Watering the Garden of the Heart
Join teachers Mark Wax and Sara Shapouri for a springtime weekend retreat, coinciding with the beginning of Commit to Sit: a monthlong practice challenge.
Set intentions for spring and summer, consider what you’re committed to and what seeds you want to plant in your own heart, and nurture your garden with practice and community.
Whether you’re a teen, a young adult, a parent or you’re seeking a place to nurture mindful community at any age, this retreat is for you!
Awaken to Springtime and Deepen Into Your Inner Garden This May
Online Weekend Retreat – Ages 15+
A weekend immersion into mindfulness, self-love + deep human connection.
What will I experience on retreat?
• Slow down + quiet your mind
• Gain clarity around who you are, what you want + where you’re going
• Connect with other warm, kind-hearted people
• Learn tools to navigate stress + uncertainty
• Deepen or begin a mindfulness / meditation practice
• Have fun + DANCE at our online party
Suggested Age
15-100 years old
Application Deadline
April 28, midnight
Cost
Sliding scale. Learn More.
Duration
3 days, 2 nights
Restorative. Affirming. Comforting. Allowed me to experience a quiet mind. Helped me to connect with others in a unique, more spiritual, holistic way. Allowed me to be introspective without all the thinking.
– iBme young adult
What’s a typical day like?
Each day runs from around 9:30am to 10pm, online via zoom with portions both on and off screen.
The day flows between guided meditation practices, workshops, mindful movement + yoga, small group conversations, wisdom talks + free time.
Explore topics like . . .
- Seated meditation
- Yoga + movement practices
- Mindful walking
- How to navigate difficult emotions
- Mindful communication
- Mindful eating
- Use of technology + social media
- Practices for kindness, compassion + self-awareness
- Applying mindfulness to daily life
Parts of the day are silent; other parts of the day are interactive where talking is allowed.
You’ll have the chance to turn your video camera off and just listen with headphones for parts of the retreat. Other times, you’ll have the video on so you can see + connect with your peers.
I made a lot of close bonds with people, even though I met them online, and I’ve yet to meet them in person.
– iBme online retreat participant
Learn how to . . .
- Be less stressed
- Find spaciousness + become less reactive
- Be present with people you love
- Listen to yourself
- Trust your intuition + feel confident in your path
- Cope with uncertainty
- Recenter yourself when the going gets rocky
I now know that I have this built-in ability to cope whenever I need to, of just sitting down and closing my eyes and taking a few breaths. And giving myself permission to do that.
– Sarah W.
You’re not alone. We’ve got you.
Be part of an awesome online community where . . .
- You can be real about what you’re going through.
- It’s ok to be uncomfortable + express yourself
- You can be deeply heard + seen by others
- You’re held in love.
iBme allows me to explore and express myself in a community where I feel accepted for who I am.
– iBme teen
Is this some weird hippy stuff?
Nope! No flower crowns, no dogma, no weird cult-ish stuff. We’re not trying to convert you.
We teach tools for compassion + self-awareness so you can be free, love yourself + choose how you show up in the world.
Is this retreat for me?
iBme is for you if you…
- Are open-minded + willing to try something new
- Wanna connect deeply with other self-aware people
- Are curious to try mindfulness + meditation practice, or want to deepen your existing practice
It’s NOT for you if you…
- You don’t wanna be here! This is 100% voluntary.
- You’re struggling with serious mental health issues
- You’re doing this instead of going to therapy (Hint: it’s not a replacement).
How can I prepare?
Create a quiet, designated practice space for yourself where you can be uninterrupted during the retreat.
Turn off distractions, close other tabs on your computer + do your best to just focus on the retreat experience while you’re with us.
Let your roommates, family and friends know that you’ll be on retreat + won’t be available! This retreat doesn’t require complete isolation, but we encourage you to separate yourself as much as possible from technology + other distractions.
Meet the Retreat Staff
Our team of faculty + mentors are a community of trained professionals, dedicated to empowering teens and young adults in a supportive environment.
iBme teachers and mentors are professionals in the areas of mindfulness, health, and education and bring years of personal mindfulness practice to their roles, modeling authenticity, compassion, and respect. Find out more about the teachers and mentors on this retreat below.
Retreat Staff
Mark Wax
Mark Wax is deeply grateful to be working with iBme. Mark has been a sincere student of many meditative arts for the last 15 years. He has worked for Yoga International, The Himalayan Institute, and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He recently completed his 500-hour yoga teacher certification through Spirit Rock’s Mindful Yoga and Meditation Training.
Sara Shapouri
Sara Shapouri is an Iranian-American meditation and mindfulness instructor, artist, musician and lawyer. Sara’s experience with sharing mindfulness and meditation include curriculum development and instruction at Awake Youth Project, a program offering meditation and mentoring to teenagers in Brooklyn, and teaching meditation retreats with Inward Bound Mindfulness Education. She has completed teacher training programs with the Interdependence Project in 2016 and with Inward Bound in 2018. She has also trained in conflict mediation with the New York Center for Interpersonal Development, completed the year-long caregiver training program at the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care in 2015, and in 2019 finished the Indigenous Focusing Oriented Therapy in Complex Trauma training. Sara is currently participating in the Community Dharma Leaders Program through Spirit Rock and is also in the Dharmapala Training through Sacred Mountain Sangha. While she is currently retired from the practice of law but remains committed to social justice, particularly issues related to human rights and children’s rights.
Tuition & Payment Information
Tuition is on a sliding scale of $100 – $250.
We offer this sliding scale approach to retreat tuition in order to accommodate a wide range of family incomes.
- iBme retreats feature a low ratio of adult staff per participant, providing high-quality care, expertise, instruction, and mentoring (this is our secret sauce!)
Please note: A nonrefundable application fee of $35 is required and applied toward your tuition.
Tuition & Payment Information
Scholarships are available for this retreat.
Donations: We rely on tuition fees, supplemented by donations, to cover the costs of our retreats and make it possible for all teens who want to to attend. If you can, we invite you to consider making a donation when and if it feels right. Find out about our annual Commit to Sit fundraiser in the spring and end-of-year Mindfulness Challenge: iBme Fundraising page.
Deposit & Balance
A deposit of 30% of your total payment is required to reserve a space on a retreat. The deposit includes your $35 nonrefundable application fee. The balance of the retreat tuition must be paid two weeks before the retreat start date in order to hold your spot on the retreat.
Diversity
iBme welcomes and celebrates human diversity in all forms regardless of race, color, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ability, personal appearance, or religious/spiritual affiliation.
Accessibility
iBme is committed to accessibility. This retreat welcomes teens from all racial/ethnic groups, sex and gender identities, abilities, and religions. Mindfulness creates a foundation for conversations that support understanding and deepen our connection to one another. We have developed our tuition structure to accommodate a wide range of family income.
What other people are saying about iBme retreats. . .
I greatly appreciate this retreat: the simplicity, peacefulness, non-prescriptiveness, and kindness of the warm atmosphere created openness to questions.
– iBme young adult
I learned love, connection, softness. How to look deep inside me, and find the authentic self.
– Zijun
There was such an overwhelming sense of community on this retreat. I have been on one other retreat in which my practice may have been more intensive; however this time around, the support from the instructors and my fellow meditators was absolutely palpable, making the experience undeniably joyful.
– Camden
I learned to not lose the present by focusing on the future.
– Christine
There was a deep sense of warmth and community.
– Owen H.