Covers Costs
Sustainer Rate - Self-Paced/Audit
$199
Our standard rate.
The foundation of our community.
- Supports program sustainability
- Not tax-deductible
Silent meditation retreat
Online
An Undefended Heart: A Big Heart City Retreat
This retreat is rooted in the transformative power of the heart. Drawing on the wisdom of the heart practices, our focus will be on meeting life with courage, tenderness, and an undefended heart. Our practice will steady the mind and gently disarm the heart, making room for a wiser, more responsive way of being. Through lovingkindness, mindfulness, and embodied awareness, we explore a big heart that isn’t sentimental or naïve, but strong enough to stay present with the full range of human experience. Joy, grief, beauty, and difficulty are not obstacles here, they’re the curriculum. Please join us if you’re longing to come home to the heart as a source of wisdom, connection, and freedom. The self-paced/online retreat is offered as broadcast-only and will include: teacher-led meditation instructions and Dharma talks broadcasted live from Spirit Rock’s Upper Meditation Hall. Recordings of each live broadcast will be posted within 24 hours after a session ends.
Self-Paced@Home/Online Retreat Details: This online retreat includes daily meditation instructions, and Dharma teachings and practices, broadcast live from Spirit Rock and recorded for on-demand access. This retreat will include opportunities to ask questions during separate Q&A sessions with the teachers, and will also include a separate orientation for online practitioners on opening day. Please note: the teachers will not offer group or individual practice meetings to online practitioners. Included:
- Live broadcast of all teacher-led sessions (Dharma talks, meditations, and other instructions)
- Retreat Homepage - includes live broadcasts, recommended retreat schedule, access to recordings and other resources
- Recordings of all teacher-led sessions
- Opportunity to ask questions during separate Q&A sessions with the teachers
Sliding Scale Pricing
Choose your rate
We offer our retreats on a sliding scale to make the Dharma accessible to all.
By selecting the highest rate you're able to afford, you help support Spirit Rock's ability to offer lower rates and meet the growing number of scholarship requests. Your generosity sustains our nonprofit mission and ensures that these teachings of lovingkindness and wisdom remain available to everyone.
Financial Aid
Needs-based assistance
Scholarships are limited to those with significant financial need.
If you need a scholarship to attend, we encourage you to select the scholarship rate that best aligns with you and your financial circumstances.
Muditā / Karuṇa Scholarship
$99
For those facing financial hardship, including elders 65+ on fixed incomes, or those with serious or life-threatening illnesses.
- Not tax-deductible
BIPOC Scholarship
$99
For those who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color and need financial assistance to attend a program.
- Not tax-deductible
Young Adult Scholarship
$99
For young adults (ages 18–26) experiencing financial need who wish to attend a program and deepen their practice.
- Not tax-deductible
Teacher Dāna
Please note that registration fees do not include teacher dana. At the end of the retreat, there will be an invitation to offer dana to the teachers and to Spirit Rock.
Meet the Teaching Team
Vinny Ferraro
Teacher
Vinny Ferraro has been a practitioner of insight meditation (Vipassanā) since the mid-90s. He’s been the Guiding Teacher of the Big Heart City Sangha in San Francisco for 20 years. He has been trained and empowered by Spirit Rock/IMS and he doesn’t like talking about himself in the 3rd person.
Matthew Brensilver, PhD
Teacher
Matthew Brensilver teaches at the Insight Retreat Center, Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society. Before committing to teach meditation full-time, he spent years doing research on addiction pharmacotherapy at the UCLA Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine and continues to be interested in the dialogue between Buddhism and science.
Cara Lai
Teacher
Cara has dedicated her life to awakening, for herself and others. She is a working mom whose teaching is relatable, authentic, funny, sometimes crass, and accessible for many people.