Welcome the New Year with Compassion, Connection, and Ease

This New Year's Day meditation gathering at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, is a half-day of Buddhist mindfulness practice, teaching, movement and music to begin the year with compassion, connection and ease. It is led by Sylvia Boorstein, PhD, a founding Spirit Rock teacher, together with Brahmani Liebman and Barbara Bogatin, and it suits meditators of any experience. You can attend in person or online by Zoom.

What to Expect

The program runs from 10:00am to 1:30pm Pacific Time, about three and a half hours, and is an annual gathering the community returns to. It opens with a settling into community, then moves through Dharma teachings, guided meditation periods, storytelling and reflection, a guided mindful movement practice and live cello music. It closes with a reflection and a community blessing.

The teachings draw on "This is What I Know," Sylvia Boorstein's list of reflections from 50 years of practice and teaching. They explore being the principal beneficiary of your own goodwill, meeting each moment with compassion, and cultivating a relaxed, expansive mind so the heart can absorb life's shocks and release tension. Rooted in impermanence and our deep interrelatedness, the day looks toward the year ahead with resilience and tender care.

Your Teachers

Sylvia Boorstein, PhD has taught Dharma and mindfulness meditation since 1985. She is a founding Spirit Rock teacher, a psychologist, and a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She is known for emphasizing daily life as a mindfulness practice and for including informed citizenship and social activism as part of spiritual maturation.

Brahmani Liebman is a Kripalu yoga teacher and trainer and a mindful movement teacher. She guides the gentle movement practice during the program.

Barbara Bogatin is a San Francisco Symphony cellist and a mindfulness educator. She brings live cello music to the gathering.

The Setting

In-person participants gather in the Great Hall of the Community Meditation Center at Spirit Rock in Woodacre. This is a daylong program, not a residential retreat, and overnight accommodations are not provided. Those who prefer to join from home can take part online via Zoom. Please register for one format only, in person or online.

Before You Go

All experience levels are welcome, and no prior meditation or movement experience is needed. The program is offered in English and Spanish.

Registration includes the teachings, guided meditations, mindful movement and live music, along with unlimited access to the recording, which becomes available roughly ten days after the program. Meals, beverages and transportation are not included. If you attend in person, bring your own lunch and a water bottle, since lunch is not provided.

A sliding scale supports the teachers and funds scholarships, and participants are invited to pay at the highest rate they can comfortably afford. Scholarship rates are available for BIPOC participants, young adults, and the Mudita/Karuna category. Work exchange opportunities may be available for the in-person program, and no one is turned away from the online program for lack of funds, as space allows. If the program fills, a waiting list is created.