Caregiver Retreats at Tahoma Monastery

For the past fifteen years, the Tahoma Zen Buddhist Monastery on South Whidbey Island has been offering day-long retreats for professional and non-professional caregivers in our community designed to address the issues of burn-out and renewal. Enso House, an end of life care home on land adjacent to the monastery, is also integrally involved. Our goal is to reduce isolation and build community among caregivers by offering a relaxing and nourishing day so that we may remain fully involved with those for whom we care.

The retreats are held on a Saturday from ~9: 30 AM to 3:30 PM. In an effort to foster a sense of intimacy and trust, our retreats are kept small – generally 10 – 15 participants. They are co-facilitated by a professional caregiver and a Buddhist monk. We do incorporate some Buddhist practice concepts into these retreats (breathing meditation, silence and mindfulness) but we have specifically designed this day to be accessible and supportive to anyone interested in participating.

The mornings are structured in a way to encourage busy caregivers to slow down, relax, and experience the quiet available at the monastery as well as in themselves. Activities include sitting meditation, gentle exercise, and weather permitting, a silent walk through the sixty acre wooded site. In the middle of the day, the group is served a delicious vegetarian lunch.

The afternoon activities may be more focused on group interaction, and change with each retreat. Some of the activities that have been offered include: exploring music as a tool for relaxation, varied forms of creative expression for play and self care, Reiki, storytelling and sharing in the face of care giving challenges. An afternoon nap has often been the most appreciated part of the day.

The retreats are offered free of charge. Participants are invited to consider a donation to help cover the cost of the retreats and enable us to continue offering this service to the community with no prohibitive fee. The retreats are limited to 15 participants and are cancelled if there are less than three who register.

Contact Information:
For more information, or to register for any of the retreats, please contact Ann Cutcher at (360) 331-4699 or caregiver_ retreat @hotmail.com. An email registration reminder will be sent about one month prior to each retreat to everyone on the email tree. Please check your junk mail folder and allow future messages to be sent directly to your inbox.

Tahoma One Drop Monastery is located on South Whidbey Island at 6499 Wahl Road, Freeland, Wa. 98249
Tel: 360-331-4142

Directions:
From Seattle, take the ferry from Mukilteo to Clinton. Ferries run every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour.
Drive west on Highway SR 525 about 8 miles, past the stoplight at Bayview, and turn left onto Useless Bay Road.
Useless Bay Road turns into Millman Road. Stay on Millman and pass through the intersection with Double Bluff Road. At this point, Millman Road is renamed Lancaster Road. About 2 miles beyond the Double Bluff/Lancaster intersection, turn left onto Wahl Road.
Enso House is on your left about ¾ mile down the road.
The Tahoma One Drop Monastery entrance is about ¼ mile further on the left.