NOTE: in-person Retreat registration opens at 2:30pm PT. Retreat begins at 6:00pm PT / 9:00pm ET.
Hybrid Meditation Retreat with Oren Jay Sofer, Cara Lai, devon hase, Yong Oh, & Hakim Tafari
The Buddhist path includes practices to cultivate four powerful and transformative qualities—kindness, compassion, joy, and balance. These qualities are innate human capacities, and can also be developed into more reliable dwelling places for the heart. Known as the Brahma Viharas, or “sublime homes,” these states can serve as powerful supports for wellbeing, wholeness, concentration and the maturing of insight practice.
There will be both residential and online options to participate in this silent meditation retreat. We will explore techniques for developing each of the four sublime states, as well as ways to release the obstacles that often get in the way of living with more ease, happiness, and peace. Our time together will include silent and guided sitting meditation, walking meditation, Dharma talks, instructions, Q&A, and small group meetings with the teachers.
This retreat is appropriate for both beginning and more experienced meditators.
Teacher Support: The teachers on this retreat offer their teachings freely. They do not receive compensation from Spirit Rock program fees and rely on the generosity of students for their livelihood. There will be an opportunity to offer a donation to the teachers at the end of the retreat. Read more about this practice here.
Questions?
This event is being run by the Spirit Rock Meditation Center. For any questions related to registration or scholarships, please email Spirit Rock at srmc@spiritrock.org.
The online retreat is offered as broadcast-only and will include: teacher-led meditation instructions and Dharma talks broadcasted live from Spirit Rock’s Upper Meditation Hall. Recordings of each teacher-led session will be posted within 24 hours after a session ends. All video recordings will be available for you to play and replay for 90 days after the retreat ends.
Important note: Online participation in this retreat is audit-only; that is, this online retreat does not offer interactions with the teachers (i.e., no practice meetings, no ability to ask questions during Q&A sessions, etc.), nor does it offer online small groups or affinity groups.
Registration for the online option is not yet open.
About the Teachers
Oren Jay Sofer
Oren Jay Sofer, a CNVC Certified Nonviolent Communication Trainer, teaches workshops and retreats on meditation and communication internationally. His teaching emphasizes how awareness practice and communication training deepen one another in a synergistic manner. He holds a degree in Comparative Religion from Columbia University and is certified as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner for healing trauma. Oren is a husband, a father, and the author of several books including Your Heart Was Made For This, and the best-selling title, Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication.
Cara Lai
Cara Lai has spent most of her life in pursuit of meaning and happiness, which landed her on a cushion for much of her adult life. Throughout many mind-body adventures including many long-term retreats, she has explored the concentrated mind, chronic illness, the value of pleasure, the power of maternal energy, and connection to the earth. In the past, Cara has worked as an artist, wilderness guide, social worker and psychotherapist. Now she finds herself intently focused on the dharma path, practicing both on and off the cushion in unconventional ways, and using intuition as her guide. She tries her best to teach from the most authentic and vulnerable place she can muster, and is still learning about the contentment of simply existing.
devon hase
devon hase has practiced intensively in the insight and vajrayana traditions since discovering meditation in 2000. After a decade of bringing mindfulness to high school and college classrooms, she entered several years of silent, solitary retreat in the mountains of Oregon. She now teaches at the Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and the Forest Refuge, and serves as co-guiding teacher of the online dharma community Refuge of Belonging. Devon supports practitioners in both long and short retreats, as well as through personal mentoring, with an emphasis on relational practice and connection to the natural world.
Along with her life partner, nico, she co-authored How Not to Be a Hot Mess and the forthcoming This Messy, Gorgeous Love: A Buddhist Guide to Lasting Partnership (2026).
Yong Oh
Yong Oh is a Dharma Council teacher at the Durango Dharma Center and a core teacher for Sacred Mountain Sangha, and is also a visiting teacher for other community centers across North America. He teaches retreats at the Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Big Bear Retreat Center, and Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center. He is a graduate of the 4-year Insight Meditation Society Retreat Teacher Training program, Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s 2-year Community Dharma Leaders program, and the Sacred Mountain Sangha 2-year Dharmapala training, taught by his primary teachers Kittisaro and Thanissara. Yong is also a retired acupuncturist, is passionate about Nature and Dharma, and has particular interests in devotional expression, supporting caregivers, and offering teachings to communities of color in the Dharma.
Hakim Tafari (movement teacher)
Hakim Tafari has studied martial arts since 1996, beginning with Southern-style Praying Mantis Kung Fu. After a major knee injury, his focus shifted to the internal arts. Following extensive research and reflection, he began dedicated study and practice of Tai Chi Chuan.
Since 1998, Hakim has immersed himself in the internal martial arts—practicing, teaching, researching, and deepening his connection to the spiritual roots of these traditions. His path naturally led him to Taoism, which resonated deeply with the meditative and mystical qualities of Tai Chi.
Over the years, Hakim has studied with respected teachers in a range of arts, including Tai Chi, Wuji, Qigong, Baguazhang, Aikido, and the Filipino stick-fighting discipline of Arnis. His commitment to a lifestyle grounded in veganism and martial arts eventually opened the door to the profound teachings of Buddhism. Through the Dharma—the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path—he continues to cultivate calm, clarity, and mindfulness, guiding his actions and dissolving the grip of ego.