What to Expect at Mindfulness Northwest Residential Trainings

Residential Trainings are multi-day intensive forms of our 8-week classes. We offer Residential Trainings for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC). You will receive all of the content, practices and experiences of these 8-week classes in 5 full days of training at an overnight training venue. Meals and lodging are included in your registration.

Residential Trainings are excellent if you cannot attend our 8-week classes or simply prefer the more intensive format and appreciate the way a Residential Training gets you away from your daily routine with space to focus.

We also offer silent teacher-led Residential Retreats please see What to Expect at Residential Retreats for more information.

• Structure and Participation

Class Sessions.
3-hour classroom sessions are offered morning and afternoon of most days. Participants are expected to attend all classroom sessions and follow the printed schedule you will receive on site as fully as possible.

Periods of Silence.
There are periods of silence in our Residential Trainings even though they are mostly interactive with talking. Early morning and breakfast are usually held in silence, for example.
Participants are expected to follow guidelines around silence and participation.

Interpersonal Safety.
Mindfulness and compassion training programs involve our personal stories and emotions. Instructors will work with the group to establish clear guidelines for safety. Participants are expected to be as sensitive and responsive to these guidelines and the needs of fellow participants as fully as possible.

Retreat Center Chores.
Several of our venues keep costs down, reducing your registration fee, by asking that event participants wash dishes, sweep floors, clean bathrooms, and do other chores around the facility. Final camp clean up chores before leaving are also done.  Participants are asked to do chores as fully as you are able. If you have physical limitations we will help you find a suitable chore assignment.

• 
  Schedule:
• ·       A detailed printed day-to-day schedule will be passed out upon arrival.
  
• ·       Emergency contact information to share with loved ones is included in your registration emails and is also available on the website. It is important that you can be off your phone as much as possible. Your loved ones should reach you through the venue rather than calling your cell phone.
  
  See our Harmony Hill Retreat Center, Samish Island Campground Retreat Center, or Indralaya Retreat Center pages for more information about our primary retreat sites.
  
• ·       We ask that you:
• o   Arrive and depart on time
• o   Follow the retreat schedule
• o   Honor times of silence noted on the schedule: no reading, writing, or using devices during these times of silence.

This all contributes to creating a strong and seamless container from which the whole group benefits.

Stay on Campus Even Between Sessions:

• ·       Please stay on campus unless invited to take an off-campus break by the instructors.
• ·       Please do not use recreational drugs or intoxicants during any part of the training week.
• ·       Participants are asked to focus their energies and attention on the instruction and curriculum in order to get the most benefit from the week of training and in consideration of all participants.

Early Morning Practice:

• ·       Meditation practice is often offered before breakfast. In some cases this is optional in other cases these are a required and important part of the program. Your instructors will specify this.

Evening Programming:

• ·       These are usually optional and supplemental to the learning of the day. Your instructors will clarify the available offerings.

Diversity:

• ·       We are honored to support each participant in their meditation practice regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, race, color, gender, gender identity, sexual identity, age, physical ability, political affiliation, or religion.

Important Note about Audio/Video Recording during Trainings: 

• ·       Audio/video recordings of our instructors may occasionally be created for certification and training purposes during this program. These recordings will include only our instructors in the photo frame (though they may pick up student voices at some points in the recording) and are for internal use only.