Introduction to Insight Meditation: Mindfulness of Ease and Difficulty (HC1D26)

Please only register for one of the two formats: On-Land or Online.

Registration closes at 9:00am (Pacific Time) on January 3, 2026. A waiting list will be created if the program fills early. A recording* will be available following the program. Continuing Education credits? (see details below).

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Description:
This day of Insight Meditation is an invitation to reawaken in ourselves the noble qualities of mindfulness and friendliness. Cultivating a relaxed, kind, and curious attention to our moment-to-moment experience, we can recover our natural peace, clarity, wisdom, and compassion. This capacity to pay attention in the present moment enables us to connect with ourselves more intimately and directly, understand the causes of both suffering and happiness, and discover our natural freedom and ease. Instructions for both sitting and walking meditation will be offered along with time for questions. All levels of experience are invited.

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Sliding Scale: Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Please consider paying at the highest rate that you can afford: your generosity supports teachers as well as Spirit Rock and your fellow practitioners who need to pay less.

On-Land Sliding Scale: (HC1D26)**
Benefactor – $310
Sustainer – $235
Basic – $140
Scholarship Rate (BIPOC, M/K) – $70
**Volunteer/Work Exchange opportunities, which include full or partial Scholarships, may be available for the in-person program. For more information, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at volunteering@spiritrock.org.

Online Sliding Scale: (HC1Z26)***
Benefactor – $175
Sustainer – $95
Basic – $75
Scholarship Rate (BIPOC, M/K) – $45
***Online Program: All are welcome! No one will be turned away for lack of funds as space allows. For more information, please email Registration@spiritrock.org no later than 12:00pm (NOON) PT on the day prior to the program date.

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*Important Notes:

Access to Recording

• Registration includes unlimited access to this program’s recording. You must register by the deadline above. The recording will be available in ~10 days after the program.

On-Land Attendees

• The on-land program will take place in the Community Meditation Center (CMC) in the Great Hall.
• Bring a lunch and a water bottle. Lunch is not provided.
• This is NOT a residential retreat. Overnight accommodations are not provided.

COVID Safety Protocols for non-residential programs: details here.

Cancellation Policy for On-Land: Daylongs, Multiday Programs (1-3 days), Family Programs, CE fees:

• NO REFUNDS.
• Open Credit or Donation to Spirit Rock = cancel 2 or more business days prior to program (Pacific Time)
• No Open Credit = cancel less than 2 business days prior

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Continuing Education (CE) credit available:
This program offers 4 Continuing Education (CE) credits/contact hours for $40, applicable for psychologists, and California-licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors, and may be applicable for other licenses. Please review our Continuing Education information page for provider details, and to determine if your association or board will accept credits offered by Spirit Rock.

Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the general public.  Mindfulness-based practices have a strong evidence base demonstrating benefits for emotional regulation, attentional control, and resilience—skills essential for clinicians working in high-demand settings. This program can support healthcare professionals by strengthening steadiness of mind, helping reduce reactivity, and deepening capacity for compassionate presence with patients and colleagues. Participants will learn practices that can be integrated into clinical encounters to support patient well-being, stress recovery, and therapeutic communication. These skills enhance professional functioning and support high-quality patient care.

Howard Cohn, MA, is a long-time Insight Meditation teacher with more than three decades of teaching experience, drawing from established mindfulness practices that are widely integrated into clinical training programs. He has taught meditation to clinicians, community groups, and professional audiences and has extensive experience guiding mindfulness practices grounded in approaches supported by contemporary psychological and neuroscience research.

Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
At the end of the program, you will be better able to:

• Describe key components of mindfulness from both didactic and experiential perspectives, including present-moment attention, nonjudgmental awareness, and wise response, in ways relevant to clinical care.
• Demonstrate mindfulness of the body (e.g., breath, posture, somatic sensations) and explain how bodily awareness can support emotion regulation and stress reduction.
• Apply mindfulness of feeling tone (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral) to recognize early affective reactivity and choose more skillful responses.
• Describe and practice mindfulness of mind states (such as worry, irritation, or fatigue) to reduce automatic cognitive reactivity and support a more stable, compassionate clinical presence.

Continuing Education content level: Introductory

Attendance policy for CE participants:

• Complete attendance is required.
• Sign in and out at the CE table on time.
• Certificates are issued only to those who meet the attendance requirements—without exception—to maintain compliance with our provider licenses and ensure the continuation of future CE programs.
• After the program, participants who meet the attendance requirements will be emailed a form to submit their professional information.  You will have 1 week to complete and submit this form in order to receive your Certificate of Attendance.

Please note:

• For full Provider information, and additional CE information, including attendance requirements, cancellation, and grievance policies, please visit our Continuing Education information page.
• For those with a different license than listed above, or with a license from a different board or association than listed on our CE info page, please contact your licensing board or association directly to request pre-approval/acceptance of CE credits offered at Spirit Rock. Spirit Rock does not confirm the applicability of credit for those with licenses other than those listed.
• Credit is awarded for instructional time only and does not include extended silent meditation, if offered.
• Continuing Education is sponsored by Mindful CECs.
• Mindful CECs is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Mindful CECs maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
• Mindful CECs is a provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP17985 for 4 contact hours.
• Potential Conflict of Interest Statement: This instructor may have authored publications relevant to the subjects covered in this course. The instructor might reference these publications during the course, and they may receive financial compensation if these publications are purchased.

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