Two Ways to Attend
Guiding teacher talks happen daily at 10 am and 7 pm US Central time, These are required for CE credit. All other offerings are optional.
Sun
M-Th (optional small group interviews T-Th 9-9:30 am or 1-1:30 pm)
Fri
Testimonials From Past Retreats
I especially benefited from the community of participants. I felt such warmth and kindness and humor and engagement from all of them. I also especially benefited from the schedule. It was a perfect balance and order of activities. The meals were delicious and generous. I hope we have a retreat every year.
I was amazed by and loved the variety of practices offered. I found it incredibly helpful that each activity offered reminders and support from all of the different teachers for me to prioritize my response to what my system needs right now over anything else.
I cannot think of a more perfect retreat for what I needed right now… it wasn’t until the retreat that I felt the space and support to even be able to get close enough to my internal experience. I’m so grateful to MAM… and each participant that helped create this environment.
I felt so safe and free to be myself in the space that was held and created on retreat, even if we were in silence. I enjoyed the different options provided and the personal time to integrate or choose what you most needed. I left with so much clarity on what patterns and conditioning leads me to feel drained, and hope to continue integrating this new level of seeing and awareness after the retreat.
…morning yoga/silent meditation was a really important part of my experience and gave me some powerful insights about what I want and need in my home practice.
A wonderful way for me to “get out” again. What a lovely group of people.
I learned that it truly is okay and necessary to pause and take care of myself. It was nice to be in a space where that was viewed not as selfish or navel-gazing, but instead as a way to stay resilient and able to continue to care for and support others. It was also good to have the pause in normal life to reflect on the ways in which my day to day does not reflect my core values, and to use that feedback to consider some changes. I also realized there are some changes in the ways I want to practice at home (more movement, more in the morning, more with others, using self-inquiry after practice). I have dreaded mornings for the majority of my life, mostly out of anxiety, but starting with yoga/meditation makes such a difference in my entire day, physically and emotionally. Truly lovely!
The meals were delicious and generous. I truly appreciated having meals provided, it was great to not think about how to feed myself for the week!
I think that might have been some of the best catered/delivered food I have ever had. Incredible.
Sunday-Friday October 22-27, 2023 (registration deadline October 6)
Each year the Midwest Alliance for Mindfulness (MAM) offers a secular mindfulness retreat to the general public that also meets requirements for teachers of mindfulness based programs.
Most of us have become quite practiced at doing – setting goals and striving to accomplish them. Simply being is less familiar territory. Yet, learning how to compassionately be with whatever is arising is an empowering skill to cultivate. With mindfulness and compassion, we can develop a relationship with experience that is emergent, non-judging and fully present to this one precious life of ours. Retreat practice provides a protected space to explore the territory of the present moment where many important insights can be found.
We invite you to join our guiding teacher and MAM supporting teachers for five days of being with companionate silence, inner exploration, and nature connection. In addition to the core teachings, participants will be guided in a variety of optional practices such as meditation, mindful movement, yoga nidra, sense and savor trail hiking, mindful eating, labyrinth walking, forest bathing, a drumming circle, and mindful engagement with horses.
Though this five-day, silent teacher-led retreat is designed for the general public, it also meets requirements for teachers of mindfulness based programs and up to 10 hours of continuing education credit are available for KS & MO licensed mental health professionals. There are two ways to attend: 1) stay with us in our private, hotel style accommodations, or 2) commute to the retreat center each morning, taking meals with us and returning home at night.
Our annual retreat receives praise from those who are newer to longer retreats as well as those with significant retreat experience, because we make it customizable to meet a variety of needs. Though this five-day, silent teacher-led retreat is designed for the general public, it also meets requirements for teachers of mindfulness based programs and continuing education credits are available for KS & MO licensed mental health professionals.
Join us at Heartland Retreat Center in Parkville, Missouri enjoying hotel style single room accommodations and 300 acres of fall foliage, wildlife, and forested trails. Visit the horses, walk the stone labyrinth or mindfully explore the abandoned cemetery.
While breakfast and lunch will be provided by HRC, vegan dinners will be catered by Mattie’s Foods. Our past participants still rave about their vegan meatloaf with mashed potatoes, chili with cornbread, the “chicken” pasta and the vegan strawberry shortcake and sweet potato pie. One participant wrote, “I think that might have been some of the best catered/delivered food I have ever had. Incredible.”
Dr. Sydney Spears
Sydney Spears, PhD, LCSW, LSCSW, TCTSY-F is cofounder of the Midwest Alliance for Mindfulness, a certified Mindful Self-Compassion teacher, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging for the Center of Mindful Self-Compassion, a licensed clinical social worker, and a Trauma-Sensitive Yoga facilitator and certification supervisor for the Center for Trauma and Embodiment. Dr. Spears has offered the practices and attitudes of mindfulness and self-compassion across a wide spectrum of contexts and diverse settings. She is an adjunct instructor at the University of Kansas incorporating these skills and concepts into her coursework in diversity, anti-oppression, social justice, and trauma-sensitive practice. Dr. Spears also teaches adaptive yoga at the Kansas City, Missouri VA for veterans who have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and for community survivors of complex trauma through private sessions. She co-designed and co-led a culturally sensitive mindfulness-based training for incarcerated males through the Missouri Department of Corrections to support their re-entry into the community. Through her counseling practice, MidLife at Ease Counseling, Dr. Spears specializes in mindfully supporting people with chronic stress, grief/loss, trauma, anxiety, depression, and relationship challenges. Dr. Spears has taught academic courses in cultural diversity, social justice, and clinical social work practice for 15 years and is passionately committed to advancing social justice efforts through providing and maintaining a non-oppressive, trauma-sensitive, and culturally responsive practice.
Here are some sights and sounds from our 2022 retreat: