The Four Foundations of Mindfulness: A Retreat for People in Recovery

This four-day retreat integrates Zen practice with 12-step recovery work, using the Satipatthana Sutra (the Buddha's foundational teaching on mindfulness) as the framework. The retreat is held at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, part of the San Francisco Zen Center network, and follows a traditional Soto Zen format with sitting meditation (zazen), walking meditation (kinhin), and Dharma talks. Daily 12-step meetings are part of the schedule, making this one of the few residential retreats explicitly designed for people actively engaged in recovery programs.

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness—awareness of body, feeling, mind, and mental phenomena—offer a systematic approach to deepening both meditation practice and recovery work. This retreat brings those two paths together in a structured, supported environment.