Insight.
Silent Meditation Retreat
6 – 11 Nov 2026
Healesville, Vic.
**Members only presale on now.
Bookings open to all on 14 May**
Insight.
Mindfulness is a pursuit of intimacy with all of life. An invitation to stop trying to change or fix how we feel, but lean into a deeper understanding of our experience moment by moment. By turning towards what’s happening inside and around us, we get to bear witness to the full spectrum of this messy and gorgeous human existence. When we see things clearly, we can respond and act more skilfully. Think of it less like an escape, and more like an approach.
An Insight meditation retreat is an experiment in paying attention. Over 6 days and 5 nights, we’ll cultivate the quiet magic that emerges when we gather in mindful practice. This retreat is designed for those with a small amount of meditation experience. Long-term practitioners are also very welcome.
The teachings of the Buddha ask us to inquire, as they have for 2500 years, how we can suffer less through this wild ride of being alive. How we can relax with uncertainty. Take life less personally. Trust our ability to engage wisely with the chaos and beauty of this time in our world.
Led by four highly experienced teachers with backgrounds in psychotherapy, trauma-sensitivity, and MBSR, we’ll blend ancient tradition with contemporary practice. Movement with stillness. Silence with connection. Using nature as our muse, we’ll open portals to awe and wonder, unravelling the sense of self that keeps us from living with an open heart and mind. This practice has the potential to change your way of seeing and relating to yourself, others, and the world around you.
Dates:
Fri 6 – Wed 11 Nov, 2026
Location:
Wurundjeri Land, Healesville, Vic.
What:
6 day / 5 night silent meditation retreat in the vipassana tradition
Cost:
$1,250 + Dana (details below). Subsidised rates & payment plans available.
Contact:
Email enquiries to Retreats Coordinator Annabel: annabel@humankindstudios.com.au
Members only presale period until 14 May
About the practice
Insight meditation is the name for the contemporary Vipassana lineage as practiced in the ‘west’. It follows the Theravada Buddhist tradition, which is the early teachings of the Buddha following the Pali canon. It emerged over the past century, as the dharma teachings travelled from South East Asia into the US, Europe, and Australia. It integrates contemporary psychological frameworks, neuroscience, and somatic practices alongside the traditional teachings.
Vipassana literally translates to ‘seeing in a special way’. This retreat’s meditation practices will focus on the core teachings of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, from the Satipatthana Sutta. Alongside this, we’ll open up to explorations of awe and wonder, and how these shape the relationship between our ‘self’ and the world. This will include practices from eco-dharma and spiritual ecology, all informed by psychotherapeutic principles and awareness of nervous system management.
Daily activities
This style of meditation retreat incorporates gentle movement, body care, and a diversity of practices alongside seated meditation. Practice blocks are broken up between sitting and formal walking meditation periods. Ample props are provided, including chairs for those who prefer not to sit on the floor. Each morning there is a guided gentle yoga / stretch session, and each afternoon a restorative movement class which will include yin and myofascial release (self-massage) techniques. The movement practices are optional to attend.
Each morning there are meditation instructions for the day, a guided session with Q&A in the afternoon, and a dharma talk each night. The retreat also includes some small group meetings, allowing participants to touch base with teachers, hear about other’s experiences, and seek support when needed. Participants will also receive one-one-one meetings with a teacher during the retreat, to explore their practice and experience in a personalised way.
About the silence
This style of retreat is conducted in ‘noble silence’ meaning participants refrain from any unnecessary communication. It’s less about ‘trying to be quiet’, and more about dropping the pressure of social engagement, in order to let yourself rest the parts of you that need to present and perform a ‘self’ to the world. Which we largely do through interactions. This supports a relaxed and low pressure environment where people can rest in a container that asks less of them through daily interactions, supporting the deepening of mindfulness and more subtle levels of awareness.
Location
Immerse in nature at the Maitripa Centre, located on Wurundjeri Land, 10mins from the township of Healesville, and 1hr 15mins drive from Melbourne. Surrounded by hundreds of acres of national forest, and set amidst well established gardens, this venue provides a restful space for contemplation and reflection. Your daily practice will take place in a spacious hall with lots of natural light, as well as outside amongst the gardens and surrounding areas.
Food and Accomodation
Enjoy nourishing meals each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, served in communal dining areas. The food will be vegetarian and simple, nutritious and filling, to support your rest and continuity of practice. Sleep in your own private room with a single bed and all linen provided. Accommodation is in very basic ‘ashram’ style rooms, allowing you to let go of extra fuss and relax into the simplicity of a monastic style retreat. Bathroom amenities have shower and toilet cubicles in shared blocks, with male, female, and all gender areas, located a short outdoor walk away from the rooms.
Pricing & Details
Your payment includes:
- 5 nights accommodation in basic private room with shared bathroom
- All food for the duration of your stay (breakfast, lunch, dinner each day)
- Daily guided meditation instructions and dharma talks
- Gentle morning yoga and afternoon restorative yoga
- Private and small group sessions with the teachers.
Arrival & Departure
- Check in: Fri 6 Nov between 2pm – 4pm (dinner provided)
- Check out: Wed 11 Nov by 11am (breakfast provided)
- Retreat formally begins 5pm on Fri 6. We recommend flying in early morning to ensure you arrive and settle in comfortably before 5pm.
