When any of the hindrances arise, there might be this inclination to slam on the brakes and say “No, I don’t like this. This doesn’t belong in my practice.” As we slam on the brakes we spin out and lose control. We lose the plot in our practice. The invitation is to bring a sense of tenderness—some nourishment, some kindness when we see these arise in our experience. To begin to bring some gentleness, some compassion. We’re falling into the flow to see how we can move with this, how we can allow it to be a portal of wisdom.
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
Retreat | Online
Saturday, May 25 | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
This Is How Civilizations Heal: The Alchemy of the Three Poisons
The three poisons—greed, aversion, and delusion—are mind states that cloud the heart and mind. However, by clearly recognizing the three poisons, we can meet them with their antidotes of generosity, mettā, and wisdom. Generosity expands our ability to feel connected and reminds us that we belong to each other. Mettā opens the heart, protecting us from both inner and outer harm, while wisdom allows us to see things right sized as we move through the world.
Leslie Booker
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.
Retreat | On-Land
June 28 - July 4, 2024 | Friday - Thursday | 6 nights
Finding Refuge in Belonging: Annual BIPOC Retreat
Open to all self-identified BIPOC. Throughout this BIPOC retreat, we will gain insight into the 10 Paramis—the perfections or attainments of heart and mind—which will guide us as a map for the recovery and reclamation of a culture of belonging and wisdom. These are qualities for navigating life, not just guidelines for meditation, and they are said to be what the Buddha was cultivating in earlier lifetimes as he slowly developed into one who could awaken fully and show others the way to freedom.
Noliwe Alexander
Leslie Booker
Gullu Singh
Margarita Loinaz
Jonathan Relucio
Ramona Lisa Ortiz-Smith
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.
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.