Description
Tune in to your body. Feel the firmness of the earth with your feet, sense the wetness of a drink of water as it glides down your throat, look up and absorb the warmth of the sun, experience the tingle of a cool breeze, and open to spaciousness all around you. Join us on a journey of exploring the five elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space through a Buddhist lens.
A growing body of research is now showing that old growth forests, fungi, microbes, and most matter — including all of us — are connected. Yet the Buddha’s teachings have offered this perspective for thousands of years.
Practicing with the five elements helps us to reconnect on a deeper level to this truth. Challenging the notion of individualism and a separate self, we begin to realize, to experience, that we are a part of a complex relational network.
During this retreat, we will explore the five elements rooted in the teachings of Buddhism’s First Foundation of Mindfulness, growing our awareness of the body. We will aspire to increase our connection to nature and the environment as we bring humility, curiosity, and compassion to our place in the web of things.
This program is suitable for everyone, beginners, and experienced practitioners alike. Our time together will include Dharma reflections, meditation instructions, poetry, and ample opportunity for Q&A. All are warmly welcome
Zeenat Potia teaches meditation in Buddhist and secular spaces. She has over 15 years of training, with extensive silent retreat experience in the early Buddhist tradition and advanced trauma-sensitive mindfulness. Zeenat incorporates her life experience — as a South Asian immigrant, as a mother, and as a strategic communications professional in higher education, non-profit, and publishing for over 20 years — into her teaching.
Her current work integrates mindfulness, 12-step recovery, and Internal Family Systems as a way to heal intergenerational trauma and transform structures of internal and external oppression. She is committed to sharing mindfulness with underserved and underrepresented populations. Zeenat has taught at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center since 2014, as well as teaching meditation in organizations and universities throughout the Boston area. Learn more at: zeenatpotia.com
Attending an in-person retreat
- Masks may be required; this is determined on a program-by-program basis—see the program description above for more information.
- Please arrive at least 20 minutes early to check in and find a comfortable place in the meditation hall. Retreats are held in silence. Please power off your cell phone, smartwatch, and other electronic devices for the retreat.
- Parking at CIMC is limited; we suggest you take public transportation to the Center whenever possible. We provide vegetarian meals at day-long, weekend, and multi-day retreats. We are unable to accommodate special dietary needs, however. If you have dietary restrictions, we invite you to bring your own vegetarian meal. Please note that nuts may be used in our kitchen.
- The meditation halls do not allow food and beverages, including water.
- We strongly recommend you dress in layers since the temperature in the meditation hall varies throughout the day. The hall thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature range; however, it’s best to have a range of clothing options, as individual preferences for warmth or coolness differ widely and cannot be accommodated.
- Please leave your shoes on the shoe shelves on the first floor and keep your valuables with you.
- CIMC provides zafus (round cushions), zabutons (large mats), meditation benches, blankets, and chairs. At the end of the program, we request that participants brush off their zabutons and plump up their zafus. All other items should be returned neatly to where they belong.
- CIMC is a refuge. Out of compassion for those with chemical sensitivities, please avoid using scented products—lotions, deodorant, after-shave, hair products, perfume, clothes laundered with scented detergent, or dryer sheets—before you come to the Center.
- Retreat Meal Dana: In keeping with tradition, we invite you to sponsor a retreat meal as a simple and meaningful act of generosity. You can share a dedication of your generosity, perhaps to someone in your life, a special occasion, or an aspiration. Please contact the office for more information on offering Meal Dana for this retreat.