People Who Care for People – A Retreat for Caregivers

The people who care for others play a vital role in our communities, whether in intimate family circles, larger social networks, or the wide array of helping professions in healthcare, education, social justice, and more. Often it is caregivers who support the front lines of our society: helping those who face challenges on a daily basis. However, this support can come at a high personal cost, leading to frustration, exhaustion, and a fast track to burnout.

How do we balance the desire to help others with our own needs? How do we have compassion for ourselves as well as others? How do we infuse our actions with the wisdom that we must do our best while honoring that we’re not in control?

Sharon Salzberg along with Ali Smith, Atman Smith and Andres Gonzalez (Co-Founders of the Holistic Life Foundation) offer this virtual retreat exploring the immense resilience of the human spirit, and how to find greater balance when serving others. Recharge physically, mentally, and emotionally in a community of caretakers from all walks of life with meditation, yoga, and contemplative practices.

Take home a variety of practical tools for a uniquely personal balance of self-care:

• Meditation techniques for greater calm, clarity, and peace of mind
• Recharging breathing practices to counteract daily depletion on the job
• Learn to work with challenging emotions like anger, guilt, and sadness
• Reconnecting with deeper motivations for greater fulfillment
• Yoga practices to foster health and relaxation for body and mind
• Working with equanimity for ongoing balance
• Build deeper connections through lovingkindness practice

Join us for a restorative virtual retreat to develop the skills needed to move towards deeper care, both for ourselves and for others. No prior meditation or yoga experience is necessary to attend.

Mindfulness teacher Sharon Salzberg joins with Atman Smith, Ali Smith, and Andres Gonzalez of the Holistic Life Foundation (HLF) to offer a program exploring this subject.

Sharon Salzberg will co-teach the retreat virtually.

Please email us at events@garrisoninstitute.org with questions.

TEACHERS

Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is one of the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 45 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of twelve books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. Her latest release, Finding Your Way, from Workman Publishing is being released in October 2023. Her podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed six million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond. www.sharonsalzberg.com

Ali Smith was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a graduate of the Friends School of Baltimore and the University of Maryland, College Park. Ali started his journey with contemplative practices as a small child, learning meditation from his father and attending the Divine Life Church of Absolute Oneness, run by Swami Shankarananda. He deepened his practice and learned the art of teaching as a young adult, studying many forms of yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and breathwork from his teacher and godfather Will Joyner. Ali has almost 20 years’ experience teaching these practices to a broad demographic spectrum, internationally. He is a published author, and is a pioneer in the fields of yoga and mindfulness in education, as well as trauma informed yoga and mindfulness, developing best practices that are used around the world. He co-founded the Holistic Life Foundation in 2001 and The Involution Group in 2019. Ali is also a co-host of the Look Again Podcast which you can find at www.theinvolutiongroup.com

Atman Smith is a Co-founder of the Holistic Life Foundation, where he served as Director of Youth Programming for ten years Director of Fundraising for five years and currently serves as the Director of Development. Since 2001, he has been teaching yoga and mindfulness to a diverse population including underserved and high-risk youth in Baltimore City Public Schools, drug treatment centers, wellness centers, and colleges. A native of Baltimore, Atman attended the University of Maryland, College Park where he was a letter award winner for the University’s men’s basketball team. He graduated with a B.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice. His work with the Holistic Life Foundation has been featured on Making a Difference on the NBC Nightly News, CNN, and CBS, as well as O the Oprah Magazine, The Washington Post, Upworthy, Mindful Magazine, Yoga Journal, Shambala Sun, and many other publications.

Andres Gonzalez is one of the Co-Founders of the Holistic Life Foundation. For eighteen years, Andres has taught yoga to diverse populations throughout the world, including Baltimore City Public School students, drug treatment centers, mental crisis facilities, homeless shelters, wellness centers, colleges, private schools and other various venues throughout the nation and throughout the world. He has partnered with John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health and the Penn State’s Prevention Research Center on a Stress and Relaxation Study and is a published author in the Journal of Children’s Services. His work with the Holistic Life Foundation has been featured on Making a Difference on the NBC Nightly News, CNN, and CBS, as well as O the Oprah Magazine, The Washington Post, Upworthy, Mindful Magazine, Yoga Journal, Shambala Sun, and many other publications. He is a certified Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, maintains a B.S. in Marketing from University of Maryland, College Park and an MBA from the University of Maryland, University College

SCHOLARSHIPS

There are a limited number of partial scholarships available for this retreat. Please visit us here for more information, and to apply. Please do not sign up for the retreat if you have submitted an application. Please wait to hear from us. For questions, please contact us at: scholarships@garrisoninstitute.org.

COVID-19

The health and safety of our guests and staff is a top priority for the Garrison Institute. To attend a retreat or event all guests, teachers, and staff are required to self-test (at home antigen test is acceptable) within the 48-hour window prior to arriving for a retreat on site, and to bring a 2nd self-test kit when coming on site. We encourage everyone to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and other illnesses before your visit. If you experience symptoms or have a positive diagnosis, please notify us immediately at events@garrisoninstitute.org We will continue to follow any COVID-19 guidelines set forth by our local officials, New York State and the CDC. Please visit this page for more information about the safety protocols in place as well as answers to frequently asked questions.