ONLINE Dec 30th – Jan 1st
The holidays are coming up, and you miss your friends. A LOT.
You’ve been stuck in your house for months, binge-watching videos on TikTok and listening to your little brothers scream at each-other.
All you wanna do is get out of the house, have fun + get some space.
Good news – there’s an alternative!
Want a cool experience?
New Year’s Online Teen & Young Adult Retreat (East)
An online immersion into mindfulness, community + being yourself.
Small groups. Meditation. Workshops. Online dance party!
iBme was the first place on earth where I was ever able to learn how to be comfortable in my own skin. And to not judge myself so harshly.
– iBme teen

Why come on retreat?
• Be accepted for who you are
• Gain tools to handle stress, anxiety + difficult emotions
• Feel comfortable in your own skin
• Learn to meditate + apply mindfulness to daily life
• Get one-on-one support from mentors + meditation teachers
• Have fun + DANCE at our online party
Suggested Age
15 to 32 years
Application Deadline
December 29th at 12pm EST
Cost
Sliding scale. Learn More.
Duration
3 days, 2 nights
iBme is a really cool experience. And I remember thinking before that, oh was my mom sending me here and I thought it was gonna hate it. But really afterwards, I got the chance to meet a lot of really cool people. It opened my mind to a lot of different things. And I just saw the world from a different perspective.
– iBme teen
Learn tools to . . .
- Calm yourself down
- Be happy without always having reach out to other people
- Relax yourself when you’re in high stress situations
- Focus on you instead of worrying about what other people think
- Unpack and unravel what you’re feeling
- Compassionately guide yourself through transitions in your life
- Love yourself
- Understand how your mind works
- See the world from a different perspective
iBme helped me grow to be the kind of person who I am, which is a person who’s calm and centered and has the skills to just breathe in moments where it feels like I’m not able to breathe and life is going by so fast.
– Beyte
You always have a friend at iBme
Be part of a safe, caring community where . . .
- There’s no performance – you just get to be you.
- People love being themselves
- It’s ok to be uncomfortable
- You can explore + express yourself in a community where you feel accepted
- You realize you’re not alone
It showed me that even if you weren’t raised in a place where you were accepted, you could always find a community even in complete strangers.
– iBme teen

What’s a typical day like?
Each day runs from around 9:30am to 10pm.
The day flows between guided meditation practices, workshops, mindful movement + yoga, small group conversations, wisdom talks + free time.
- Meditation
- Yoga + movement practices
- Mindful walking
- How to navigate difficult emotions
- Mindful communication
- Mindful eating
- How to use technology + social media wisely
- Practices for kindness, compassion + self-awareness
- Apply mindfulness to daily life
Parts of the day are silent; other parts of the day are interactive.
The retreat is held online via zoom with portions both on and off screen.
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.
And . . . our online dance party is LIT! Get the chance to dance and be weird without worrying what other people think.
I made a lot of close bonds with people, even though I met them online, and I’ve yet to meet them in person.
– Online retreat participant
50% return rate. You’re gonna love it.
People love our retreats so much that around half of them come back.
All of you is welcome here
I used to struggle a lot with who I was and trying to fit in. iBme helped me become a lot more accepting not only of myself, but of others.
– Nikita

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 iBme for me?
This retreat is for you if you…
- Are open-minded + willing to try something new
- Wanna connect deeply with other kind, welcoming people
- Wanna be a better person
- Are interested in mindfulness, meditation + knowing yourself more deeply
- Wanna gain tools to live a good life + love yourself
This retreat is NOT for you if you…
- Your parents are forcing you to come – but you don’t wanna be here
- You’re struggling with serious mental health issues
- You’re doing this instead of going to therapy (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 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.
Retreat Staff

Jessica Morey

Jessica Morey is leads meditation retreats across the US and offers one to one meditation coaching. She is a cofounder and lead teacher for Inward Bound Mindfulness Education. She began practicing meditation at age 14 on teen retreats offered by IMS. She is currently in the IMS 2017-2021 Teacher Training Program. Before joining iBme, Jessica worked in clean energy and climate policy and finance. She holds a BA in Environmental Engineering and Masters degrees in Sustainable Development and International Affairs. She loves dancing, yoga, and being in nature.

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.

Charisse Minerva

Charisse Minerva is a Community Builder, Educator, Contemplative and Performance Artist. She focuses on the three essential tools for this work: Culture, Creativity, and Contemplation. She has worked in corporate offices, counseling agencies, detention centers, with artistic groups, and athletes. She designed and directed a Mindfulness K-12 program for Friends School of VA Beach for 7 years and taught Mindfulness for five years as part of a College Success Skills course at Tidewater Community College. She has been working with iBme for several years as a Retreat teacher, Faculty member of the iBme Teacher Training course, and Board member. Minerva is a social activist. She places much of her focus on bringing Contemplative, Culture, and Creative practices to communities as a tool for healing and development and to reveal how these tools are already present in their lives. “I am a guide revealing to others what they already possess.”
Tuition & Payment Information
Tuition is .5% of annual family income, up to $495.
Family Income | Suggested Tuition |
---|---|
$10,000 | $50 |
$40,000 | $200 |
$100,000+ | $495 |
We offer this sliding scale approach to retreat tuition in order to accommodate a wide range of family incomes. The maximum fee reflects what it actually costs per student to run the retreat.
- iBme retreats feature a low ratio of adult staff per teen, 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 teens are saying. . .
iBme is a really cool experience. And I remember thinking before that, oh was my mom sending me here and I thought it was gonna hate it. But really afterwards, I got the chance to meet a lot of really cool people. It opened my mind to a lot of different things. And I just saw the world from a different perspective.
– iBme teen
iBme brought me out of this hellhole that I was in – allowed me to realize that I DO have control + I DO have the ability to make decisions. Opened my heart up like crazy.
– Isaac S.
There’s so much weight off my chest. It just makes a lot of things feel lighter.
– iBme teen
iBme helped cure my depression, helped me find self love, and it gave me the tools to be an authentic person who can see other people for who they are. It opened my eyes to see how beautiful I really am and to how much potential each one of us has.
– Levi P.
I was like, wow – I’m more aware of who I am, and how to be me.
– iBme teen
It’s so much easier for me to be happy. I used to have all these emotions that were right here, really tight, all the time. Mindfulness practice slowly unraveled how tightly I held them. There’s so much less tension and pain around them.
– Taeya
I’ve never been in a space where people are so actively, authentically, unapologetically, whoever they are. People feel so original and vibrant and distinct on retreat, because I feel that everyone’s really being who they are in that moment.
– iBme teen
I was able to calm myself down in a deeper way than I had been able to in a really long time.
– Cam Y.