Empowering the Heart of Healthcare: Embodied Presence

In the U.S., 46% of physicians and 33% nurses have symptoms of burnout. Embodied Presence is designed to help health care professionals increase awareness of their emotional state through proven meditative practices, train in compassion as a sustainable way of being, and renew and strengthen the heartfelt inspiration that led them to be of service in the first place. Based on a unique, wholistic training approach and a sophisticated, secular meditation methodology, you’ll discover life changing practices and resources to help you deal with emotional intensity and stress. Return home from this weeklong retreat ready to fully engage with your life of service with an open and empowered heart.

Retreat Teachers

Acharya Melissa Moore

Melissa Moore, PhD., has been a Shambhalian since 1979. She received her Master’s degree from Naropa and a PhD in Psychological Anthropology from California Institute of Integral Studies. She became an Acharya (most senior teacher in the Shambhala tradition) in 2012. She co-founded, and is a head teacher in, The Karuna Training, a two-year professional training program in contemplative Psychology now offered in 7 Countries. Dr. Moore has worked in community behavioral health for several years and was the founding director of The Felton Institute, a mental health research and training Institute in San Francisco from 2005 – 2016.

Dr. Aaron Snyder

Aaron Jay Snyder, MD, is the founding director of Present Moment Project, Inc and personal physician to Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. A family physician, geriatrician, medical ethicist, and long-time meditation teacher, Dr. Snyder was the Medical Director of Ethics at Kaiser Permanente Colorado. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Leslie Booker

Booker brings her heart, wisdom, and compassion to the intersection of social justice, yoga, and mindfulness. She offers lectures, workshops, and retreats across the country for front line Changemakers, and those in direct service. She has been working with incarcerated and system-involved youth since 2007, co-founded the Yoga Service Council at Omega Institute, is on faculty with the Prison Mindfulness Institute, Spirit Rock’s Mindful Yoga and Meditation Training, and Off the Mat, Into the World.

Empowering the Heart of Healthcare Tuition

Physicians

$600

Nurses and Other Healthcare Professionals

$400

Note: All-inclusive prices shown on next page include tuition, lodging and meals. You can review some of our popular lodging options below.

A limited number of Full Scholarships are available through the Hemera Foundation. Click here to apply >>

Popular Lodging Options

Note: Price for Lodge Double is per person

Tent Double

$85 Per Night

Includes 3 Meals Per Day

Lodge Dorm

$117 Per Night

Includes 3 Meals Per Day

Lodge Double

$158 Per Night

Includes 3 Meals Per Day

Lodge Single

$219 Per Night

Includes 3 Meals Per Day


About Shambhala Mountain Center

Nestled high in the Colorado Rockies 2 hours north of Denver, Shambhala Mountain Center is a six-hundred-acre mountain valley retreat surrounded by native forests, gentle meadows and rocky peaks. Tamed by decades of use as a contemplative refuge, we provide a safe and supportive container for exploring paths of deepened awareness, personal wellbeing and societal transformation. For more than 40 years, extraordinary people have gathered here to experience Shambhala teachings and partake in over 100 year-round offerings featuring indigenous wisdom traditions, body awareness practices, contemplative arts, mindful living or other paths of personal transformation.

Click here to see our location in Google Maps.

Click here to review our retreat participant guide.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel your reservation more than 14 days prior to arrival, you will receive a full refund less a credit card processing fee of 5% of payment. If you cancel between 2 to 14 days prior to arrival, we will credit your payment towards another program at Shambhala Mountain Center to be used within 2 years. No refunds or credits are issued for cancellations received fewer than 48-hours prior to arrival. Click here to learn more about cancellations, rates, and payments.

Children Policy

Shambhala Mountain Center welcomes children of parents/guardians who are participating in our scheduled programs, or who are simply engaging in a personal retreat. However, we do not provide childcare. Parents are encouraged to also bring a caretaker for their children, so that the parents can fully participate in their program. Click here to learn more about bringing your child to SMC.

Arrival Details

Registration takes place from 2– 5 pm on your program start date. All participants and volunteer staff must check in at our Guest Registration house. Please arrive before 5 pm to check in and settle into your accommodations. Your program begins with dinner, followed by an orientation. The Guest Registration house closes at 5:30 pm after which no one is available to provide information or orient you to your accommodations. All Weekthuns and Dathun end on the final day with breakfast. Further specifics regarding your program’s schedule will be available upon arrival. If applicable, you will receive an email from the program coordinator in the week prior to your program with any additional information you may need.