Small Mind, Big Mind: Meeting Yourself Where You Are

San Francisco Zen Center's Tassajara is a mountain monastery in Big Sur country—one of the oldest Zen training centers in North America. This three-day weekend blends formal Zen practice with contemporary yoga, which may sound hybrid on paper but reflects something real: both traditions work with the body as a gateway to awareness.

The retreat pairs vigorous asana (active yoga postures) and yin (long-held, passive stretches) with zazen (sitting meditation) and Dharma talks. Nidra (yoga sleep) is a guided relaxation practice. The structure suggests a gentler pace than a traditional sesshin—you're not sitting eight hours a day in silence—but it's still a residential retreat with a daily schedule and an intention to practice together. "Small Mind, Big Mind" signals the classic Zen teaching: the small mind is the thinking, worrying self; the big mind is the awareness that holds it all.

Tassajara itself matters. The setting is remote redwood forest, a working monastery where guests stay in simple rooms. The schedule includes communal meals. This is neither a day-spa retreat nor a bare-bones intensive—it's a taste of monastic life structured around practice.