On-Land Retreat

The Elements: Cultivating an Embodied Experience of Emptiness and Fullness

A fundamental aspect of establishing embodied mindfulness centers around contemplations of the elements. In the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air represent the four basic qualities of matter—solidity, liquidity, temperature, and motion. The Buddha also gave instruction for knowing space as a fifth element. These five elements are universal and when we contemplate them in relation to the body, they may bring a cooling of the grasping mind and a profound realization of emptiness and fullness. During this retreat, we will practice with the descriptive nature of each of the elements, which can be known through the felt sense, energetic sense, and intuitive knowing. We will contemplate the relationship they have with each other and their importance in establishing mindfulness and concentration, while allowing them to support the kind of non-conceptual knowing from which insights naturally arise. This retreat Includes guided and silent meditations, mindful movement, and practice meetings with teachers.

Teaching Team

Tuere Sala

Tuere Sala

Teacher

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.

Dana DePalma, MFT

Dana DePalma, MFT

Teacher

Dana DePalma is a Stewarding Teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Guiding Teacher at Dharma Ground, an organization she co-founded. She specializes in teaching Nine Bodies Insight, a method of practice which utilizes specific teachings on the structure of consciousness to balance, refine, and empower one’s Insight Meditation practice.

Alex Haley

Alex Haley

Teacher

Alex Haley has practiced meditation for more than 25 years, including many multi-month retreats. He teaches at Minneapolis Insight Meditation Community and online through Dharma Ground. He graduated from the SRMC/IMS/IRC training program and is the former mindfulness faculty lead at the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing.

Stephanie Antoine

Stephanie Antoine

Teacher

Stephanie has been a practitioner of yoga since the early 1990s, which has been a gateway to receiving the wisdom of the body. Her training includes the Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco in the Advanced Studies/Teacher Training Program. She is also an MBSR Teacher and Self-Care & ADHD Coach.

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