RETREAT with BOB STAHL

Mindfulness Meditation Retreat: Cultivating Wisdom and Compassion with Bob Stahl

14 – 19 November 2022, Romania

It is our great joy to invite you to join this event, an opportunity to spend time with oneself, to reconnect to one’s inner resources, in a safe and welcoming group, guided by a very experienced facilitator, who is also a teacher and well-known author in this field. 

This traditional insight mindfulness meditation retreat will offer silent periods of sitting and walking meditation as well as times for practice discussions. 

Each day there will be a talk and systematic meditation instructions on the four foundations of mindfulness that are embedded with lovingkindness. These teachings and practices will emphasize quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing clarity, wisdom, and compassion; and foster the depth of practice. 

Who can join?

This retreat is suitable for anyone wishing to deepen their practice and cultivate further understanding of mindfulness meditation. It may also be of interest to those teaching or aspiring to teach mindfulness in healthcare, psychology, education, science, government, or in the business and corporate sectors. 

Please note:  This retreat fulfills part of the retreat requirements at Brown University Mindfulness Center for MBSR teacher training. 

Venue

The retreat will take place within the premises of the Order of Discalced Carmelites Monastery in Snagov, DJ101B 54, Ciofliceni 077166  

The venue is accessible by car only. If you are traveling from abroad, you can take a taxi from the airport (15 km, approximately 15 minutes drive).

Accommodation and meals

Accommodation is available at the venue in single or double rooms with en-suite bathrooms.

All meals are included in the fees. The kitchen will do their best to accommodate special dietary requirements but there may be cases where this may not be possible. We will inform participants individually upon registration. 

Fee and Dana

The fixed fee for this retreat is 550 Euro/person in a single room and 525 Euro/person in a double room. 

Apart from this, we also encourage participants to offer donations to the teacher since they charge no fee. Dana is a Pali word that means “generosity”, “giving” or “gift”, a voluntary expression of appreciation and gratitude. Any amount is truly welcomed and supports the teacher’s livelihood.

Schedule

DAY 2-5
7:15 Sitting
8:00 Breakfast
9:30 Sitting (with instructions)
10:30 Walking
11:15 Sitting
12:00 Walking
12:45 Sitting
13:00 Lunch
15:00 Sitting
15:30 Walking
16:15 Sitting
17:00 Walking
17:45 Sitting
18:30 Dinner
20:00 Dhamma talk
21:00 Mindful Stretch or Walking
21:15 Sitting
21:30 Closing for the day or further practice

Please note that this may be intensive and attend only if you are prepared to engage in the entire experience. 

Facilitator

Bob Stahl, PhD, has founded eight Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs in medical centers in the SF Bay Area and is currently offering programs at El Camino Hospital in Mt. View, Ca. 

He serves as an Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences in the School of Public Health at Brown University Mindfulness Center and formerly at the Oasis Institute for Mindfulness-Based Professional Education and Training at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. 

Bob teaches MBSR Teacher Trainings and Insight Mindfulness Meditation retreats worldwide and is the former guiding teacher at Insight Santa Cruz and a visiting teacher at Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society. He is coauthor of 5 books: A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook (1^st & 2^nd editions), Living With Your Heart Wide Open, Calming the Rush of Panic, A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook for Anxiety, and MBSR Everyday. 

Organizers

Simona Chesaraicu – is Clinical Psychologist, Psychotherapist and Qualified MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) Teacher by UMass Medical School since 2018 and MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy) Trained Teacher at Oxford Mindfulness Centre, Oxford University since 2021.

After working 18 years in multinational companies, mainly in the human resources field, Simona decided to move to private practice, and since 2016 she works as Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist in her private office.

In the last six years, Simona added to her work a practice she found so precious for herself – mindfulness meditation. She is now trained and qualified to teach mindfulness based interventions and she is convinced that what supports her to stay in balance and to find inner strength can be of help for anyone looking to have a healthy life.

Valérie Cioloș-Villemin is coach and Mindfulness Trainer. She qualified as a Mindfulness MBSR Trainer with the University of Massachusetts (UMASS Medical School), the institution where this method was founded and recognized worldwide and used successfully in medicine, education or business. She achieved in 2022 the second and highest level of training and is Certified MBSR Teacher by Brown University.

With a triple university degree in natural sciences, socio-economic development and economic sciences, and a doctorate in restructuring economies in transition, Valérie worked first as a researcher and then as a practitioner in systems evolution and the adaptation of the economic actors to a changing business environment. She was concerned not only with the process of change at the societal level, but also with change and resilience at the individual level.

Valérie has been regularly using the techniques she teaches in her personal life for over 20 years, both for reasons of mental hygiene and for her duty as a trainer to the participants in her workshops.

Daniela Pavlovici is a coach (ACC), facilitator, trainer and consultant. She will complete her studies as MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy) trainer at Oxford Mindfulness Center, Oxford University in June 2022. She is involved in projects focused on team management and organizational transformation.

Previously, she worked for over 18 years in communication, marketing, consulting and training, in multinational companies, international and non-governmental organizations from Romania and abroad, among which PwC, the United Nations Development Program and the Red Cross. In these contexts she delivered training in the field of managerial and marketing skills development.

On a personal level, Daniela strongly believes in the importance of freedom and fulfillment of all the opportunities life offers. These beliefs guide her in creating space for clients to focus on what they really want from their lives, to live fully, with presence and compassion for themselves and others.

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