3rd Annual Courageous Women, Fearless Living: A Retreat for Women Touched by Cancer with Judith Lief, Dr. Victoria Maizes, Linda Sparrowe & Sofia Diaz

Grappling with cancer is one of life’s greatest challenges. When gently and skillfully embraced, it also serves as a pathway to profound healing and awakening physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Grappling with cancer is one of life’s greatest challenges. We may become quite ill, lose our ability to function normally, or lack sufficient emotional or financial support. We may lose a breast, our uterus and most certainly our hair—causing us to reflect on how we identify as women, mothers, lovers or nurturers. However, when gently and skillfully embraced, facing our mortality and the fragility of life can be a vehicle for profound healing and awakening—physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The question is, how can we navigate this potentially confusing and often heartbreaking terrain in the most empowering way? And how can we face our fears directly so that we may live our lives more fully?

Courageous Women, Fearless Living will provide you with the guidance and companionship you need to assist you on your way. Integrating body, mind and heart, we will discover ways to meet all of our experience directly and courageously: our pain, fear, sorrow, anger, joy and gratitude. Led by an extraordinary team of experts in the field, this program will include meditation instruction, healing visualization practice, yoga sessions, whole-being healthcare and nutrition tips, small group discussions, art therapy, ritual, sacred dance and community building.

Providing instruction in mindfulness meditation practice, Shambhala senior teacher Judith Lief will show us how to meet and hold all of our experience—moment by moment and breath by breath. Drawing on more than thirty years of experience in meditation and hospice work, Judith will demystify meditation and introduce us to the healing power of presence.

International leader in the field of integrative medicine, Victoria Maizes, MD, will present the latest information regarding nutrition, herbs, supplements and mind-body interventions in the treatment of cancer, and she will also share her expertise in managing the side effects of conventional treatments.

In her commitment to women’s health and well-being, yoga instructor Linda Sparrowe will lead gentle, transformative yoga sessions throughout the retreat. She will show us how to relate to ourselves on and off with mat with kindness, spaciousness and grace.

Celebrating and appreciating the feminine spirit, Sofia Diaz, a long-time student of sacred movement, will offer South Indian temple dancing performance and will lead
us in fully expressing our own feminine beauty and power.


Acharya Judith Lief is a contemplative hospice pioneer, meditation instructor and former dean of Naropa University. A close student of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Judith is the author of Making Friends with Death, available from Shambhala Publications.

Victoria Maizes, MD, is executive director of of Dr. Andrew Weil's University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and an associate professor of Medicine, Family and Community Medicine, and Public Health. Dr. Maizes lectures nationally on integrative medicine, women’s health, wellness, aging, communication skills, mind-body medicine, nutrition and herbal medicine.

Linda Sparrowe is a writer, yoga teacher, mentor and practitioner with deep roots in yoga, the Vedas, Sanskrit and women’s health. Editor-in-chief of Natural Solutions magazine (formerly Alternative Medicine), she is also the author of several books, including The Woman’s Book of Yoga and Health and Yoga: A Yoga Journal Book.

Sofia Diaz offers a unique approach to Hatha Yoga, sacred movement and feminine spiritual practice, deriving her style of teaching and body philosophy from the South Indian temple arts. She lectures at Naropa University and teaches throughout North America.

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SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

Since living with cancer often involves considerable medical expense, Shambhala Mountain Center would like to offer as many partial scholarships as possible to those in need who would like to attend this program. Click on scholarship application to access the application form.

If you would like to donate to the Courageous Women, Fearless Living Scholarship Fund, it would be greatly appreciated.

TENTATIVE DAILY SCHEDULE

7:00am – 8:00am
Yoga with Linda Sparrowe

7:30am – 8:30am
Breakfast

9:00am – 11:00am
MEDITATION & BODY AWARENESS EXERCISES
with Judith Lief & Linda Sparrowe

11:00am – 11:15am
Break

11:15am – 12:30pm
MEDITATION & BODY AWARENESS EXERCISES
with Judith Lief & Linda Sparrowe

12:30pm – 3:00pm
Lunch & BREAK

3:00pm – 4:30pm
INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE, NUTRITION & SEXUALITY
with Victoria Maizes, MD

4:30pm – 5:00pm
Tea Break

5:00pm – 6:30pm
break-out sesions with presenters & special guests

6:30pm – 7:30pm
Diner

7:30pm – 9:00pm
FEMALE SEXUALITY & sacred dance with Sofia Diaz

Extend Your Stay. We are offering a 25% housing discount for additional nights. Come early and relax before your program starts or stay an extra day or more after this program to savor your retreat experience.

Please arrive between 2 and 5pm on Tuesday, August 19. Program ends with lunch at 12:30pm on Sunday, August 24. View Detailed Program Information.