We move at the speed of trust. We don’t just let go of everything at one time. We cultivate discernment and wisdom so that we do it in a way that allows us to move with grace, ease, and deep care for our practice. This creates the space to move into a life that we truly want to live.
Leslie Booker
Residential Retreat Teacher, Movement Teacher
Booker brings her heart to the intersection of Dharma, Embodied Wisdom, and Liberation; using this framework to support folks in creating a culture of belonging. She shares her offerings as a university lecturer, public speaker, and Buddhist philosophy and meditation teacher.
Booker began training at Spirit Rock through the Mindful Yoga and Meditation training (2012), and supported by her teacher Gina Sharpe, continued her formal Dharma teacher training in the Community Dharma Leaders Training (2017), and the 4 year Retreat Teacher training (2020). Throughout these years, she worked as the Director of Teacher Trainings for Lineage Project where she shared the practices of yoga and mindfulness with incarcerated and system involved youth for over a decade. She also facilitated a Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy intervention with the youth population on Rikers Island through the LionHeart Foundation and the National Institute of Health, and shared these practices with New York City’s most vulnerable populations through several other NYC non - profits. This is where she learned to take her practice off the cushion and into everyday life.
She has spoken at several conferences including Mind & Life’s International Symposium and Wisdom 2.0’s Mindfulness in America Conferences, and has been a featured speaker and facilitator at the Fetzer Institute, Vassar and Pitzer Colleges, and the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia. She’s especially passionate about supporting folks on the front lines to thrive in their work, and training future leaders through the Peace Corps’ Jaffe Fellows and Teaching Residents at Teachers College at Columbia University, as well as the Dalai Lama Fellows.
Booker is a co-author of ‘Best Practices for Yoga in a Criminal Justice Setting’, a contributor to Georgetown Law's ‘Gender & Trauma—Somatic Interventions for Girls in Juvenile Justice’, contributed to Sharon Salzberg's book ‘Happiness at Work’ and Dr. Rima Vesely - Flad’s book ‘Black Buddhist and the Black Radical Tradition’. Her writing and other work can be found in Lion’s Roar, Tricycle Magazine, Yoga Journal and 10% Happier. She is a co-founder of the Yoga Service Council at Omega Institute and the Meditation Working Group of Occupy Wall Street. In 2020 she was a Sojourner Truth Leadership Fellow through Auburn Seminary, and was voted by her peers as one of the 12 Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement. She currently lives in Philadelphia with her partner and pup, and is a Co-Guiding Teacher of New York Insight.
Leslie Booker's Upcoming Programs
Training | On-Land | Dharma Institute
May 2024 - June 2025 | 3 Retreats (two residential, one non-residential hybrid)
Dharma Yoga Mindfulness Training
175 CE Units by Yoga Alliance. This yearlong Dharma and Yoga certificate program integrates Buddhist wisdom teachings and meditation practice with āsana, prāṇāyāma, and somatic movement. In the teaching of Yoga and embodied meditation, Dharma and Yoga are interwoven as one path to awakening. The training includes silent retreat, community connection, and structured support for deepening your personal practice. Our approach is centered on accessible and trauma-informed practices that nourish belonging and provide systematic grounding in the essential practices of these two great traditions.
Commuter Spaces Also Available!
Retreat | On-Land
November 3 - November 8, 2024 | Sunday - Friday | 5 nights
Nourishing the Beautiful: A Retreat for the LGBTQIA+ Community
Open to all self-identified LGBTQIA+. Awakening to the beauty that is within and around us is an essential part of the Buddhist path, and it is particularly important to those of us who have been taught to view ourselves and the world in a different light. Practicing together, we will closely consider—and deeply nurture—what beauty means for us, both individually and collectively. This retreat supports all levels of practice and inclusivity for LGBTQIA+, GNC, and non-binary communities, and is open to all levels of experience.
Retreat | On-Land
November 9 - November 14, 2024 | Saturday - Thursday | 5 nights
Finding Your Ground: Mindful Yoga and Embodied Dharma
How do we stay grounded, centered, and rooted in compassion and wisdom—especially through personal and global challenges? In this silent retreat, we’ll offer teachings and tools from the Dharma and Yoga traditions for settling your nervous system, grounding your energy, and connecting in an embodied way with what matters most. Each day includes gentle guided Yoga; seated, walking, standing, and lying down meditation instruction and practice; and Dharma reflections and discussion.
Retreat | On-Land
December 1 - December 7, 2024 | Sunday - Saturday | 6 nights
In the Presence of Love: A Mettā & Qigong Retreat
This retreat focuses on cultivating lovingkindness (mettā in Pāli), infusing our hearts, minds, and bodies with a strong, caring wisdom. Lovingkindness practices open the heart, allow a kind embrace of ourselves, and connect us intimately with all of life. Qigong—a practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness—perfectly complements traditional sitting meditation practice and has a well-established connection to contemplative traditions. On this retreat, lovingkindness practices will be supported by guided instruction as well as Qigong, meditation, and meetings with teachers.
Upcoming Drop-Ins
Drop-in | Online
Sunday, August 25 | 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
BIPOC Voices: Weekly Sunday Saṅgha
Open to all self-identified BIPOC.
The Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Saṅgha is a weekly gathering of self-identified BIPOC practitioners that provides a safe place to meditate and explore the Dharma in light of our experiences. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Leslie Booker
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Leslie Booker through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.