Spirit of Zen  -  Meditation & Yoga  - 5 Day Retreat

with Komyo Sofia Forman and Seikai Melissa B Appleton

September th to October 4th, 2020

Join Melissa and Sofia for a retreat at Stowel Lake Farm.  A thriving organic farm, retreat centre, and community on Salt Spring Island. Located on 100 acres of mixed forests, field, rocky outcrops and rolling hills.

Melissa and Sofia invite you to a round retreat.  A practice period for us to taste a gentle well-round experience of silence, community connection, seated meditation, yoga movement, time in nature, ritual, nourishing food and contemplative inquiry.  How do our bodies and nature nourish our innate goodness?  What can we learn about our nervous system, our senses, deep interconnectivity, and the political sphere where we include parts of our humanity which are sometimes quiet, dark, and left behind?  What is our fullest capacity for change?

The past year has revealed a lot of unknown territory for most everyone.  We've been challenged in ways we never imagined.  Many are working with deep questions that don't have clear answers, and yet we need stable anchors to stay with this magnificent inquiry if we aim to create a world that sees, includes, and extends kindness to everyone.

Sofia and Melissa met through their dear friend Michael Stone and have been supporting each other through practice and studies as Dharma sisters over the years.  They are women in Zen exploring what it means to live a householder life - to work, engage in community, family, diversity, and love, looking far beyond the edges of conformity.

This retreat welcomes and must include diversity in race, gender and form.  We vow to work diligently to make this possible to the very best of our ability.

***currently all single rooms are sold out.   Please reach out if you require a solo room.   

This retreat is offered in the spirit of Dana.  Registration fees cover the cost of accommodations, food, and simple administration at Stowel Lake Farm.  

In honour of our Buddhist lineage and teachers, we offer the teachings freely because they are considered priceless.  

In the Buddhist tradition we practice dana, or generosity, by making monetary offerings for the teachings. Dana is not payment for goods or services rendered; it is given from the heart. Your generosity is a gift that supports not just the teachers, but also the Sangha, the larger Dharma community, and your own practice.

On the last day of retreat you will have an opportunity to express generosity by way of donation to Melissa and Sofia.

Wednesday

3-5 pm  ||  arrival

5 pm  ||  orientation

6 pm  ||  dinner

7:30  pm  ||  Stretch - Nervous Systems - Meditation Instruction 

8:30 pm  ||  meditation

9 pm  ||  closing chant

Thursday - Saturday

7 am  ||  meditation (silent morning)

8 am ||  breakfast

9 am  ||  meditation

10:30 am ||  yoga

12:30 pm ||  lunch  (silence ends after blessing and the first bell)

1:30 pm ||  work practice - feeling the reciprocity of farm life.

2:30 pm ||  free time

4:30 pm  ||  Dharma Story

5:30 pm  ||  Dinner

7 pm  ||  Nervous System Exploration - Restorative

8:30 pm ||  Meditation

9 pm ||  Closing Evening Chant

Sunday

7 am  ||  meditation

8 am ||  breakfast

9 am ||  meditation

11 am  ||  closing circle

12 pm  ||  lunch

Departure

Stowel Lake Farm along with Melissa and Sofia have taken great measures to work towards our greatest possible health and safety.  Here are a few simple simple guidelines.

- We are not able to accommodate any sickness on retreat.  In the event that anyone becomes sick, they will need to return to home.

- Daily sanitation practices are thorough.

- Personal hand sanitation is available on all sites.

- You will receive a set of clean props that will remain at your mat for the full duration of our retreat.  They will not be used by anyone else.  Each practice mat will have a distance of six feet from the next.

- The number of retreat attendees has been reduced to provide additional space on retreat.

- Shared accommodation is provided only for those coming from the same household or community in which you already have close contact.

-  We are not able to accept registration from any outside of country people at this time, but very much look forward to a day when this is possible.

A full refunds will be provided in the following circumstances.

-  A Province wide call for a second period of physical distancing.

