About this Retreat
Lama Willa Blythe Baker, Ph.D. is the Founder of Natural Dharma Fellowship in Boston, MA and its retreat center Wonderwell Mountain Refuge in Springfield, NH. She was authorized as a dharma teacher and lineage holder in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism after twelve years of monastic training and two consecutive three-year retreats. She also has trained in the Nyingma and Shangpa lineages. In 2013, Willa completed a doctorate at Harvard University, and was Visiting Lecturer in Buddhist Ministry from 2013 to 2017.
Willa is author of four books:
The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom (2021),
The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work (2012),
Everyday Dharma: Seven Weeks to Finding the Buddha in You (2009), and
Essence of Ambrosia (2005). Her articles and translations have appeared in
Tricycle, Lion’s Roar,
Buddhadharma,
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies,
Tibet Journal, and other periodicals and anthologies.
She is a contemplative faculty member with the Mind and Life Institute, Sangha Live, One Earth Sangha, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, the Omega Institute and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. She is a member of Clark University’s Council of the Uncertain Human Future and sits on the advisory board for One Earth Sangha.
At present, Willa writes, teaches, guides meditation retreats, and develops curriculum for people interested in cultivating a deep meditation practice in daily life. Her teaching interests include the wisdom of the body, eco-dharma, non-dual awareness and compassion.
Details of this retreat
Six-week course: Mondays and Wednesdays
Teachings on Wednesdays 5:00 - 6:30 pm ET
Yoga on Mondays 5:00 - 6:00 pm ET
Movement with Laura Sicari
Explore how the body is the key not only to a fruitful meditation practice, but to an easeful life. During this live, experiential online course, we will pay special attention to becoming more embodied in our daily life through practical exercises, movement, meditation and ways of understanding. Lama Willa Baker will guide us in learning from her popular book The Wakeful Body.
Many of us have a complicated relationship with the body. In its vulnerability to aging and illness, we tend to think of our body in ordinary or even pejorative terms. Yet many meditation masters of the past have taught that the body is a temple, a mandala, a profound source of wisdom. How do we reconcile these two perspectives?
In this course, we will explore the body as a domain of practice and wisdom, diving deep into the physical, energetic and cognizant dimensions of experience. Through dharma instruction, contemplative movement and study, we will learn how to bring awakening from the realm of ideas into the truth of embodiment.
Join Lama Willa to:
Explore the path of somatic mindfulness
Learn specific tools for navigating embodied experience and practice
Develop an ongoing practice of integrating principles of wisdom and compassion into the body and nervous system
Practice yoga and meditation in community
Become more embodied in daily life
Course includes:
Weekly Teaching and Guided Meditation with Lama Willa on Wednesdays (1.5 hours), with occasional Q&A and meetings with peers.
Weekly gentle Yoga Practice with Laura Sicari on Mondays (1 hour) to work on integrating the course themes into a practice of movement.
Lama Willa encourages participants to commit to a daily practice (a minimum of 15 minutes per day) for the six-week duration of this course.
Resources include:
Course Syllabus with weekly reading assignments from The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom (Shambhala Publications 2022)
Bibliography for further exploration of embodied practice
Guided Meditations (pre-recorded), available on SoundCloud
Exclusive access to professionally mastered yoga videos featuring Vajra Vinyasa Yoga, movement practices that accompany the meditations in the The Wakeful Body. Watch and learn from Lama Willa on demand throughout the six weeks.
Required Course Resources (for use during the course):
The Wakeful Body: Somatic Mindfulness as a Path to Freedom by Willa Blythe Baker (Shambhala Publications 2022) available directly from Shambhala Publications or from other booksellers
“Embodiment,” 2022 article by Willa Blythe Baker
Meditation and movement practices are suitable for all levels of experience.
Program Cost
Our program fees provide essential support to our non-profit operations and NDF’s mission to spread the Dharma in accessible, relevant, and creative ways. Our goal is that no one misses out on our events due to lack of funds. Thanks to our generous donors, we are able to offer tiered pricing and additional support to fit varied financial situations:
May All Beings Benefit! *– supporting access for all and general support for NDF operations
A Middle Way – covering the base cost
Held in Sangha Loving-kindness – offering ease when financial resources are limiting
If the lowest cost tier creates an obstacle to your attendance, please see our financial support options on the registration page. The process is simple and does not require extensive information. Financial aid is immediately approved using discount code options that allow you to contribute the most you are able while honoring your particular resources.
* The difference between the May All Beings Benefit! tier and the Middle Way tier will be considered a tax-deductible donation and will be acknowledged as such in writing. Contributing at this level helps us offer financial aid to other participants. Thank you!!
Access to Recordings
NDF offers unlimited access to recordings, which are accessed in your user dashboard (more information about user accounts provided in a pre-retreat letter). If you have a user account, please register with the same email you use to log into your dashboard. If not, an account will be created for you using your registration address.
Availability will vary depending on the type of event and the backlog for our precious resource volunteers. Thank you for your patience.
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