Brief Mindfulness is especially designed for busy professionals who want to reduce stress, and find ways to make life more enjoyable and satisfying.
On this four day retreat you can take some time out to relax, and explore a more mindful way of being. You'll emerge refreshed, and equipped with new skills to handle the pressures and challenges of modern life.
Your retreat leader is Shakya Kumara, the Brief Mindfulness founder. He has 25 years experience of meditation, and 12 years experience of training in corporate and personal-development contexts.
After the retreat you'll have plenty of support to integrate what you've learnt back into your everyday life. Shakya continues to be available by email, and you will have free access to a full 6 week on-line course.
The venue is on the island of Brac in Croatia. All rooms have their own balcony, and almost all are looking out over the Adriatic Sea (with the view shown in the picture above).
The retreat includes all meals - carefully prepared, healthy and tasty vegetarian food, made with fresh local organic produce. Vegan and gluten free diets are also available - just let us know in advance.
The retreat runs from Wednesday 26th to Sunday 30th September 2018. You can arrive at any time on Wednesday afternoon or evening - the first workshop session is after breakfast on Thursday. The retreat finishes after lunch at 1pm on Sunday.
The price is €950, which includes all accommodation, food and meditation teaching.
You can read on for more information, or click here to book.
Sussan jumping into the venue's swimming pool (for the very first time!)
Immensely helpful – Mindfulness gives me much more “real time” awareness of my thoughts and emotions, and releases the creative part of my mind
Chief Medical Officer, Bupa
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is best known for stress reduction - and the evidence suggests it does reduce stress by up to 30%, and anxiety by up to 70%.
But Mindfulness isn't just relaxation: it gives a richer and more vibrant experience of life, at work and at play. Your life - just as it is - becomes more enjoyable. This increased awareness of oneself and others improves relationships, and gives various health benefits (e.g. increased immune function, better sleep).
Mindfulness also reduces distraction and mental clutter, making your mind clearer and more focused. That helps you get through work more quickly and easily - boosting your effectiveness as well as your well-being.
Brief Mindfulness adds in some unique elements to help fit Mindfulness into a busy life. For example, one of the key techniques can be done in just 30 seconds, without closing your eyes or changing your posture.
Simple and genius, and goes straight to the core! I've tried mindfulness before but it never clicked for me. But with your guidance and your amazing ability to connect us to our feelings and senses it just transformed the whole experience.
Forsnäs, Sweden
Retreat Leader
Shakya Kumara is the retreat leader and course trainer. He has been practising Mindfulness since 1989, when it helped him recover from long term illness. Since then he has meditated just about every day, and been on retreat several times per year. In 2004 he was Ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order on a 4 month retreat (in the mountains near Alicante) - but his Mindfulness teaching is very much secular, based on modern scientific understanding and evidence. In addition to his own Brief Mindfulness approach, he has studied the secular MBSR and MBCT approach with Ciaran Saunders (a lecturer at Bangor University) and the Mindfulness Academy in Spain.
Shakya is an experienced trainer and coach, especially in the corporate world where his clients have included Bupa, the National Australia Bank, Sheffield University, the NHS, and other organisations around the UK and Europe. His Mindfulness courses have attracted participants from the USA, New Zealand, Finland and other countries around the world.
I am so glad I chose to do this work with you. I feel energised and relaxed, focused and aware, and feel so different from before. Thank you.
Staffordshire, England
Venue and Host
The retreat will be held in the village of Selca on the Croatian island of Brac. We have two lovely houses on a quiet village road, both with stunning views over the Adriatic. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will all be served in the outdoor kitchen and large Brac stone veranda.
The venue provides us with all the spaciousness and seclusion we need for a mindfulness retreat, both indoors and outdoors, and we have our very own private swimming pool. The Adriatic Sea is just 60 seconds away down a gentle a flight of steps. (The average weather in Brac in September is 21°C, with 8 hours of sunshine per day.)
Our host for the retreat is Sussan Öster, from Vasterås in Sweden, who spends 3 months of the year in Selca.
Catering will be by Sussan and her mother Majvor, who will provide meals (and smoothies!) from a fresh breakfast buffet selection, through teas, coffees and snacks, lunch on the veranda, right through to a nutritious evening meal by the houses or on the beach.
Using Brief Mindfulness to “Reconnect" with the moment in 30 seconds is as effective as five minutes of conventional "breathing space" meditation, and a lot easier to slip into your day.
Clinical Psychologist and mother of two, Cambridge
Retreat Programme
Over the course of four days, we'll cover the full content of our standard 6 week mindfulness courses.
The aim of the retreat is to give you a spacious and enjoyable time, as well as helping you learn the skills of mindfulness. So we'll have plenty of free time, as well as the workshop sessions.
We'll be learning and exploring mindfulness through a mixture of quiet meditation and interactive exercises. There's calm and quiet - and also plenty of laughter and fun! Meditation will usually be in chairs or lying on blankets - there are no special postures required, and you don't even have to close your eyes unless you feel more comfortable doing so.
Please arrive on Wednesday, to be in good time start the retreat programme after breakfast on Thursday morning. The retreat will conclude after lunch at 1pm on Sunday.
Nothing less than life changing
European Sales Manager, Genomic Health
Pricing
This 4 day retreat is priced at €950. This includes all training, 4 nights accommodation, all meals and a full set of materials. Also included in the price is a six week follow-up on-line course, including guided meditations and email support from Shakya, to help you bring the benefits of mindfulness back into your daily life.
If you want to stay on in Selca for up to 3 days, this is available for €140 per day. You can choose to have fun and adventure on land and sea - with quadbikes, stand-up paddle boards, excursions etc.. - or you can just chill out in the wonderful surroundings. Olive-oil tasting and Barbecue nights are also included (if you stay long enough!)
Thank you very much for the inspiring course. I have tried several different meditation courses but only this one slips easily into my daily life.
Romania
Questions?
If you have any questions about the mindfulness or retreat content, or to discuss whether it's what you're looking for, you can contact Shakya at shakya@briefmindfulness.com or call +44-7981-097768.
The retreat is organised and hosted by GoodSolution Croatia and VITAL goodsolution (Ågatan 106, 731 33 Köping). If you have any questions about the accommodation, travel or other practical things, contact Sussan Öster sussan@goodsolution.se or phone +46 (0) 70 552 41 21.
Booking
To book your place on this Brief Mindfulness retreat, click here.
We're looking forward to seeing you in Brac!