In the Rhythm of the Heart

San Francisco Zen Center's Green Gulch Farm—a 115-acre retreat center in Marin County—hosts this single-day exploration of how Zen practice, Daoist philosophy, and Traditional Chinese Medicine understand the heart as a center of awareness and emotional regulation. Rather than sitting sesshin (intensive meditation retreat), this workshop weaves together three contemplative traditions to look at the same question from different angles.

The structure mixes seated meditation with gentle movement practices and reflection periods. You'll work with the Zen understanding of mind-as-heart (in Zen, these are often the same word), the Daoist concept of the heart's role in seasonal awareness and balance, and TCM's understanding of how the heart governs consciousness and emotional flow. The summer timing is deliberate—TCM associates summer with the heart element.

Green Gulch Farm sits in a valley above the Pacific, with gardens, redwoods, and meadows. The day likely includes meals; Green Gulch is known for its vegetable gardens and farm-to-table meals. This is not an intensive sitting retreat but an accessible entry point to how different traditions approach the same inner terrain. Good for people curious about Zen and interested in somatic or embodied practice, or those wanting to sit without committing to a multi-day schedule.