Daily Schedule for a Virtual Retreat
Below is a link to the retreat schedule (first/last day & full days) which will be in the ‘Central Time Zone’ of North America. Times for Pacific, Central and Eastern will be available on the Retreat Dashboard which you’ll receive a few days before the retreat start.
There are some long sits scheduled. We encourage you to adjust your involvement with the schedule as is appropriate. Feel free to pace your involvement, particularly if this is your first retreat. Experienced meditators may want to intensify their practice by meditating for several scheduled sits to avoid the frequent breaks. On the other hand, first-timers may want to sit out a few periods to rest or take a walk.
For Newcomers, the required participation is to join the Newcomer Meeting the first evening or day, be available for your pre-assigned online session and to join the daily core technique instruction sessions with the Co-Teacher(s) (where guided meditation, training & Q&A is offered) each morning and as many evening talks as you choose. Newcomers will also join the AMA (Ask Me Anything) scheduled with Shinzen after their core technique instruction.
Others are completely free in terms of their participation. During meditation periods each retreatant may practice whatever form of meditation they feel most comfortable with, although the talks and guided meditation are all based on Shinzen’s formulation of the unified mindfulness techniques.
Retreatants are encouraged to alternate using a chair with sitting on the floor if the discomfort of sitting becomes a problem.