-  If you become sick and provide a formal doctors note.

Otherwise all registrations are final 30 days prior to retreat start date.   No refunds will be provided 30 days prior to retreat.  If you find someone to take your place you are welcome to arrange.

Stowel Lake Farm on Salt Spring Island is just beautiful.  Check it out here ~

https://www.stowellakefarm.com/aboutus

You are probably travelling by ferry my friends.  If in the event you leave your car behind, we can pick you up and drop you off at the ferry.  We will arrange pick up times one month prior to retreat.

Sofia’s spiritual journey began with a taste of Buddhism on a high school trip to Japan. Enticed by the Ancient teachings, she traveled to Tibet and China to dive deeper into her study of Eastern philosophy.  In 2008 she landed in Mysore, India and met her first love for yoga -- the Ashtanga practice. It was the intensity of the poses, the flow of fire in the body that was able to dissolve daily stress and anxiety. It was through this physical practice of asana, that she discovered the ripple effects on her mindscape and the power of meditation. 

It wasn’t until 2010 when Sofia embarked on an 8-year mentorship with the late Buddhist teacher Michael Stone, that her meditation practice unraveled its true depth. During her study, Sofia wove together a strong personal practice informed by Buddhism, yoga asana, psychology and many silent meditation retreats. She assisted Michael Stone with local and international retreats, and moved to New York City to study at Columbia University and the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. 

In 2015, Sofia was formally lay ordained in the Maezumi lineage under Koshin Paley Ellison. Her dharma name is Komyo which means little seedling. Her journey into Zen Buddhism continued with a year-long training at the San Francisco Zen Center, a formative experience in her understanding of practice as a powerful tool to understanding ourselves and reality. Sofia’s current offerings as a holistic counselor, yoga and meditation teacher are guided by her roots in Buddhism. 

Today, Sofia teaches gentle hatha and restorative yoga where she can weave guided mediation instructions into reclined poses. She has included meditation and yoga in her work with children in Richmond, California, many of whom have experienced extreme trauma. She also brings her mindfulness practices to her work with elders doing home visits for those 65 and older who are either house and/or bedbound. It is her personal journey through these healing modalities that she would like to share yoga asana, seated meditation, psychotherapy, and art practice. 

https://www.sofiaformanholistic.com/

I am a Buddhist Chaplain trained at Upaya Zen Centre, student of Roshi Joan Halifax and lay-ordained in the Soto Zen Prajna Mountain Order.  I also practice with Norman Fischer from Everyday Zen and am a member of the Mountain Rain Zen Centre, Vancouver.   Chaplaincy guides me to consider how I might come along side the ways people suffer, while supporting the restoration of goodness in their body, heart/mind, and world.  

My current work explores The Domestic Monastery, community life, ritual/ceremony, cultural anxiety, trauma, addiction, consumption of information technology, time, and the greater impact on the future of our world.  How does self-care and spiritual formation serve as a collective 'we care' ultimately unfolding our greatest aspirations for parenting, partnership, intimacy, ecological connection, meaningful work, and influence on generations moving forward.

I teach a class at MODO Kelowna each week and specialize in workshops and retreats in Canada and Internationally.  Most recently, I accepted a position as Chaplain in Residence with Third Space Charity and Counselling to support UBC students and graduate Interns from the Masters of Social Work Program. As you might have guessed, I love the art of collaboration and have the honour of working with amazing community leaders, Buddhist Practitioners, Clinical Counsellors, Yoga & Movement Specialists, and Wilderness Guides.

I am married, have three teens, a big black lab and a home tucked into the woods with chores that are never complete.  I used to work as a Music & Recreation Therapist and Addiction Counsellor, but then everything changed.  Everything is still shifting and moving today.

www.melissaberryappleton.com

- Bring layered clothes for varying temperatures inside and outside.

- Flashlight

- Journal and pen.

- Loose, comfortable and modest clothing.

- Outdoor wear for helping on the farm.

- Darker shades of clothing without logos and print (black, navy, grey, brown).