A 3-Hour Restorative Experience
Thursday, January 29, 2026 • 1:00–4:00pm ET • Virtual via Zoom
When you spend your days caring for others, where do you find care for yourself? This national virtual retreat offers healthcare workers, clinicians, and family caregivers a restorative pause, evidence-based practices to replenish your reserves, reconnect with what sustains you, and remember you’re not alone.
Why Join
Refuel Your Reserves
Experience proven contemplative practices designed specifically for helping professionals. Learn accessible tools for emotional regulation, stress awareness, and sustainable compassion that you can use anywhere—between patient visits, during breaks, or before bed.
Find Your Balance
Move beyond “self-care tips” to understand the deeper patterns that deplete you, and discover how to show up more authentically without burning out.
Connect Across Disciplines
You’re not alone in this. Build meaningful connections with nurses, physicians, social workers, ED staff, hospice workers, family caregivers, and others who understand what it means to hold space for suffering. Share insights and strategies with peers who get it.
What You’ll Gain
- Immediate relief practices you can use the next day at work—simple, accessible tools that fit into your existing rhythm
- Connection with healthcare workers committed to sustainable, compassionate care
- Renewed sense of grounding through understanding the psychology of stress and how it impacts your body, mind, and capacity for connection
- Permission to prioritize yourself, not as selfishness, but as essential to your ability to serve
The ABCs of Resilience Framework
This retreat introduces Contemplative-Based Resilience’s evidence-based framework through three integrated modules:
Awareness: Bringing Attention to What Is
Awareness of the neurobiology and psychology of stress, its causes, and its
impacts. Cultivate present-moment awareness to recognize your stress patterns before they overwhelm you. Learn how mindfulness strengthens your capacity to respond rather than react, and discover practices that create space between stimulus and response.
Balance: Sustainable Compassion in Action
Balance of the body and mind through simple techniques for mental, emotional and physical awareness. Find the equilibrium between caring deeply and caring sustainably. Explore the difference between empathy that depletes and compassion that renews, and understand how self-compassion isn’t self-indulgence—it’s the foundation of sustained service.
Connection: Our Shared Humanity
Connection with ourselves and with the people we care for, through reflection and action. Recognize that isolation amplifies suffering while connection heals. Discover how acknowledging our common humanity—across roles, disciplines, and differences—builds resilience and reminds us why this work matters.
What We’ll Do
Opening & Framework Introduction
Ground into the space together and introduce the ABCs of Resilience framework
Three Core Modules
Each module is led by an expert, certified CBR faculty member and may include:
- Guided contemplative practices (meditation, mindful movement, breathwork)
- Psycho-education about stress, compassion, and resilience
- Reflective exercises and journaling prompts
- Interactive elements tailored to each teacher’s approach
Small Group Integration
Connect in small groups to integrate insights and share reflections across all three modules.
Closing Synthesis
Collective reflection and guidance for sustaining practices beyond the retreat
All practices are optional, trauma-informed, and accessible regardless of prior meditation experience.
Who Should Attend
This retreat is designed for anyone in healthcare and caregiving roles experiencing stress, burnout, or compassion fatigue:
Healthcare Professionals: Nurses, physicians, physician assistants, medical assistants, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, emergency department staff, ICU teams, hospice and palliative care workers
Allied Health & Staff: Social workers, case managers, patient advocates, medical interpreters, hospital chaplains, patient navigators
Community Health Workers: Public health professionals, community health workers, doulas, home health aides, peer counselors
Caregivers: Family caregivers, professional caregivers, direct support professionals
Students & Trainees: Medical students, nursing students, social work students, residents
Especially relevant if you’re:
- Feeling depleted and running on empty
- Noticing compassion fatigue or emotional numbness
- Questioning whether you can sustain this work
- Carrying the weight of others’ suffering without support
- Working in an underrecognized sector where burnout isn’t acknowledged
- Seeking connection with others who understand
No prior experience with meditation is needed.
