A One-Day Metta Retreat: A Path to Warmth, Stillness, and Joy
詳細
One of the most beautiful shifts in meditation happens when we stop trying to force the mind to be calm, and instead learn how to soften the heart.
Metta, or loving-kindness/friendliness, is often taught as a practice of goodwill and compassion. But it is more than that. When practiced steadily, metta can become a powerful path of healing, joy, and deep inner stillness. The heart softens, the body relaxes, and the mind begins to gather itself naturally.
In this full-day retreat at the beautiful Koyama Garden, we’ll explore how loving-kindness can become a doorway into deeper meditation. Through a series of guided sits, short talks, pair practices, and reflection throughout the day, we’ll explore metta not just as a nice feeling, but as a practice that can transform the whole quality of the mind and heart.
Each meditation will be around 30 minutes, with time for reflection, integration, and discussion throughout the day.
🧘 Some of the practices we’ll explore include:
- Foundations of Metta, learning how to generate kindness in a natural and unforced way
- Working with the common obstacles to metta, such as numbness, striving, doubt, agitation, and self-judgment
- Whole-body metta, allowing loving-kindness to become embodied and felt
- How metta deepens into calm, joy, and collectedness
- Resting in the pleasurable and nourishing qualities of practice without grasping
- Exploring how loving-kindness can become a doorway to deeper states of stillness and unification
Details:
🗓️ Date: Saturday May 30th, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
💰 Cost: 12,000 yen pay here
📍 Location: Koyama Garden (5 minute walk from Toshimaen station)
👥 Max: 12 people
🍱 Lunch + Onsen
Lunch and onsen are not included. You can bring a bento, and there are a few restaurants nearby. There’s also an awesome onsen nearby — Niwa no Yu — that we can go to after, if you’re free.
🌿Who this is for
This retreat is for anyone who wants to cultivate more warmth, ease, and depth in meditation. It is for people who are drawn to heart-based practice, who want a gentler and more nourishing approach to concentration, or who are curious about how loving-kindness can lead into deeper stillness. It is also for those who find more effort-based meditation dry, frustrating, or overly heady, and want to explore a more joyful path.
🎒What to bring
- Comfortable clothes for sitting/stretching
- Water bottle
- Bring your own bento, or buy one during our lunch break
- Notebook and pen
- Snacks (there is also a konbini nearby)
- An open mind to try new techniques
💳 Payment: Please make your payment here to complete your RSVP.
🪷Other notes: You are not required to sit on the floor cross-legged. We have plenty of small chairs available, and lying down is also an option. In fact, the more comfortable you are, the more you can let go.
👤About Me: My name is Misha Yurchenko, and I’m a certified mindfulness teacher, psychospiritual coach, and founder of Tokyo Mindfulness. I’ve spent years exploring my own conditioning through meditation, therapy, coaching, self-inquiry, and intimate relationship. This work has been deeply transformational for my wellbeing, clarity, and happiness. I’m also a husband and father living in Tokyo, so I understand the real pressures of work, life, love, and nervous system overload. I’m excited to share these practices with you.
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