Family Sangha Totoro Sleepover Retreat at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center

This is a rare retreat format: sitting practice designed explicitly for families rather than individuals. Green Gulch Farm, SFZC's residential practice center in Marin County, hosts this two-night program as an exploration of how family life itself can be dharma practice — using the metaphor of ancestral healing and children's wisdom as entry points.

The retreat blends group zazen (sitting meditation) with separate activities for children and parents, so you're not trying to keep a five-year-old still for a full sesshin. The opening with a screening of My Neighbor Totoro — a film about childhood wonder and connection to nature — signals the retreat's tone: accessible, playful, and grounded in the particular reality of raising kids alongside practice.

Green Gulch itself is a working farm and Soto Zen practice center in a rural setting near Point Reyes. The two-night format means you arrive, settle in, practice together, and leave without the intensity of a longer sesshin. Lodging is dormitory-style; meals are vegetarian and prepared on-site. Expect a simple schedule with morning and evening zazen, meals in silence, and scheduled time for families to sit or play together.

This retreat assumes no prior meditation experience and welcomes children of all ages — though the structure will make more sense if your kids are old enough to sit for even brief periods. If you practice alone but have been wondering how to introduce your family to Zen, this is a direct answer.