FACILITATORS
This retreat features expert teachers from the Garrison Institute’s Contemplative-Based Resilience faculty. Our teachers bring diverse backgrounds in mindfulness, psychology, trauma-informed care, and healing movement practices.
Sarina Saturn, certified CBR Faculty
Sarina Saturn, PhD, is a neuroscientist, educator, researcher, mentor, and community builder devoted to health equity, social justice, and belonging for 2SLGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), women, and people with disabilities. Her expertise centers on intersectional advocacy, antiracism, feminism, and the neuroscience and psychology underlying emotions, intergenerational trauma, coping, healing, and post-traumatic growth. Dr. Saturn is co-Editor-in-Chief of the ADVANCE Journal for Individual and Institutional Transformation for Social Justice. She has extensive education and research experience as a professor at large state and small private universities in Oregon, a community scientist in public health at the county, state, and national level, and as a presenter and facilitator to diverse audiences, including social workers, physicians, behavioral health specialists, counselors, yoga instructors, educators, equity leaders, and more.
Jennifer Winther, certified CBR Faculty
She/Her. Proudly mixed race. Japanese American. Asian American. Ph.D. Yogi. Meditator. Breast cancer survivor. Motherless mother. LGBTQIA+ parent ally. Teacher. Writer. Buddhist. Lover of nature, music, art, travel, and heritage cooking. Defender of the right to rest and heal.
In her work as teacher and facilitator, Jennifer focuses on the real, the accessible, and the simply profound benefits of regular practice. Whether in virtual workday sessions, on retreat in some beautiful place around the globe, or anywhere else that people gather, she specializes in creating the conditions for you to nourish a practice of mindful, embodied movement, stillness, and contemplation that can create powerful ripples in your life. As a teacher, her greatest joy is seeing you gradually embrace your own empowered practice, liberating yourself from the internalized patterns that have made you suffer for too long.
Yikai Xu, certified CBR Faculty
Yikai Xu, M.Phil. M.Ed., is a clinician, researcher, educator, contemplative practitioner, and mentor devoted to healthy equity and compassion across systems. His expertise centers on Asian indigenous contemplative wisdom, emotion regulation, psychological health, and scalable interventions.
Yikai is a Ph.D. candidate in the Clinical/Counseling psychology program at New York University. He is currently conducting a randomized-controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a brief online intervention that leverages Asian dialectical wisdom for stress reduction. Yikai is also a clinician at the Psychosis Risk Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and an adjunct faculty member at the Counseling for Mental Health Counseling and Wellness master’s program at New York University. Concurrently, Yikai advises and supports organizations (e.g., Mind & Life Institute, Contentment Foundation) to leverage contemplative wisdom to promote individual, community, and system-wide well-being.
Chia-Ti Chiu, certified CBR Faculty
Chia-Ti has over 23 years of experience teaching movement, mindfulness, meditation and resilience building. Her movement modalities include yoga, qigong, fascia release, and somatics. She teaches adults, elders, and teens in New York City. Her passion is making connections between wellness and social justice through a trauma-conscious, strengths-based lens. Chia-Ti leads domestic and international yoga retreats through her business onelovewellness. She provides one on one somatic coaching and mindfulness consulting for non-profits and companies. She facilitated workshops on the brain-body connection, navigating stress (i.e. navigating life, and cultivating compassion and belonging.
She leads mindful movement and psycho-social education for the Garrison Institute’s Contemplative-Based Resilience Project, which trains humanitarian aid workers, social service providers, healthcare workers, and Congressional staffers to cope with burnout and navigate stress. She was a senior teacher with the Lineage Project, which offered mindful movement and meditation to young people and direct service staff in detention centers and alternate to incarceration facilities. She believes in making wellness accessible, affordable, and relevant for all. For more info, check out her website: www.onelovewellness.com, Instagram: @onelovewellness, and LinkedIn: Chia-Ti Chiu
Carlos Rodarte, Director, Contemplative-Based Resilience Program
Carlos brings over 20 years at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and contemplative practice to his role as Director of Contemplative-Based Resilience at the Garrison Institute. As a systems entrepreneur and mission-driven executive, he has built and led organizations applying business strategy to advance health equity and community wellbeing. His career has spanned management consulting with health systems and life-science companies, leading patient-focused data initiatives at PatientsLikeMe, and supporting community health centers, nonprofits, and startups to advance resilience-based care models and reduce burnout. He has published in peer-reviewed literature on patient-led research and spoken on health innovation nationally and internationally. Formally trained as an environmental scientist with a business background focused on social impact. A certified mindfulness mentor, he integrates contemplative approaches into daily life, translating evidence-based practices into practical tools for frontline practitioners, community organizers, and business leaders facing systemic pressures.
