April Insight Meditation Retreat

The April Insight Meditation Retreat is a nine-night silent meditation retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, in the Theravada and Vipassana tradition. It is open to beginners and experienced meditators alike, and the teaching team includes Kamala Masters, Tara Mulay, Vance Pryor, Winnie Nazarko, Joseph Goldstein, Aishah Shahidah Simmons and Adam Stonebraker.

The emphasis is on the continuity of awareness in all activities, which steadies and balances the mind. People of all life experiences, backgrounds and communities are welcome.

What to Expect

The retreat centers on relaxed acceptance of moment-to-moment experience, which becomes the ground for investigation and wisdom. Particular attention goes to the attitudes in the mind that shape how we understand things.

Days are spent in the Upper Meditation Hall with meditation instruction, Dharma teachings from the teaching team, and mindful movement and heart practices. Meals are taken in silence. Noble silence holds throughout, except for teacher-led Q&A, small groups, affinity group meetings and other practice meetings. Arrival is between 2:30 and 4:30 PM on the first day, followed by settling in, an opening ceremony and orientation. The final morning brings practice, a closing ceremony and the chance to offer dana to the teachers and to Spirit Rock, with departure at 11:00 AM.

Joseph Goldstein will not be on the land. He joins by Zoom for one or two sessions during the retreat.

A self-paced option, opening in the fall, lets people practice from home. Each day includes two to three hours of instruction, teachings, mindful movement and heart practices, livestreamed from the Upper Meditation Hall and recorded. Sessions are available within 24 hours with unlimited replay and lifetime access. This format does not include teacher meetings, small groups, Q&A or affinity groups.

The Teachers

Kamala Masters co-founded Vipassana Metta On Maui and is a Guiding Teacher of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. Since 1977 she has trained in the Mahasi tradition with Munindraji, Sayadaw U Pandita and others in intensive vipassana, metta and jhana.

Tara Mulay has practiced Insight Meditation since 2003. She was trained and authorized to teach by the Insight Meditation Society and serves on the Board of Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

Vance Pryor has practiced insight meditation since 1999 in the United States and Myanmar, influenced by Sayadaw U Pandita and Sayadaw U Tejaniya. He graduated from the Insight Meditation Society's 2017-2021 Teacher Training Program.

Winnie Nazarko first met the Dharma in 1981 and has trained with Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Kamala Masters and Pa Auk Sayadaw. Invited to teach after the three-month retreat at IMS in 1999, she later spent a year at the Forest Refuge. She is a Guiding Teacher at IMS and Board Chair of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.

Joseph Goldstein is a co-founder and guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society. He has taught Vipassana and Metta retreats worldwide since 1974 and helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in 1989.

Aishah Shahidah Simmons, a teacher in training, is a Black feminist lesbian survivor-healer, Buddhist practitioner, Insight Meditation teacher and filmmaker-writer. She has practiced vipassanā since 2002, has over a year of silent retreat practice, serves as Resident Teacher at Delaware Valley Insight, and trains in the 2025-2028 Spirit Rock/IMS Teacher Training Program.

Adam Stonebraker, also a teacher in training, is Guiding Teacher of Mountain Stream Meditation. He has practiced since 1999 and taught since 2010, rooted in the Thai Forest Tradition and the Bodhisattva path. His teaching emphasizes wisdom, openhearted awareness and embodiment, with presence, gratitude and compassion. He is mentored by Kittisaro and Thanissara and is in the four-year Spirit Rock/IMS teacher training.

The Setting

Participants stay on Spirit Rock's upper campus in Woodacre and practice in the consecrated Upper Meditation Hall. All meals are prepared on-site. Rooms are single or double occupancy, with single rooms limited. A commuter option is open to those who have already attended at least one weeklong silent residential Insight retreat; commuters attend all sessions and meals and use a shared resting area during the day.

Before You Go

The retreat is taught in English. Those new to meditation are encouraged to attend two to three daylong programs, then a retreat of four to five nights, before this nine-night program. Included are accommodation, meals, instruction, teachings, Q&A, small and affinity groups, and mindful movement and heart practices. Teacher dana and personal transportation are not included. Sliding-scale pricing and several scholarship categories are offered.