Retreats

Discover a Deeper Way of Living Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center offers a retreat for almost everyone. Our schedule carries a...
  • Casita Benefactor Rate (I am resourced and can help another) – $1,250.00
  • Casita Actual Rate (I can cover myself) – $1,050.00
  • Casita Scholarship Rate (A lower rate would help me attend) – $700.00
  • Yurt Benefactor Rate (I am resourced and can help another) – $1,250.00
  • Yurt Actual Rate (I can cover myself) – $1,050.00
  • Yurt Scholarship Rate (A lower rate would help me attend) – $700.00
  • Tent Cabin Benefactor Rate (I am resourced and can help another) – $1,025.00
  • Tent Cabin Actual Rate (I can cover myself) – $850.00
  • Tent Cabin Scholarship Rate (A lower rate would help me attend) – $550.00
  • Hermitage - Supporting scholarships and land stewardship – $1,875.00
  • Hermitage - Supporting scholarships – $1,625.00
  • Hermitage - A secluded cabin – $1,475.00

Date & Time Details: Check-in is from 3:00-5:00 on the first day of the retreat. The retreat will close mid-morning on the last day of the retreat. (Learn more)

PRICE: We offer a sliding-scale pricing structure, ranging from $1,875 - $550. These prices do not include add-on items. (Learn more)

DANA: This is a dana-based retreat. (Learn more)

SHUTTLE SERVICE: Shuttle Service is available for this retreat. (Learn more)

NOBLE SILENCE: This retreat will be held in noble silence. (Learn more)

SCHOLARSHIP: If you require additional scholarship assistance beyond the published scholarship rate (35%), you can apply. These additional scholarships are available on a limited basis. (Learn more)

Email us about program
Registration opens: Feb 3, 2026

Finding Joy in the Playground of the Mind: An Insight Retreat

With Amana Brembry Johnson and Matthew Hepburn

May 24 - 29, 2026

Registration opens: Feb 3, 2026

Wholesome joy arises when we release expectations and create the conditions for the practice to blossom easefully, without grasping for outcomes. In a culture that teaches us to seek pleasure through external stimulation, this retreat invites a return to the creative play, investigative curiosity and gladness that dwell within our own hearts and minds.

Through meditation, dharma talks, and deep attunement to both nature and the body, we will awaken an intimate sense of the heart-mind continuum. Together, we will gently uncover barriers that obscure ease and happiness and rediscover the quiet medicinal qualities of spacious presence, where openness ripens and old patterns of perception unwind.

This retreat welcomes both new and experienced practitioners — all who wish to deepen their practice and bring the fruits of mindfulness into everyday life.

Be aware that while all lodging options have a propane heater, the Tent Cabins and Yurts tend to be colder than the Casitas during the shoulder season. Please select your lodging accordingly.

 

 

 


Cancellation Policy:

  • 45 days prior to retreat: Full refund, minus a $150 nonrefundable fee
  • 44-22 days prior to retreat: 50% refund
  • 0-21 days prior to retreat: No refund

Teachers

Amana Brembry Johnson
Amana Brembry Johnson is a dedicated meditation teacher and community leader with over four decades of contemplative practice across multiple spiritual traditions. She serves as a Core Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC) in Oakland, California, and is a coordinating teacher for residential retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Amana is one of the founding teachers of EBMC’s Spiritual Teacher and Leadership (STL) Training and a former mentor for emerging mindfulness teachers through the Mindfulness Meditation Training Certification Program (MMTCP). Her work integrates spirituality, social justice, body awareness, and intuitive creativity, offering a holistic approach to individual and…
Learn more about Amana Brembry Johnson
Matthew Hepburn
Matthew teaches mindfulness, early Buddhist wisdom, and secular contemplative practices at meditation centers in New England and across North America. He is a Guiding Teacher of the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center.
Learn more about Matthew Hepburn