Please note: This retreat is hosted by Big Bear Retreat Center, not InsightLA.
For any questions or support for registering or preparing for this retreat, please contact guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org.
For more details and to register for this hybrid retreat, please visit the Big Bear Retreat Center’s website: The Original Body Scan: Discovering Freedom within the Body (in-person).
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This event page is the in-person version of a hybrid retreat which will take place both in-person and online. To register for the online version of this event, click here.
Open to experienced and new practitioners
Registration closes on June 8, 2026. If joining after this date, please contact guestservices@bigbearretreatcenter.org.
In this retreat, we will work primarily with the first of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness – mindfulness of the body. The “32 Parts of the Body” meditation, which is part of the first foundation of mindfulness, has rarely been taught in the West; you will be introduced to it from an Insight perspective of the true nature and wonders of the body. This practice has also been used for healing illness and most importantly to help eradicate the erroneous view of self. Various methods will be taught to strengthen mindfulness of the body and to explore the mind/body connection.
We will follow the usual format of an Insight Meditation (Vipassana) retreat, with periods of sitting and walking meditation, as well as qigong sessions for further exploration of mindfulness of the body. The two daily Qi Gong sessions follow the deepening instructions of the 32 parts of the body. Each day there will be a talk and systematic meditation instructions that are embedded in lovingkindness. These teachings and practices will emphasize quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing clarity, wisdom, and compassion; and foster the depth of practice.
This retreat is appropriate for the general public, health professionals, and mindfulness teachers or in training.
