During the Retreat​

Home Retreat Guidelines
Preparing For Retreat
During the Retreat
  1. Online Format & Etiquette
    • Please check all of your email folders (especially “All Mail” and “promotions” for Gmail users) for email notifications arriving from: admin (at) imcw.org
    • We will be gathering for group sits, dharma talks, practice discussions, Q&A, using either live streaming or Zoom Video-conferencing. For live streaming, will be via a link to a private YouTube channel. For Zoom, links will be available on a password-protected Attendee Only webpage that will be emailed once everyone is confirmed into the retreat. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE OUT ANY LINKS TO OTHER PEOPLE. This is a retreat centered around our community and sharing the link with others would disrupt this.
    • Please log in to your session five minutes early to ensure that your tech is working properly and so that sessions can begin promptly with all participants present and settled in.
    • If your circumstances allow, it is preferable to have your video turned on during all the online retreat sessions. This is helpful for creating a community and can help navigate some of the disconnection that can come with using an online format. By showing up with your camera on (for Zoom only), you support your fellow practitioners in their practice. It’s also easier for the teachers to teach if they can see who they are talking to!
    • Please don’t multitask while attending the online sessions. Attend fully as you would if in person and give your full attention to the presentation.
    • Please keep your audio muted unless you are actively engaged in speaking with the group or teacher.
    • Please refrain from moving your laptop/tablet/phone around with the video camera on. This helps bring a quality of settledness to the online experience.
  1. Media, phones, and other technology
    • As with an in-person retreat, for the duration of your online retreat please refrain from using electronic devices for anything other than connecting to retreat materials through video conferencing.
    • Take this as a digital detox. One of the transformative things that can come from home retreats is having time in your own living space in which you are not engaging in other technology and media. This alone is helpful in touching a different way of being in your life.
    • There will be extra pre-recorded movement and Dharma talks available for you to view during optional practice on your own sessions. Also, the main sessions such as Movement, Guided Instruction, Guided Heart Practice and Dharma Talks will be recorded and posted on the retreat website for you to re-watch (or catch-up) if you missed something.
  1. Commitment to Practice
    • Self-discipline – One of the challenges of home practice is getting swept away and forgetting about formal practice. This is a normal challenge to have. It is very helpful if you can be open and honest about this so we can address it.
  1. Set Your Intention
    • When you begin the retreat, take a few minutes to consider what is calling you to this time of deepening practice. It may be to do this retreat for the benefit of yourself and those around you. It may be to undertake this retreat to deepen your presence, steadiness and compassion in difficult times. It may be to release your fears and become more loving, to contribute more to our world.… If you wish, you can light a candle or place a flower or inspiring image near you. Quiet yourself and inwardly create a strong and clear intention. Once you set your intention, you can recite it in your mind or write it down on a notecard and place it by the candle or image. Regularly during the days of your retreat, remember and reaffirm this intention.
  1. Welcome Whatever Arises
    • Self-discipline – One of the challenges of home practice is getting swept away and forgetting about sustaining your formal practice. This is a normal challenge to have. It is very helpful if you can be open and honest about this in your group meetings so your teachers can address it.

Remember, we will be doing this together. We hope you will be supported by the shared intention among the participants. The teachers will dedicate their efforts to supporting you and your practice. We’re delighted you’re here.

Adapted and used with permission from: https://www.spiritrock.org/