♫ Oct 2 @ 7:30pm: Māh Ze Tār with Dros Live!
SIGN UP

Trainings & Intensives

Spirit Rock’s Dharma Trainings and Intensives offer in-depth study of the teachings and practices of the Buddha and the Insight Meditation lineage. Part of the new Dharma Institute, these programs range from four months to four years, and focus on a wide range of topics, such as the core teachings of Buddhism, professional development and continuing education in the healing arts and leadership, death and dying, Buddhist psychology, and teaching the Dharma.

After you’ve attended many Spirit Rock programs as well as a number of retreats, and the teachings of the Buddha have become integral to your daily life, you may feel ready to deepen your understanding and practice by participating in a training or intensive. Some of these programs have prerequisites, while others are open to all practitioners. All of them build saṅgha as you join a cohort of 50-100+ other dedicated practitioners to explore and deepen on the path.

Dharma Institute programs are centered around a core sequence of Buddhist Study and Practice programs: the Living Dharma Program (LDP), the Dedicated Practitioners Program (DPP), and Liberation, Emptiness, and Awareness Practices (LEAP). To these foundational programs, trainings in Leadership & Professional Development, and Practice in the World expand the scope of your practice off the cushion and into every aspect of your life.

They are designed to speak to the variety of methods, interests, and areas of focus needed and pursued by different practitioners. Please reach out to us at [email protected] with any questions, and we can help you find which training is right for you.

Buddhist Study & Practice

Immerse yourself in Dharma practice & insight.

Our cornerstone Buddhist Study and Practice trainings support passionate beginners and lifelong practitioners to bring the power of the Buddha’s teachings into daily life and retreat practice. Rooted in the Early Buddhist tradition and our Insight Meditation lineage, these trainings and study classes will transform your practice and understanding of the Dharma.

Living Dharma Program (LDP)

Dedicated Practitioners Program (DPP)

Liberation through Emptiness and Awareness Practices (LEAP)

Leadership & Professional Development

Earn Continuing Education Credits while you practice

Mindfulness and lovingkindness support well-being in every aspect of our lives, including work, relationships, community, and the broader culture. Spirit Rock offers training in specific professional and personal topics, all centered around how the Dharma can inform, deepen, and apply to other fields of inquiry and engagement in the world. These courses build on a foundation of self-care and meditation to bring the skills and wisdom of the Dharma to our lives at work. Continuing Education Credits (CECs) for care professionals, Yoga teachers, and others are available for some of these training programs.

Buddhist Psychology Training (BPT)

Dharma Yoga Mindfulness Training (DYMT)

Community Dharma Leaders (CDL)

Practice in the World

Engage with every part of your life and our world

Cultivating a balanced and grounded heart and mind is supportive of insight, a healthy life, and engagement with community and culture. In these programs, we cultivate emotional regulation and deepen in embodiment and joy throughout our lives, building the resilience needed to meet our challenging times.

The flagship program in this area is A Year to Live (YTL), focused on mindful, heart-based contemplation of death. Courses in development include intensives and trainings that address the climate crisis, and classes in resilience, social action, and Buddhist psychology. All of these programs understand that when we weave together individual and collective approaches to healing and liberation, our practice truly becomes “for the benefit of all beings.”

A Year to Live (YTL)

Upcoming Trainings & Intensives

Training Online Dharma Institute

August 29 - December 4, 2026 5 Sessions

Buddhist Psychology Training: Integrating Mindfulness, Science & Clinical Practice

21 CE Credits. Deepen your meditation practice and nourish your work with clients in this training designed for clinicians, counselors, and mindfulness teachers. Through meditation, Dharma talks, small group explorations, and clinical case studies, you will develop greater confidence in applying mindfulness-based interventions with clients while enhancing your understanding of Buddhist psychology and meditation practices that illuminate our minds, foster goodness, and transform habits that compound suffering. This training brings both sides of ourselves—patient and healer—together as we practice and learn in community.

Matthew Brensilver

Matthew Brensilver

Learn More

Training Online Dharma Institute

October 1 - May 27, 2027 8 Session | 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

The Art of Dancing with Life: A Transformative, Relational Path of Practice

The Art of Dancing with Life: A Transformative, Relational Path of Practice is an immersive 8-month online journey hosted by Spirit Rock. This course is designed to help you move beyond the cycle of reactivity and "self-improvement" toward a radical inner shift in how you relate to existence.

Guided by expert teachers Phillip Moffitt, Alex Haley, and Ying Chen, you will explore the Twelve Insight Practices of the Four Noble Truths. The curriculum emphasizes a living inquiry through direct experience, teaching you to meet life’s challenges, joys, and sorrows with depth, aliveness, and a sense of ease.

Phillip Moffitt

Phillip Moffitt

Ying Chen

Ying Chen

Alex Haley

Alex Haley

Learn More

Training Online Dharma Institute

October 3 - June 5, 2027 9 Saturdays | 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Strength with Heart: The Path of Fierce Compassion for Modern Men

Open to all self-identified men

Strength with Heart is a 9-month program for men ready to live with backbone, openness, and purpose. Blending psychology, mindfulness, and somatic practice, it offers a clear, embodied path for modern men who want to lead, love, and show up with more depth and integrity. Guided by experienced teachers, this journey supports real growth—relational, emotional, and spiritual—through live sessions, daily practices, and grounded community. A path for men who won’t settle for half of themselves.

James Baraz

James Baraz

Keith Martin-Smith

Keith Martin-Smith

Daniel Ellenberg

Daniel Ellenberg

Learn More

Training Online Dharma Institute

October 10 - May 1, 2027 Saturday - Saturday | 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Living Dharma Program: Exploring & Integrating the Eightfold Path in Daily Life

Experience the profound wisdom of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path in this online program for devoted practitioners. Together we will explore the teachings of sīla, samādhi, and pañña (ethics, meditation, and wisdom) as we consider how to cultivate mindfulness, kindness, and balance in the midst of today’s pressing challenges—from social inequity to the climate crisis. Join us in cultivating a vibrant learning community where we will study, meditate, and share insights, applying these ancient teachings to our contemporary lives.

Dawn Mauricio

Dawn Mauricio

Yong Oh

Yong Oh

Learn More

Training Online

January 20 - January 21, 2027 6-Month Hybrid Training

Leading with Mindfulness and Wisdom: A Regenerative Training for Environmental (Applications are closed. Join the waitlist.)

Explore timeless wisdom and practical mindfulness tools and techniques uniquely adapted for this time that support awareness, balance and resilience. Through residential retreats, online group sessions and peer support, the training supports not only professional life, but personal life and community, while creating space to draw inspiration from our love for the Earth. This program supports you in strengthening your skills to manifest impact in your community and organization.

Mark Coleman

Mark Coleman

Kristin Barker

Kristin Barker

Bonnie Duran

Bonnie Duran

Learn More
View All Upcoming Trainings

Learn to your heart's content

Stream our curated collection of guided meditations and Dharma talks, read articles by our diverse teachers, take self-paced courses, and more.

Browse Our Dharma library

More Programs

Class Series

Multi-Day Silent Meditation Retreats

On-Demand Courses