Details
Host: Garrison Institute’s Contemplative-Based Resilience (CBR) Program
Date & Time: Thursday, January 29, 2026, 1:00–4:00pm ET
Format: Virtual via Zoom (link provided upon registration)
Who Can Attend: Healthcare workers, clinicians, and caregivers nationwide—no geographic restrictions
Cost: Free registration (space permitting)
Accessibility: We welcome participants of all abilities. Please share accommodation needs during registration or contact us at CBRProject@garrisoninstitute.org.
What to Have: A quiet space where you can focus, comfortable seating, water, and optional notebook for reflection
Our Commitment: We cultivate a respectful, contemplative space that honors diverse experiences, identities, and backgrounds. All practices are optional and trauma-informed. You’re invited to participate in whatever way serves your wellbeing.
Technology Requirements: Computer or tablet with stable internet connection, Zoom capability (free Zoom account), webcam and microphone optional but encouraged for small group discussion
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need prior meditation or mindfulness experience?
No. All practices are designed for beginners and those new to contemplative approaches. Our teachers create a welcoming space for everyone, regardless of experience level.
What if I can only attend part of the retreat?
We encourage attending the full 3 hours for maximum benefit, but we understand healthcare schedules are unpredictable.
Will this be recorded?
We value live, experiential, and interactive sessions. This event will not be recorded.
Is this really free?
Yes. There is no registration fee. This retreat is made possible through the Garrison Institute’s commitment to supporting helping professionals.
What if I work in a healthcare-adjacent field?
If your work involves caring for others and you’re experiencing stress or burnout, you’re welcome here. We recognize that many sectors experience burnout without adequate recognition or support.
How is this different from other wellness programs?
Most wellness programs focus on stress management techniques. CBR goes deeper—addressing the underlying patterns that lead to burnout and compassion fatigue. Our approach is grounded in 20+ years of implementing the program with helping professionals working in the most challenging conditions worldwide.
Will there be follow-up opportunities?
Yes. After the retreat, you’ll receive information about ongoing CBR offerings including monthly resilience circles, deeper trainings, and specialized courses. We’re building a community of practice, and this retreat is your entry point.
What if I need to cancel?
Please notify us as soon as possible at events@garrisoninstitute.org so we can open your spot to someone on the waitlist.
Can I share this with colleagues?
Absolutely! Please share widely with anyone in healthcare or caregiving roles who might benefit. We find that people who bring a colleague or a friend to CBR events benefit from having someone to process the experience with afterward.
Register Now
After registering, you’ll receive:
- Zoom link and access details
- Pre-retreat preparation suggestions (optional)
- Pre-retreat self-care practice survey (optional)
- Information about CBR and what to expect
Space is available on a first-come, first-served basis. If the retreat fills, you can add yourself to our waitlist and we’ll notify you of future offerings.
Questions? Contact us at CBRProject@garrisoninstitute.org
Learn more about CBR: www.garrisoninstitute.org/programs/contemplative-based-resilience
The Garrison Institute taps the power of contemplation, wisdom traditions, and contemporary science to help build a more compassionate and resilient future. Our initiatives include Contemplative-Based Resilience, Pathways to Planetary Health, Meta Economics, and Spirituality and Social Change. We hold multiple retreats and virtual events throughout the year. For more information, visit www.garrisoninstitute.org