Sitting and walking meditation outdoors
8:30 Breakfast
10 -12 Guided Walk – mindfulness in nature/shinrin yonku (forest bathing)
12:30 pm Lunch
Free time – bird watch on the patio, enjoy a good book or hang out with your new friends
3:00 Sit spot meditation, walking meditation
4:00 Gentle afternoon yoga
5:30 Dinner
7-8:30 Nature writing and inquiry workshop – guided journaling
Sunday
7- 8 am Sitting and walking meditation
8:30 Breakfast and pack up your cabin
10 – 12 Guided Walk – mindfulness in nature/shinrin yonku walk + Closing tea ceremony
12:30 Lunch
Depart at your leisure – stay as long as you want to enjoy the property and explore on your own.
