Be In Community
Want a cool experience?
Teens & Young Adults of Color Online Daylong Retreat
An online immersion into mindfulness, community + being yourself.
Small groups. Meditation. Workshops. Online dance party!
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
15 to 25 years
July 30, 2021 @ 12pm EDT
Free!!
One day

Wanna join us?
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

Anthony Maes

Anthony “T” Maes found mindfulness during college when struggling with addiction, and it saved his life. He has practiced mindfulness meditation since 2003 including many weeklong and monthlong silent retreats. He’s been teaching teens in mindfulness retreats and weekly class formats since 2009 for various organizations including Spirit Rock and IBME. On retreat he enjoys teaching emotional intelligence, diversity and inclusion, relational mindfulness, multi-racial liberation, and acrobalance. He is a teacher and coordinator of the weekly Teen Sangha meditation group at East Bay Meditation Center. He has worked as a wilderness mentor for middle-school boys with Stepping Stones Project and Back To Earth. He is passionate about supporting college-aged young adults, and has founded a leadership program for “aged out” iBme alumni. “T” graduated from UC Berkeley in 2004, completed the yearlong Commit2Dharma program at East Bay Meditation Center in 2011, and is currently part of the Community Dharma Leaders training at Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

Jose Shinzan Palma

Jose Shinzan Palma was born in Veracruz, Mexico. He is a Zen Buddhist Priest. He has been practicing Zen since 1996. He did a residential training for 4 years at the Zen Buddhist Temple in Toronto, Canada. He lived and trained in Upaya Zen Center for over 8 years. He is a Dharma Successor of Roshi Joan Halifax. He has taught Zazenkais and Sesshins at Upaya and has staffed Teen Retreats for Spirit Rock Center and iBme. He is a guest teacher in a Zen Buddhist Temple in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Shinzan left the residency of Upaya and he is the founder of Open Gate Zen Collective in San Diego. His vision is to work with youth and also create a Zen Hispanic community in the USA and Mexico.
Assistant teacher(s)

Tanzanite Msola

Tanzanite has a long-term interest and passion in supporting young people academically, emotionally, and helping them achieve a creative outlet. Tanzanite has spent the past 6 years in Massachusetts working with young people from all different cultural and economic background, with all levels of ability and disability. Now, as a recent transplant to NYC, Tanzanite currently assists with the Awake Youth Project at the Brooklyn Zen Center. Tanzanite was introduced to meditation at a young age by attending the Insight Meditation Society’s (IMS) Family and Teen Retreats. As Tanzanite leaned into ‘adulthood’ she returned as a staff volunteer for IMS Teen Retreats and for Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme) Teen Retreats. Tanzanite has found it truly rewarding and a privilege to witness the positive effects of hands-on projects, building a personal connection, and understanding that each moment is a learning experience through mindfulness. Tanzanite is excited to continue chillin and growing with the iBme family.

Day Nyugen

Bio coming soon!
Tuition & Payment Information
This daylong retreat is free
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.
Wanna join us?
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.