cancelled – Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community

Cancelled: Zeden Lake Insight Meditation Retreat – September 2025 🌲

The Peace of our True Nature

We are sorry to share that this year’s retreat at Zeden Lake has been cancelled.

After visiting the site recently, we saw firsthand the ongoing impact of the recent fires. While the camp is still hosting children’s programs this summer – guided by the beautiful spirit that nature is still here and can still be learned from – we found that the area is not workable for our retreat at this time. Walking trails are limited, rehabilitation work is underway, and smoke from northern fires continues to be a concern. Given the unpredictability of conditions in the coming months, we feel it is best to cancel now.

We will be in touch directly with participants to arrange full refunds.

This moment reminds us again of how deeply the climate crisis is affecting our northern lands. And yet, even in this shifting landscape, we are still held in relationship with the earth. As Robin Wall Kimmerer teaches, it is a sacred task to continue receiving and offering love to the land in reciprocity, in whatever way is ours to do. You might find support in her reflection:
Returning the Gift – grateful.org

We will reimagine this retreat for next year and will share updates as they unfold.

May nature continue to nourish your heart and mind, right where you are.

With care and connection,
Jeanne and the retreat team

Silent Insight Meditation retreat at lovely Zeden Lake, with Jeanne Corrigal

September 11-16, 2025

When we connect quietly and mindfully with nature, we harmonize with the larger nature body. As we settle into this embodied way of knowing, our earth body can reconnect, remember, and deepen into the wisdom of peace. As Thai Forest Master Ajahn Chah said, we can learn all we need to awaken from nature. This retreat will offer spacious time for this re-connection and re-membering, supported by guidance from the Buddha’s path of awakening in nature. The gifts received from nature can be offered back in a circle of care, much needed in our world today.

The retreat includes dharma talks, practice talks with Jeanne, reflective meditation practices, and gentle paddling each day. For more information, please email the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community at contact@saskatooninsight.com.

Retreat requirements

To support the safety and practical aspects of this nature retreat, we ask that participants have:

A minimum of one weekend silent insight meditation retreat, or a conversation with Jeanne to understand more about your experience.
Previous insight meditation practice.
Good swimming and basic canoe skills.
If tenting, basic camping experience.

Retreat Etiquette

We will share the happiness of the community work meditations of on-site food preparation and clean up.

This retreat will be held in silence, except for safety and logistical needs, and for practice talks with Jeanne. This supports the whole community.

Please come prepared to participate fully in the retreat schedule:
Day 1: 3:45 pm to 9 pm
Days 2-5: 6 am to 9 pm
Day 6: 6 am to noon

Logistics

We will set up our home at the St. John Bosco Wilderness Camp.
- Please note there is no cell-phone coverage at this location. An emergency number will be provided for you to give to family or friends in case they need to contact you.
Base registration fee: $250, plus a food contribution equaling about $80-$100.
- The base fee is for those who plan to camp (bring your own tent, etc.). There are some additional options for accommodation:
  1) A bed in a bunkhouse for an additional $55 (total $305 + food contribution)
  2) A private bedroom in a cabin for an additional $265 (total $515 + food contribution)
  3) A private bedroom with a shared bathroom for an additional $315 (total $565 + food contribution)
- Some scholarship support is available, if the registration fee is a barrier.
Registration fees cover the operational expenses of the retreat (site, equipment, fees, transportation, etc.). They do not cover the teachings, which are offered on a dana basis. Dana is a Pali word meaning generosity. In keeping with Buddhist tradition, teachers do not charge for their services but are sustained by the generosity of their students. Dana allows the teacher and retreat manager to continue their Dharma work. There will be an opportunity to offer dana to Jeanne for her teaching. (Ways to offer dana to Jeanne.)
Protocols to safely offer this retreat in light of Covid will be determined closer to the event.

Registration

Registration is closed.

Jeanne Corrigal is the guiding teacher for the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community, and a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS teacher training program. She has trained primarily in the Burmese lineage of Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, with a great affinity for the Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Buddhadasa and for the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. She is a certified MBSR teacher, is certified with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT), and she has trained with Mindful Schools and Somatic Experiencing. She has taught with Mindfulness Magazine, Lion’s Roar and Tricycle’s online programs, and teaches across North America. She is Metis, and one of her first teachers in loving presence was Cree Elder Jim Settee.

Cancelled: Introduction to Mindfulness 🏠

Unfortunately we have cancelled this offering due to lack of enrolment.
Please watch our website for future offerings.

A drawing of a water drop with rippling rings and a reflection.
Source https://radicalcourse.org/mindfulness-symbol/

This six-week introduction to mindfulness course will teach skills to develop a focused and embodied attention, self awareness, emotional intelligence, and greater sense of ease and well being. The course will include a variety of mindfulness meditations and practical ways to integrate mindfulness into daily activities at work, home and in relationships.

The course will include the following:

Training in meditation, developing awareness of breath, body, feelings and thoughts.
Managing stress and learning how to shift from reaction to response.
Recognizing and letting go of unhelpful habitual thoughts and mind states.
Exploring, understanding and working with a range of emotional experience.

The intro course is designed for beginners to mindfulness or those who would like a refresher in its basic principles and techniques.

