Refuge & Respite: A Vipassanā Retreat for Beginners (354Z26) - Online
Diana Winston, Carol Cano, MA, Alex Haley, PhD, JD and Jonathan Relucio
August 29 - September 2, 2026
Registration for this online retreat closes at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) on August 28, 2026. A waiting list will be created if the program fills early. Recordings* will be available for this program.
Description:
Have you ever been curious about Insight Meditation (vipassanā)? This silent retreat will teach the essentials of mindfulness and Insight practice. We will explore ways to calm our minds and hearts, how to work with difficult thoughts and emotions, how to build attention, and how to cultivate kindness and compassion. This retreat will combine stillness and movement meditations, lectures, and opportunities to meet with a teacher. This is an excellent opportunity for those new to retreat practice, and also appropriate for experienced practitioners who wish to attend a shorter retreat.
This retreat will be offered in two formats: in-person, residential retreat and as an online retreat. The teachers will offer guided meditation, practice instructions, and dharma talks. Both retreats will be held in silence except for teacher instructions and talks, Q&A periods and practice meetings. All sessions will be recorded.
On-Land Teachers: Diana Winston, Carol Cano, Alex Haley, and Jonathan Relucio (movement)
Online Teacher: [TBD]
Online Retreat Details:
The online retreat will be offered via Zoom and will include: meditation instructions and Dharma talks broadcasted live from Spirit Rock’s Upper Meditation Hall. There will be opportunities to ask questions during separate Q&A sessions with on-land teachers, and there will be optional small group practice meetings with a dedicated online Spirit Rock teacher. Please note: the on-land teachers will not offer the practice meetings to online practitioners.
Included:
- Broadcast of all Dharma talks, meditations, and other instructions
- Retreat homepage – includes retreat schedule, access to recordings, other resources
- Recordings of all teacher-led sessions
- Practice meetings with the online teacher
- Opportunity to ask questions during separate Q&A sessions with the on-land teachers
Opening Day Start Time: ~6:30pm
Closing Day End Time: ~11:00am
Financial Details
Please consider paying at the highest rate that you can afford: your generosity supports Spirit Rock and your fellow practitioners who need to pay less. 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.
Online Retreat Fee:
Sustainer – $399
Scholarship Rate (BIPOC, Mudita/Karuna): $199
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 start.
Online Retreat Cancellation Policy:
- $50 fee = on or before 2 days prior to program start (Pacific Time)
- NO refund = less than 2 days prior to program start (applies to ALL participants)
About the Teachers
Diana Winston
Diana Winston is the Director of UCLA Mindful, the mindfulness education center of UCLA Health. She has taught meditation retreats at Spirit Rock since 2004 has been a pioneer in the field of mindfulness where she has taught and helped seed the establishment of mindfulness into variety of settings including in healthcare, universities, businesses, non-profits, […]
Learn more about Diana Winston
Carol Cano, MA
Carol Cano, MA, has a master’s in Psychology and began her practice over 30 years ago at Wat Kow Tahm in Thailand and has actively engaged in building communities and teaching Dharma internationally. She is a graduate of the 2017-2020 Spirit Rock Meditation Center's Teacher Training program and a teacher at Spirit Rock often. She is […]
Learn more about Carol Cano, MA
Alex Haley, PhD, JD
Alex Haley, PhD, teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Minneapolis Insight Meditation Community and online through Dharma Ground, where he currently serves as a core teacher. Alex completed Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leader program in 2012 and graduated from the SRMC/IMS/IRC four-year teacher training in 2016. Beginning in his high school calculus class, Alex has […]
Learn more about Alex Haley, PhD, JD
Jonathan Relucio
For a decade, Jonathan Relucio taught trauma-healing yoga, meditation, and mindfulness in urban schools, mental health clinics, juvenile detention centers, and Palestine refugee camps as a Senior Trainer with the Niroga Institute. He completed East Bay Meditation Center’s Spiritual Teacher and Leadership (STL) Program; Spirit Rock’s Mindfulness, Yoga, and Meditation Training (MYMT); and Braided Wisdom’s […]
Learn more about Jonathan RelucioCategories : Hide Times Display, Hybrid, Multi-day, Online, Retreat