Calm and Contented Heart: A Samadhi Retreat
Residential retreat
Monday, 20 May – Monday, 27 May (7 nights)
With Sari Markkanen and Yahel Avigur
This retreat is nearly full or has recently become full 
Experience required
Samadhi means meditative calm, collectedness, cohesion and harmony of mind, heart and body. It is a skill and resource presented and taught by the Buddha and practised for thousands of years. When cultivated in meditation and based on discernment, this collectedness and cohesion of heart, mind and body enrich our hearts with joy, happiness and calm coming from within. Thus, it creates resources for day-to-day life and for deepening practice.
During this retreat, you will be invited to explore meditation practices and attitudes that encourage the arising and deepening of Samadhi. We will follow and honour Rob Burbea’s approach that emphasises sensitivity, responsiveness and turning toward well-being. These are complemented by willingness and skill in meeting challenging aspects of the heart-mind, an integral part of Samadhi work.
These tools and approaches may also support the arising of Jhanas, states of meditative absorption, and the deepening of insight that comes with them.
Additional Practice:
Sari and Yahel are also leading an online course designed to be an optional supportive preparation for this retreat, starting in April 2024 (and which can also be undertaken as a standalone online course). See here for details.
This retreat will be livestreamed.
What can I expect on a residential retreat that is livestreamed? Here is some practical information about how it works: All other teaching and tech support for the online retreatants is conducted away from the meditation hall.
Much care is taken to ensure that a livestreamed residential retreat remains a simplified, calm and well-held retreat space, like any other residential retreat.
Suitability
- Participants need to have previously completed two seven-night residential (or online) silent Insight Meditation retreats.
- Participants also need to have an established meditation practice, sitting daily or regularly throughout the week.
Teachers
SARI MARKKANEN started to practise Insight meditation in 2005 after years of other meditative practices. Sari has practised meditation on long retreats at Gaia House, in Finland and in monasteries in Thailand. She completed an Insight Meditation teacher training in 2020 guided by her close teachers Rob Burbea, Martine Batchelor and Caroline Jones. Sari has been sharing Dharma for many years in Nirodha, the Finnish Insight Meditation community, earlier as a Community Dharma Leader trainee and graduate. Previously, Sari taught secular mindfulness (MBSR) and Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) and she was a pioneer in teaching mindfulness in schools in Finland. She has written two books about mindfulness, kindness and compassion practices for children. Nowadays she is committed to serving Dharma.
YAHEL AVIGUR is a devoted meditator and Dharma teacher. In 2013, after practicing in Theravada and Insight Meditation traditions, he met the Dharma teacher Rob Burbea and became his student. He was encouraged by Rob to teach the complete path of Emptiness as he articulated it, as well as his particular approach to Jhana practice and to train in teaching Soulmaking Dharma. Yahel is also trained in the Hakomi approach of assisted self-study.
Rates
Please consider paying at the highest rate that you are able to. Your generosity is vital in supporting Gaia House to sustain its Dharma offerings for the benefit of all.We are committed to ensuring that our programme is available to everyone who wishes to participate. If our rates are too high for you, we invite you to apply for support from our Financial Assistance and Bursaries Fund (FAB Fund).
Accommodation
This retreat will be offered in a mixture of shared and single rooms. Some single rooms are available to book in advance for those that need them to come on retreat. If these are still available, you will be able to select this option. Some single rooms are also held for people to request, but these cannot be guaranteed. These will be allocated in the days leading up to each retreat so we cannot let you know in advance. Priority will be given to those with specific medical needs.
Extend your retreat
If you have previously been on a residential retreat of a weekend or longer at Gaia House, you are welcome to join us a day earlier than the retreat start date. All retreatants are welcome to stay an extra night at the end of the retreat. There is an additional cost of £73 per night.
Please note, retreat conditions will still apply from arrival:
- Observe silence
- Follow the daily schedule
- Practise meditation
Camping
In addition to our in-house accommodation, we can offer a few camping places during the warmer months.
There are a limited number of camping places available, please email reception at info@gaiahouse.co.uk to check availability, please don't forget to include the retreat you wish to book in the email.
- Each retreatant needs to bring their own tent (small one/two person tents only).
- Toilet and bathroom facilities are shared with the in-house occupants.
- Please note: In poor weather we cannot accommodate campers in the house.
Dana/generosity
None of your registration fee goes to the teacher. Gaia House teachers rely on the generosity of students for their livelihood. At the end of the retreat, there is an opportunity to make a dana offering to your teacher(s), the residential community team and Gaia House. We are deeply grateful for your generosity.Click here to read more about the practice of dana.
Gaia House and covid-19
We hope to make everyone's retreat at Gaia House as supportive as possible. Please click here for further information on how we are creating as supportive and safe a retreat environment.Arrival and departure times
- Arrive for registration between 2.00pm-4.45pm on the opening day.
- Depart after 12.30pm on the final day (or 1.30pm if staying for lunch).
Please note:
- We will need everyone to commit to the full duration of their retreat.
Cancellation terms & conditions
We have now updated our Booking Terms and Conditions which includes cancellation information, please click here. Please take time to review these before you book.Before booking
In support of your retreat, two weeks before you arrive, we will send a list of questions about your physical, mental health and dietary needs. This will help us to support you during your retreat. If you are unsure whether or not to book due to needing specialist support due to significant physical or mental health needs, including checking availability of our only ground floor bedroom (also wheelchair-accessible), please email retreatmanager@gaiahouse.co.uk.
For more information on our retreats please check our frequently asked questions page.
Well-being and silent retreats
This is a silent retreat: apart from during individual or group meetings with the teachers you will be invited into silence for the duration of the event.
Before you book, please read these guidelines about mental well-being and silent retreats:
Meditation retreats can be very nourishing; however, as they require sustained meditation practice, they also need some stability of psychological health. If you have recently (within the past year or so) experienced significant trauma or psychiatric illness, or if you are currently experiencing acute emotional distress such as serious depression or anxiety, it may not be the best time for you to participate in a retreat. The teachers might not be able to give you the kind of individual psychological care you need at this time. A setting with more opportunities for interpersonal engagement may be more appropriate.
- If you are currently under the care of a mental health professional, please discuss your attendance with them. You should be in a relatively stable period of mental well-being and have adequate psychological resilience.
- If you have any questions about this, please contact Laura using the email address, retreatmanager@gaiahouse.co.uk
Join the Waiting List
To register your interest go through the booking process and complete the checkout process. No payment is required for joining the list. We will then contact you if a place becomes available.To find out more about how we operate our waiting lists please click here.