The retreat is built around the standard MBSR format: periods of sitting meditation, yoga, slow walking and mindful eating, with guided instruction and talks from the teacher. Loving-kindness practice is part of the week. A small-group meeting gives you a chance to speak with a teacher in a contained setting, which is the only talking most people do.

The whole thing happens in silence. Meals are taken mindfully and quietly, and the silence is held across the property for the five days. It is an extended retreat rather than an introduction — the page describes it as being for anyone wanting an extended, supported silent retreat, so come expecting long sitting periods rather than a taster session.

Janet Solyntjes is the teacher. She leads silent retreats in the Shambhala tradition and in secular, MBSR-based mindfulness, so the week sits between those two framings: Buddhist practice on one side, Kabat-Zinn's clinical mindfulness programme on the other.

The setting does a lot of the work. Drala Mountain Center covers 600 acres of ponderosa forest, meadows and valleys in the Colorado Rockies, with the 108-foot Great Stupa of Dharmakaya on the land. Walking meditation here means walking outside, not circling a hall.

Lodging is not part of the $450. You choose and pay for a room separately at checkout, and the options run from private rooms down to dorms and tents. Financial assistance is available if the cost is the barrier.

What's included

- Five days of guided silent meditation retreat, 16–21 April 2027 - Instruction in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction tradition - Sitting meditation, yoga, slow walking and mindful eating practice - Loving-kindness practice - Guided instruction and talks from Janet Solyntjes - A small-group meeting - Meals - On-land stay at Drala Mountain Center, Red Feather Lakes, Colorado

What's not included

- Lodging (booked separately and added at checkout) - Travel to and from Red Feather Lakes, Colorado - Travel insurance - Personal expenses

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