LGBTQIA+ Retreat: Waking Up Fabulous – Taking Refuge & Care (2025)

LGBTQIA+ Retreat: Waking Up Fabulous – Taking Refuge & Care (2025)

“Caring for myself is not self–indulgence
It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
~Audre Lorde~

Open to all who identify as: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, or Queer +. Co-sponsored by the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, and Cambridge Insight Meditation Center.

This retreat is an opportunity for us to come together as an LGBTQIA+ community and care for ourselves: to remember who we really are and to recollect our true inner goodness. We will explore ways of sustaining a kind heart, a clear open mind, and a strong body. We will engage with the ancient teachings and practices offered by the Buddha that cultivate compassion, wisdom, and skillful actions.

As LGBTQIA+ people, in these challenging and difficult times, we recollect the power of community to know that we are not alone, and that together we can begin the healing of centuries of oppression and trauma within a deep knowing of our interconnectedness and interdependence. We learn to trust the unfolding of our lives and to act for the benefit of all beings.

This retreat will be held in Noble Silence. In silence, we are illuminating the heart and mind. It is a real-time practice of stillness and clarity. Participants are asked and expected to refrain from using any electronic devices. This allows for a rare opportunity to unplug and get to know our own reality show with compassion and wisdom. Within this commitment, we are the guardians to each other’s solitude while in this precious community. The more we know and understand our inner landscape, the more we are able to engage with others and the world with both skill and grace.

Guided meditation instructions, Q&A, heart practices, gentle yoga, group meetings with a teacher, and dharma talks will be offered on this retreat. On this rare LGBTQIA+ retreat, we come together to practice turning towards and caring for ourselves, each other, and all that truly matters in our lives, for the highest good of all. Hope you can join us!

SCHOLARSHIPS

There are a limited number of partial scholarships available for this retreat. Please visit us here for more information, and to apply. Please do not sign up for the retreat if you have submitted an application. Please wait to hear from us. For questions, please contact us at: scholarships@garrisoninstitute.org.

TEACHERS

Madeline Klyne has been practicing insight meditation for over 30 years. Madeline is a co-founder and teacher at South Shore Insight in Hanover, MA, a teacher at Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, and an assistant teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Barre, MA. Part of Madeline’s spiritual path was to come out at the age of five. To learn more about Madeline’s work please visit this page.

Jacoby Ballard has been teaching yoga for 20 years and now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with his partner and child. His work sits at the intersection of spiritual practice and social change and has led him to consult with Insight Meditation Society, the Yoga Alliance, Lululemon, and speaking on college campuses. His current foray into study and taking the role of student is through his enrollment with the Community Dharma Leaders program at Spirit Rock. His teaching style is playful and profound, integrating the teachings of the dharma into how we move and breath on our mats and with each other.

******Other Special Guest Teacher Pending******

RETREAT MANAGER

La Sarmiento (they/them) is a teacher with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, The Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, and Cloud Sangha and contributor to the Ten Percent Happier app. They are the Guiding Teacher for the IMCW BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Sanghas and a 2012 graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders Training Program. La lives with their life partner Wendy and rescue pups Annabel and Bader and loves the mindfulness practice of building Lego. To learn more about La’s work please visit this page.

COVID-19

The health and safety of our guests and staff is a top priority for the Garrison Institute. To attend a retreat or event all guests, teachers, and staff are required to self-test (at home antigen test is acceptable) within the 48-hour window prior to arriving for a retreat on site, and to bring a 2nd self-test kit when coming on site. We encourage everyone to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and other illnesses before your visit. If you experience symptoms or have a positive diagnosis, please notify us immediately at events@garrisoninstitute.org We will continue to follow any COVID-19 guidelines set forth by our local officials, New York State and the CDC.