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Young Adult Insight Meditation Retreat (236R27)

Matthew Brensilver, PhD, Cara Lai, MA, Vinny Ferraro and Hakim Tafari

June 14 - 18, 2027

Date and Time Details:
Monday to Friday
June 14-18, 2027 (4 nights)
Arrival Time: 2:30 - 4:30pm PT
Departure Time: 11:00am PT

On Land - Upper Retreat Hall

Contact: Spirit Rock Registration
registration@spiritrock.org

  • Supporter-guaranteed single. – $2,500.00
  • Benefactor-residential. – $2,000.00
  • Sustainer-residential. – $1,500.00
  • Basic Rate-residential. – $1,000.00
  • Mudita/Karuna Scholarship Rate-residential. – $380.00
  • BIPOC Scholarship Rate-residential. – $380.00
  • Young Adult Scholarship Rate-residential. – $380.00

Cancellation Policy (Residential Retreats):*

Standard Cancellation Fees:
  • $50: On or before 12 weeks (March 22)
  • $100: 8-12 weeks before (April 19)
  • $175: 4-8 weeks before (May 17)
  • $300: 2-4 weeks before (May 31)
  • No refunds as of 2 weeks before
*Fees reduced for serious illness or death in family

Registration opens: Jul 15, 2026
Registration opens: Jul 15, 2026

Registration opens at 9:00am (Pacific Time) on July 15, 2026, and closes at 11:59pm (Pacific Time) on June 13, 2027. A waiting list will be created if the retreat fills early.

Applying for a residential scholarship? – see our Financial Support FAQ’s.
Interested in Commuting to the retreat? – learn more below.


Designed for young adults ages 18-32 years

Description

Please join us to practice silent mindfulness meditation with a community of kind, sincere peers. Give yourself some freedom from persistent overstimulation and external demands as we create a supportive space for cultivating greater inner calm, spaciousness, and compassion.

Throughout this retreat, we will honor each person’s experience through radical self-awareness and deep embodiment, exploring the ancient practices of guided and silent sitting, walking, heart meditations, movement, practice meetings with teachers, and Dharma talks. Over the course of our time together, we will extend these practices until the entire day is one of steady, continuous awareness.

This is a fully silent retreat, and you will be asked to turn off and put away all electronic devices upon arrival. Within restraint, we find freedom. Please join us.

This retreat is silent except for teacher-led Q&A, small groups, or other practice meetings.

Assistant Teacher: Fernmarie Rodriguez


Financial Details

Sliding Scale fees are for 4 nights including food and lodging. Please consider paying at the highest rate that you can afford: your generosity supports Spirit Rock’s efforts in offering lower sliding scale rates and supporting the large number of scholarship requests.

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.

Supporter Rate w/guaranteed single room – $2500
Benefactor Rate – $2000
Sustainer Rate – $1500
Basic Rate – $1000
Scholarship Rate (BIPOC, Mudita/Karuna, or Young Adult [ages 18-26 yrs]) – $380

Pay in full or Payment plan: You can either pay in full or pay a minimum 30% deposit when you register. Payment plans are available to everyone! If you choose the deposit option, the remaining balance will be automatically set up and charged to your payment card in equal installments on a monthly basis. Full payment is due two weeks prior to the retreat start.

Cancellation Policy (Residential Retreats):*
Standard Cancellation Fees:

  • $50: On or before 12 weeks (March 22)
  • $100: 8-12 weeks before (April 19)
  • $175: 4-8 weeks before (May 17)
  • $300: 2-4 weeks before (May 31)
  • No refunds as of 2 weeks before

Scholarship and Commuter Rate Cancellation Fees:

  • Full refund: On or before 12 weeks (March 22)
  • $75: 8-12 weeks before (April 19)
  • $100: 4-8 weeks before (May 17)
  • $200: 2-4 weeks before (May 31)
  • No refunds as of 2 weeks before

*Fees reduced for serious illness or death in family


Retreat Commuter Option

The retreat commuter option will only become available once the retreat is FULL with a waitlist. However, if your personal circumstances preclude you from attending a residential retreat (e.g. staying overnight), please reach out to us as we may be able to offer you a commuter spot sooner and we would be happy to have a conversation with you. (“Personal circumstances” could be situations like if you are a sole caregiver, or parent w/young children where you need to be home each night, for example.)

Prerequisite for Commuters:
You must have attended at least one weeklong silent residential retreat (5-7 nights) in Insight (vipassanā) meditation PRIOR to attending this retreat.

What is a Retreat Commuter?
A retreat commuter is a practitioner who attends a full residential retreat, including all meals, but they are not provided with overnight accommodations. Instead practitioners stay in their own home or find local accommodations at their own expense. A communal resting area is provided during the day while on campus for the retreat. The retreat commuter is expected to attend the entire retreat just like residential retreatants. Special reduced rates are listed below for retreat commuters.

If you have additional questions about being a retreat commuter, please email Registration@spiritrock.org

Commuter Sliding Scale:
Sustainer-Commuter – $760
Basic-Commuter – $500

Current Covid-19 Safety Protocols for residential retreats


About the Teachers

Matthew Brensilver, PhD

Matthew Brensilver teaches at the Insight Retreat Center, Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society. He was previously program director for Mindful Schools and for more than a decade, was a core teacher at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. Matthew worked as a clinical social worker, serving severely and persistently mentally ill adults. He subsequently […]

Learn more about Matthew Brensilver, PhD

Cara Lai, MA

Cara Lai spent most of her life trying to figure out how to be happy—or at least avoid total misery—which ultimately led to her spending the majority of her adulthood meditating. She's explored the wild beauty of the human experience through many adventures in consciousness, including long retreats, chronic illness, and the profound experiences of […]

Learn more about Cara Lai, MA

Vinny Ferraro

Vinny Ferraro has been a practitioner of insight meditation (Vipassanā) since the mid-90s. He is a co-Founder of the Dharma Punx and he’s been the Guiding Teacher of the Big Heart City Sangha in San Francisco for 20 years. He is also a nationally recognized leader in designing and implementing interventions for at-risk adolescents and […]

Learn more about Vinny Ferraro

Hakim Tafari

Hakim Tafari has studied martial arts since 1996, starting off with Southern-style Praying Mantis Kung Fu. After a major knee injury, he did a lot of research and decided to start studying Tai Chi Chuan. From 1998 until present, Hakim has studied, taught, researched, and spent many hours practicing the art. During this time, he […]

Learn more about Hakim Tafari

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