Past Events:

December 2023 Retreat: New Year’s Retreat with Online Bhikkhunis & Bhikkhus

December 28th – January 2nd, 2024 9 am – 9 pm

(Practitioners are welcome to stay later and arrive earlier)

This is a commuters retreat for experienced meditators. We are requesting that practitioners join us for at least two days of the 6. The more days that you are able to attend, the greater the benefits!

Most of the days will be silent, self-guided practice which will include silent sitting, standing, walking, body scan, compassion practices, forest bathing and resting and restoring practices. We will listen to some pre-recorded videos of our Thai Forest Buddhist tradition  dhamma talks and guided meditations  three times daily.

 Bring your meals to cook or reheat. There is a refrigerator and cabinets for food storage.

Sliding scale fee: Pay what you can each day that you join us. Please try to join at 9 am and when possible, stay until 9 pm. We will also give dana (donation) to the online teachers that will be guiding us.

Ann Gill Iyengar Yoga

January 2023 Schedule:

Three classes per week

• Mondays, January 9th through February 27th from 2pm to 3:30pm

• Tuesdays, January 10th through February 28th from 5:30pm to 7:00pm

• Wednesdays, January 11th through March 1st from 2pm to 3:30pm

To view future retreats and other events, scroll down from the  Events menu that will highlight pages for each upcoming event 

Past Retreats & Events at Karuna Cottage:

Iyengar Restorative Workshop with Ann Gill, certified Iyengar teacher by the Iyengar Yoga Institute of Southwest Florida

I am so happy to invite you  to Karuna Cottage for a day of rejuvenation, inward  exploration and rest.

Here are the details:

When and what: Class 1: 9:30am to 11:30am – Active restorative asana with concentration breath practices. 

Class 2: 1pm to 3pm – Passive asana restorative with beginning pranayama practice.

Donation: $65 for both classes and $35 for one class.  Donation goes to Karuna Cottage.  Full day may give you the most benefit but one class, if your schedule is limited, may bring you just what you need.

There will be a limit of 9 students in each class. Iit is never too early to register for this day together.  Upon registering you will receive a confirmation and then, follow- up email closer to the date of practice.

 What to bring:  Please bring your yoga mat, any props you are using for yoga and a mask.  All props are provided and extra blankets and blocks are appreciated. 
Email Ann to register at ann43gill@yahoo.com

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17th  5:30 – 7:00 pm

 Join us for joyful Chanting to the Open Heart

On Thursday, November 17th, Shana Smith will lead  us in blissful, beautiful, liberating and energizing chanting. If you love music and meditation, kirtan and spiritual connection, come and join Shana Smith for the Karuna Cottage Fireside Chanting. We will sit around the fire outside so we can sing as softly or loudly as we like. Bring percussion instruments if you like. We will have a few to share as well.

No singing or musical experience required. It’s a co-created experience for all voices, all hearts, drawing from sacred devotional chants and song mantras from several traditions. Shana has been leading Chanting to the Open Heart experiences in Gainesville, St. Petersburg, and other areas for 17 years. Please share your gift of light and presence with us as we “Chant to the Open Heart.” Om shanti!
$5- $15 donation in the dana basket will assure that the lights stay on at Karuna and that Shana can continue to offer such liberating experiences! Even if you’re shy about singing, no worries, come enjoy and hum along. Shana will bring chant booklets to share during our event.

Donations of $5 – $15 help keep the lights on at Karuna and support Shana.

PS. BYOMS  Bring your own marshmallow stick!en Heart, fireside!

Zen Immersion Weekend with Shana Smith

Restoring Light-Filled Loving Energy

Saturday, October 8th, 2022

Karuna Cottage

9:00 am – 2:30 pm

This will be a woman-identified retreat guided by Nancy Lasseter 

It is especially easy for many of us to neglect the need to both ignite, recharge and protect our own inner flame. We often spend energy keeping the light going for others, or feel somehow undeserving.

 This day will be spent focusing on clearing the negative fields somatically and restoring and cultivating the intensity of the heart’s inner flame. We will invite in new radiant energy which is loving and healing. We will practice sitting, standing, supine and walking meditation as well as simple qigong movement.

Contact nancylasseter@gmail.com to register. Pre registration is necessary. Donations: $65 for the day

You can donate here online, http://nancylasseter.com/karuna-cottage/

or use Venmo: https://venmo.com/Nancy-Lasseter

Day of Zen September 25th, 2022

 

Saturday April 16th, 9:30 am – 4 pm

This retreat, led by Nancy Lasseter & Ann Gill, will allow new and experienced practitioners to spend a day in nature, in the beautiful Karuna & Komera Cottages and along our Hogtown creek property.  Sessions of chair yoga, guided and silent sitting meditation, forest bathing and walking meditation as well as compassion practices will be offered. Practitioners bring their own lunch and sit outside or on a screened porch for a mindful lunch practice. Vaccinations and masks required indoors. Contact nancylasseter@gmail.com to register. Donations: 0 – $65

You can donate here online, http://nancylasseter.com/karuna-cottage/

or use Venmo: https://venmo.com/Nancy-Lasseter

 

Saturday, May 7th, 9 am – 1 pm

Opening the Treasures of the Heart retreat for women is open to all experienced women-identified practitioners. We will take this time to dwell within, to recognize, to offer kindness as we let go of the obstacles that blur our view of the world. We will softly reflect on the treasures of the heart by exploring the 10 Paramitas or perfections that are alive within us. These treasures bring us into alignment with the perfections of all beings of the natural world. These paramitas are the antidotes to the worried, frightened and angry mind. They act to guide us in moving forward beyond the imagined boundary of our skin and into the collective consciousness of the universe. We will offer somatic practices, sitting and walking meditation. 

 

Self retreats at Karuna and Komera Cottages in Gainesville are available for your own quiet stay.

A meditation tent can be set up for your practice near the creek, as well as special sitting spots in the woods and around the house under trees. And we have hammocks for you to deeply rest in.

If you are interested, please email Nancy at nancylasseter@gmail.com. 

If you are interested in either reserving time to do your own practices or wish for a sanctuary to stay in while you follow an online retreat, email Nancy and we can set that up for you.

Email Nancy Lasseter at nancylasseter@gmail.com to reserve your space.

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Weekend retreats: Paul Linn Gainesville Vipassana Society http://www.floridavipassana.org/

7-10 day retreats: Insight Meditation Society, Barre, Ma. http://www.dharma.org/meditation-retreats

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Online class 10% Happier, Dan Harris, J. Goldstein http://www.changecollective.com/10-percent-happier

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For more detail about MBSR and other MBSR program, visit the Center for Mindfulness web site at:http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/index.aspx

Click this link: LocalMeditationGroups to see a list of local meditation groups.