Women’s Retreat at Waunita Hot Springs Ranch

Befriending Ourselves through Mindfulness

with Laura Bartels

April 20 – 23, 2023
Waunita Hot Springs Ranch
Gunnison, CO

Join us for this special spring offering of a women’s mindfulness retreat at Waunita Hots Springs Ranch near Gunnison, Colorado in a beautiful high mountain valley. Bringing the practices and wisdom of the Mindful Life Program™ and the warm, experienced guidance of mindfulness teacher Laura Bartels, together in this retreat we will explore practices to become a loving ally for ourselves, developing the qualities that support contentment and flourishing, while identifying those habits and beliefs that limit us. Recognizing our interconnectedness with others, we discover the unselfish value of befriending ourselves and supporting our own well-being and its benefit to others.

This retreat is beginner friendly and also beneficial for seasoned mindfulness pratictioners. We will engage with the essential elements of shamatha meditation and other meditations to bring this meditative clarity to attend to inner flourishing. Shamatha is a universal practice that is used to become more mindful and present in your life and can be applied to any spiritual or religious practice. It develops the stability of mind to help improve other meditation practices. *This retreat is not recovery-specific but those in recovery are more than welcome.

This retreat includes silence in the mornings with multiple short meditation sessions and plenty of breaks, quiet reflection, small and full group exploration and sharing, and guidance in the group teachings.

Waunita Hot Springs Ranch is a quintessential mountain ranch with an historic lodge and private hot springs. This high mountain valley ranch is family-owned and operated for over 50 years. The ranch is surrounded by Gunnison National Forest land and summer pasture.

About the Facilitator

Laura Bartels helped to create the Mindful Life Program and regularly teaches mindfulness courses, facilitates mindfulness groups and gives public talks on living mindfully. She is one of the instructors for the year-long MLP Teacher Training and Personal Development program. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Mindful Life Program. Laura’s professional path of 20 years brought her to be a leader in the field of sustainable building and community development. This provided a unique and valuable perspective on the need for “inner sustainability.” As Laura’s path has been one of navigating what it means to live consciously and meaningfully, it’s been a natural transition to move from outer sustainability to inner sustainability; when we are not in balance, we cannot be of benefit to ourselves or others. To learn more about Laura, see her full bio.

Retreat Details

This is a three-day retreat is located at Waunita Hot Springs Ranch. The retreat fee includes lodging, meals, and use of the Hot Springs. There are options for single and shared rooms. There are stairs to the meeting room for this event. If you have mobility issues, please contact us for more information.

Location: Waunita Hot Springs Ranch, located high in the Colorado Rockies at an elevation of 8,946 ft., is 10 miles west of the Continental Divide, east of Gunnison, Colorado. The ranch is surrounded by Gunnison National Forest. The main lodge and Hillside lodge include single and shared rooms, all with private bathrooms. The retreat activities take place upstairs in the barn, with views of the surrounding mountains. Fed by natural hot springs, the 35×90 ft pool is one of the largest private pools in Colorado and has an adjacent hot tub and bathhouse.

Dates: April 20 – 23, 2023 The retreat begins on a Thursday evening and ends on a Sunday around 11 to 11:30 am.

Meals: The meals will be vegetarian. There are gluten-free options available. Please let us know if you have additional dietary needs and we will contact the retreat staff.

Cost: $435 per person for a shared room. $535 per person for a private room. The price for the retreat is all-inclusive for the retreat, lodging, breakfast and dinner (light snacks midday), and hot springs and is not tax-deductible. With this retreat, the teachings are offered on a free-will donation basis. You may make a donation for the teachings either at the retreat or online below. This donation is not tax-deductible.

Travel: Waunita Hot Springs Ranch is located 27 miles east of Gunnison, Colorado. While Gunnison operates a regional airport, retreatants also fly into Grand Junction or Denver airports and travel by car to the ranch.

*Registrants must be fully vaccinated and boosted to attend the retreat, and be free of Covid symptoms. 

Register:  Follow this link to register today!

Donations for the teachings are optional and can be made online or at the retreat. The teachings for this retreat are offered on a free-will donation basis. If you would like to make a secure donation online, you can use the link below or offer one at the retreat.

Donate

Retreat Schedule

Thursday
3:oo pm to 5:30  pm: Check-In
6:00 pm or 6:30 pm: Dinner
7:30 pm to 9:00 pm: Opening Session

Friday and Saturday (Noble silence is observed in the morning until brunch)

7:30 am – 8:30 am: Morning Meditation
9:00 am – 10:00 am: Breakfast
10:30 am – 12:00 pm Morning Session
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Break/Personal Time – light snacks
2:00 pm 5:00 pm: Afternoon Session
6:00 pm: Dinner
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm: Evening Session

Sunday 
7:30 am – 8:30 am: Meditation
9:00 am – 9:45 am: Breakfast
10: 00 – 11:30 am:  Closing Session and Farewells
You may stay and soak in the hot springs if you would like.

If you have any other questions or if we can be of help in any way, please let us know. Please contact us at admin@mindfullifeprogram.org or (970) 633-0163.