Spirit Rock Meditation Center - Woodacre, California

Julia Gooding

A wonderful week-long retreat experience. Dorms are comfortable, walking trails are plentiful and the food is exceptional! With so many wise teachers and communities practicing here, there is great energy and space for quiet and deepening presence.

Natalia Chernetsova

Это невероятное место с очень мощной и наполняющей энергией! Путешествие Души, наполненное нескончаемой любовью и прозрениями.

Elliott August

I’ve sat retreat at Spirit Rock three times (including up to one month) and have enjoyed supportive instruction in a beautiful setting dedicated to Buddhist meditation.

There’s so much to love and appreciate about this institution. With that being said, there are two things I would encourage folks to consider:

1) Expense: SR is almost 2x as expensive as its peer center IMS, and ~4x more expensive than smaller centers like Cloud Mountain. Some of this might be the consequence of its Bay Area surroundings, but it feels as though the cost has gone up considerably the last few years. This makes practice less accessible.

2) Depth of Practice: shorter retreats are of benefit to beginners or folks who have not sat much retreat before, but those with longer practice history would appreciate seeing more 7-14 day retreats. It seems the programs are now very heavily weighted to 3-5 day programs.

As another person mentioned, teachers can have quite varied experience and knowledge so be careful to find someone you feel aligned with.

ruma tenbrink

"Silence Is Golden" no truer words have ever been spoken. If you want to up-level your personal best, go to a silent meditation retreat here at Spirit Rock Meditation Center or find one near you. I left this retreat a kinder, more compassionate, more patient human being with more love for myself than ever before. I actually feel different in my own skin, which is quite amazing and as I look through my eyes I feel that I'm looking through a different pair of lenses. I consider this place my Spiritual Home and I can't wait to go back. The simple daily rhythms could actually be difficult at times, but I never felt better. My body, spirit, heart/mind were nourished and filled up in a beautiful way. The combination of sitting, walking, working, eating on repeat, and going back to the absolute basics had me feeling alive and deeply connected to myself and the beautiful Coastal Miwok lands I was so honored to roam everyday. The phenomenal vegan/veg cuisine was probably the best gourmet food I've ever tasted in my life!!! I am so grateful to my company for paying for this and allowing me this professional development time to upgrade myself. Can't wait to do this again this new year! Thank you Rockwood Leadership Institute for this gift!!! p.s. I don't have any pictures of the gorgeous food (we ate the rainbow) cuz we had no cell phones during the retreat. If you really want to upgrade your life, ditch your cell phone (schedule time away from it) talk less and listen more Xoxo

#meditation
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Yingke Z

Spent a lovely New Year’s Day here on a retreat with Sylvia - a long term teacher at spirit rock. What a tranquil place with lovely hills. The retreat was absolutely amazing with kind teaching from Sylvia and classic Bach Cello and drum tunes from her friends. Surreal experience. I am grateful that I could spent the New Year’s Day here. I wish more people could experience Dhamma talks / retreats here - as the fees are high. But they do offer scholarships / volunteer opportunities to make it more accessible for everyone.

Michelle Ng

I came here for a six day insight silent meditation retreat. My experience here was beautiful, profound and transformative. The teachers, staff and retreatants made my experience unforgettable. This was a beautiful gift to myself and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Spirit Rock is a large property with vast hiking trails. Three hiking opportunities also made my time here even more special.

Janet Fouts

I’ve only been here twice and loved it. So serene and peaceful on the entire property. The meditation hall is lovely and ohhh the bookstore. If you want to get a feel of what the dharma talks are here you can attend online. So many wonderful teachers to learn from!

Cade Klock

Not for experienced meditators.

I visited here several years ago, on my way through town, and the staff seemed confused when I asked about a nice quiet place to meditate. They were more interested in selling me a class than allowing me to experience stillness and presence (for free) on their property.
I sat on a bench there for about an hour in deep meditation, and nobody forced me to leave, so I am appreciative.

"Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek." - Dalai Lama