- Travel to venue is not included. We can support organising a group shuttle bus from the airport at your own additional cost.
Payment
Retreat fee is $1,250. This covers the basic costs of your attendance. You will be invited to make an additional donation of ‘Dana’, at your own discretion.
Dana
2500 years ago the Buddha said “the teachings of liberation are priceless.” Since then, it has become tradition for teachers to avoid putting a price on the dharma, and offer their time freely. In respect for this lineage, we uphold that expectation.
This means for retreats, the upfront price covers the costs of running the event, such as venue hire, catering, accommodation and travel, but it does not include a fee or payment for the teachers. At the end of the retreat, you’ll be invited to make a donation, called Dana (meaning ‘generosity’ in Pali) to the teachers at whatever amount feels appropriate for you, in line with your capacity and means. This can be made anonymously by offering cash, or by bank transfer. More information about this practice and the logistics will be offered on the final day of retreat.
Alternative options:
If you require financial support, we have 2 alternative options:
Payment plan:
Please email us to request a plan. You can choose the frequency and amount of your payments in discussion with Annabel. However instalments are required by the below dates:
$300 deposit to secure your spot
50% payment completed before 6 August 2026
100% payment completed before 6 October 2026
Subsidised spots:
To increase accessibility, we offer 3 subsidised rates at $400 below the price listed, for people who need financial support. Please email us if this would serve you.
Cancellations
- If you cancel your booking 3 months before retreat (on or before 6 August), refund of payment will be given minus a 15% admin fee.
- If you cancel within 3 months of the retreat (after 6 August), a refund (minus 15% admin fee) will be given ONLY if Human.Kind can fill your spot. If your spot cannot be filled, no refund will be given.
- If you cancel within 1 month of retreat (after 6 October 2026) no refund will be given.
- If the event is fully booked, a waitlist will be created and those people will be contacted first in case of a cancellation.
Insurance
We recommend you take out personal travel insurance upon booking that covers any losses prior to the trip due to cancellations or illness.
Meet the Teachers
Tessa Leon
Tessa’s work aims to spark wonder, reconstruct meaning, and find fluency in our shared humanity. Over the past 2 decades, she’s had the privilege of guiding thousands of people through the complexities of human experience and shaping their presence in the world. As the Co-founder and lead facilitator at Human.Kind Studios, today she’s immersed in teaching meditation and mindfulness, guiding yoga and movement, nurturing engaged community, hosting crucial conversations, writing poetry, and completing a Masters of Psychotherapy at Adelaide Uni.
She is currently an Emerging Insight Dharma Teacher in the Theravada Buddhist Lineage (modern vipassana), and is completing a four year program and mentorship with the Insight Meditation Institute Australia. He’s also completed a Diploma of Mindfulness and Compassion Teaching, as well as the two year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. She sits regular silent retreats with the IMA sangha, Openground, and the Spirit Rock community. She aspires to keep living in the confluence of creativity, spiritual inquiry, and activism. Poised gracefully on life’s tightrope of beauty and chaos, offering wisdom and refuge to all beings in our tender and beautiful world.
Kate Duncan
Kate is a Trauma Focused Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, E-RYT 500hr Yoga Instructor, Retreat Facilitator, and Insight Dharma Teacher in the Western Insight (Theravadan) Buddhist Lineage. She’s been practising and studying Buddhist meditation since 2007. She’s been deeply influenced by many Spirit Rock teachers in California, including being mentored by Heather Sundberg, until returning to Australia in 2015 where she found Alan Bassal, who became her mentor and friend.
Her work focuses on trauma awareness, safety, and integrating kindness and compassion into practice. She co-wrote and facilitates the transformative Mindfulness-based Trauma Recovery and Prevention program for Frontline Workers, co-founded Sky Sangha, and facilitates Insight Retreats online both locally and around Australia. With a focus on sharing dharma that is relatable, understandable, pragmatic, and relevant, her aspiration is to share meditation and yoga teachings that serve as a gentle refuge in the midst of our busy—often overwhelming—modern world, offering teachings that ease confusion and plant seeds of kindness.
Becca Gross
Becca is a seeker of awe and joy, pulled by the magnetism of movement and mindfulness practices. Becca has trained extensively in yoga with the amazing teachers at Power Living and Human.Kind and has completed a year long mindfulness teacher training through MTIA. She is incredibly inspired by the work of spiritual ecology through the teachings and work of Joanna Macy and Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee. Becca’s practices include awe walks, spending time with more-than-human-beings, befriending trees, seated meditation, bike rides, silent retreats and movement of all kinds
With special guest Alan Bassal
Alan has been studying and practicing Buddha’s teachings for over 35 years beginning in the Vipassana meditation tradition and then developing in Eastern & Western Insight. For over 28 years he worked internationally in the field of management education and organisational change. He is a certified Hakomi therapist and for many years has integrated mindfulness and psychotherapy into leadership development.
Alan leads retreats around Australia, regularly teaches at the Golden Wattle Sangha in Sydney, is a founding director of the Insight Meditation Institute and chairman of Sydney Insight Meditators. His Insight Meditation teaching is founded on the deep and timeless wisdom of the Buddha dharma, with an eclectic and contemporary perspective. He encourages people to awaken to each moment and realise the fulfilment they seek.