Transitions—selling a business, changing careers, starting a family—ask a lot of us. They stretch our identities, shift our priorities, and call us to lead from a place deeper than strategy.
Navigating Life Transitions is a 3-day, 2-night private residential retreat designed for YPO members. Held April 17-19, 2026 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center—just 45 minutes north of San Francisco—this gathering offers practical tools and perspectives for meeting change with insight and clarity. Whether you're navigating a shift in your professional or personal life, the retreat will leave you with a fresh outlook and skills to sustain mindfulness in the midst of daily life.
This retreat will be co-led by Jack Kornfield, PhD, Spirit Rock’s founder and a leading voice in Western mindfulness. Author of 14 books, including the forthcoming All in This Together: Stories and Teachings for Loving Each Other and Our World, Jack also privately coaches business leaders and brings a deep understanding of the inner dimensions of power and responsibility. He is joined by Will Kabat-Zinn, a meditation teacher and executive coach who develops mindfulness programs for world-leading technology companies.
Phillip Moffitt, former Spirit Rock Co-Guiding Teacher, Founder and President of the Life Balance Institute, and author of Dancing with Life and From Emotional Chaos to Clarity, will lead an experiential session with Tuere Sala, former prosecuting attorney and Spirit Rock’s current Co-Guiding Teacher. Phillip brings a unique perspective, having served as CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Esquire before dedicating his life to Dharma teaching. Together, he and Tuere will offer practical tools for navigating transitions and decision-making amidst turbulence.
The retreat will feature intimate conversations with John Donahoe—former CEO of Nike and eBay, and now Athletic Director at Stanford University—and Erik Ragatz, Senior Advisor at Hellman & Friedman, a leading global private equity firm with $115 billion in assets under management, and Lecturer in Management at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Together, they will offer candid reflections on integrating mindfulness and spiritual practice with the challenges of high-level leadership and life transitions.
This retreat is held in partial silence. While mornings will be held in noble silence, afternoons and evenings will include guided teachings, mindful dialogue, and group discussion, offering space to explore insights in community.
We offer our retreats on a sliding scale to make the Dharma accessible to all.
By selecting the highest rate you're able to afford, you help support Spirit Rock's ability to offer lower rates and meet the growing number of scholarship requests. Your generosity sustains our nonprofit mission and ensures that these teachings of lovingkindness and wisdom remain available to everyone.
Generous support.
Helps the community and teachings.
Our standard rate.
The foundation of our community.
Please note that registration fees do not include teacher dana. At the end of the retreat, there will be an invitation to offer dana to the teachers and to Spirit Rock.
Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India and Burma. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. He is a founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He holds a PhD in clinical psychology, and is a father, husband, and activist.
Phillip Moffitt is a Buddhist meditation teacher and writer based in the Phillip Moffitt is a Buddhist meditation teacher and writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He served as Co-Guiding Teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center from 2010 to 2018. Phillip is also the founder of Life Balance Institute which offers mindfulness-based programs to support people through major life transitions.San Francisco Bay Area. He is also the founder and president of Life Balance Institute where he trains leaders and professionals in how to skillfully make major transitions in their lives.
Tuere Sala is a Guiding Teacher at Seattle Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Retreat Center and has practiced Vipassana meditation for over 30 years. Tuere has been teaching since 2010, assisting others in establishing and maintaining a daily practice.
Will Kabat-Zinn, MA has been practicing meditation for over two decades and has spent extended time in silent retreat both in the US and in Burma. He is passionate about helping people put into practice and experience for themselves the liberating power of mindfulness.
*Fees reduced for serious illness or death in family
**Monthlong retreats and Dharma Training programs have specific and very different cancellation policies. Refer back to your confirmation email for this information.**
Payment plans are available to everyone! Installments can only be set up on a credit cards, and some debit cards (we only accept VISA, Mastercard, or Discover).
You can either pay in full or pay a 30% deposit when you register. If you choose the deposit option, the remaining balance will be automatically charged monthly in equal installments using the same card you used to pay your deposit. The payment will debit on the 'same date' of the month that you paid your deposit. Full payment is due 2 weeks prior to the retreat start.
Let us know if you need to adjust a debit date or if you need to update your credit card. Any adjustments need to be done well in advance of a scheduled debit date. We are not able to 'reverse' a charge once it has been processed.
We have double and single occupancy rooms. Many of our rooms are single occupancy (only 16 of 80 rooms are double occupancy). We offer a limited number of "guaranteed single room" rates which guarantees a single room while generously helping to support scholarships and all we do here at Spirit Rock. The remaining single rooms are not exclusive to the top end of the sliding scale; however, they are initially prioritized for those with serious medical needs.
What is a Retreat Commuter?
A retreat commuter is a practitioner who attends a full residential retreat, including all meals, but they are not provided with overnight accommodations. Instead practitioners stay in their own home or find local accommodations. A communal resting area is provided during the day while on campus for the retreat. The retreat commuter is expected to attend the entire retreat just like residential retreatants. Special reduced rates are available for retreat commuters. An added benefit of a retreat commuter, is that you could be offered a residential spot on opening day due to a very last minute cancellation. Additional fees will be due if this option is accepted.
The retreat commuter option will only become available once the retreat is full with a waitlist. However, if your personal circumstances preclude you from attending a residential retreat (staying overnight), please reach out to us as we may be able to offer you a commuter spot sooner and we would be happy to have a conversation with you. ("Personal circumstances" could be situations like if you are a sole caregiver, or parent w/young children where you need to be home each night, for example.)
Prerequisite for Commuters:
You must have attended at least one weeklong silent residential retreat (5-7 nights) in Insight (vipassanā) meditation PRIOR to attending this retreat. Online retreat experience is not eligible for this prerequisite.
If you have questions about being a retreat commuter, please email [email protected]
Explore the practice of being on retreat - Learn more here.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center offers several categories of scholarship types for residential retreats. Scholarship rates are limited to those with significant financial need. A scholarship application is required to be considered for any scholarship rate below. We have many requests for scholarships and cannot honor all requests.
Muditā/Karuṇa Scholarship Rate:
Dr. Marlene Jones People of Color Scholarship Rate: supports individuals who have significant financial need and who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or a Person of color.
Toni Ko Scholarship Rate: supports individuals who have a significant financial need, are 27-55 years old, AND are attending their FIRST silent residential retreat (limited to a 6-night retreat only) at Spirit Rock. This scholarship is a one-time award.
Young Adult Scholarship Rate: supports individuals who have significant financial need and who are between the age of 18-26 years old. If all the Young Adult rates are sold out, you may select one of the above options that applies to you.
Renunciate Monastics: Monastics in the Buddhist traditions are invited to attend Spirit Rock retreats without cost. Monastic discounts can be extended only to one having taken vows and abiding as a renunciate, living exclusively on donations and having no form of income through work or other sources. You will need to provide the monastery you are affiliated with upon registering. To learn more, contact the Registration Dept at: [email protected].
*Maximum annual scholarship limit is two per calendar year; and this limit is not a guarantee.