Each two-hour class will have a mix of the following components:

Guided meditation
Talk on weekly themes
Practice check-ins
Question and Responses
Experiential practices or exercises
Small group practices (dyads, triads, mindful listening and speaking), or alternative journaling activities
Suggested home practices

Dates and times

Tuesdays, October 29-December 3, 2023
7-9 pm

Location

The Studio at Oshun House, Saskatoon

Course fee

Administration fee:
The administration fee paid at the time of registration helps cover the administrative costs for SIMC. This is offered on a sliding scale.

Teacher dana/donation:
The registration fee does not include teacher support – there will be an opportunity to offer dana to the teachers. See dana information below.

Registration

Cancelled.

Course Teacher

Andrea Grzesina is a certified mindfulness teacher with the Mindfulness Training Institute, having trained under Mark Coleman and Martin Aylward in 2021. Jeanne Corrigal has been her teacher and mentor for many years. She was invited into the 2024-25 Buddhist Geeks Teacher Training with Vince Fakhoury Horn and Emily West Horn. Andrea’s passion for the Dharma and continuous learning led her to complete the Intensive Practice Program at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, various Social Meditation Facilitation courses, along with many dharma study programs. She is also a dedicated practitioner since 2014, and contributes to SIMC as a local dharma leader, planning committee member, volunteer, retreat manager, and occasional cookie baker.

Guest Teacher

This course outline has been adapted from the Six-week Introductory Training in Mindfulness, developed by the Mindfulness Training Institute.

Some words about the practice of dana

We often have queries about what might be an appropriate range for any financial dana offering to the teachers, that you might wish to make. Before we consider this, it is really important to know that the teaching of dana is a liberation teaching, because it is an intentional opportunity to practice generosity, which can directly erode the habit in the mind of grasping. The Buddha invites us to tune into the joy of dana, the joy of giving, before, during and after… so please, see this as a joy and liberation practice!

One of the gifts of dana is that it is optional, and if people decide to give in this way, they can give according to their means. And at the same time, asking about a range is a reasonable question… in Asia, folks often have an idea of how much is needed to support a teacher’s “requisites”, but in the west, we don’t have the same kind of guidelines, and folks in the west can be left a little bit out at sea in this area.

Offering guidance can be sensitive, as everyone’s circumstances are different. That said, in order to support the teachings, we offer these guidelines as a place to start, and those who wish to give in this way can move up or down on the scale, according to their means.

One guideline is to give the amount that brings you joy, knowing that your dana is supporting the teachings to carry on (while being aware of not breaking the bank 🙂). One may also seek guidance by looking at the fees that are charged for similar events of workshops in our culture. Movies now cost $15 or more; yoga classes often $15/hour; in addition, workshop leaders are often compensated in recognition of the time it takes to prepare materials, the presentation, as well as their expertise.

Perhaps a helpful starting point for our sessions would be $30 – $40 per class. (This would be a range of something like $180 – $240 for the course).

Please feel free to offer less than this in order to ensure your participation, knowing that your presence and any financial contribution are valued. Please feel free to offer more, if you are able, and it brings you joy to support others and the program in this precious way. And, please know that we are very grateful for both the dana of your presence in the course, and your financial dana; both contribute to our capacity to continue teaching. You can feel that your support is supporting the Dharma. Thank you.

We aspire always to nurture community and connection. Committed to being truly inclusive, we welcome people of all social identities, including all ethnicities, classes, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, abilities and cultures.

Cancelled: Zeden Lake Insight Meditation Retreat – September 2024 🌲

Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s retreat. Although we hoped that the date change to early September would work for the community, we just don’t have enough registration to go ahead. We have already tentatively scheduled back to the last week of August for 2025 (August 25-31 – dates to be confirmed), and we hope that you can join us again then. We will update our website when the dates and other details are figured out.

Our True Nature: Still, Easeful, Spacious

Silent Insight Meditation retreat at lovely Zeden Lake, with Jeanne Corrigal

September 2-8, 2024

Practicing in community with beloved nature as a teacher can cultivate deep settling, nurture the heart, and free the mind. This retreat will support these innate processes through pathways of concentration, kindness, awareness, and liberation. As we rest into these practices we can come to understand our own true nature more deeply, and this can be a nourishment and wisdom that we carry in all aspects of our lives. In this time of global crisis, the refuge of nature can support our embodied care, engagement in the world, and capacity to love the earth.

Retreat requirements

To support the safety and practical aspects of this nature retreat, we ask that participants have:

A minimum of one weekend silent insight meditation retreat, or a conversation with Jeanne to understand more about your experience.
Previous insight meditation practice.
Good swimming and basic canoe skills.
If tenting, basic camping experience.

Retreat Etiquette

We will share the happiness of the community work meditations of on-site food preparation and clean up.

This retreat will be held in silence, except for safety and logistical needs, and for practice talks with Jeanne. This supports the whole community.

Please come prepared to participate fully in the retreat schedule:
Day 1: 3:45 pm to 9 pm
Days 2-6: 6 am to 9 pm
Day 7: 6 am to noon

Logistics

We will set up our home at the St. John Bosco Wilderness Camp.
- Please note there is no cell-phone coverage at this location. An emergency number will be provided for you to give to family or friends in case they need to contact you.
Base registration fee: $315, plus a food contribution equaling about $80-$100.
- The base fee is for those who plan to camp (bring your own tent, etc.). There are some additional options for accommodation:
  1) A bed in a bunkhouse for an additional $63 (total
  2) A private bedroom in a cabin for an additional $315
  3) A private bedroom with a shared bathroom for an additional $378
- Some scholarship support is available, if the registration fee is a barrier.
Registration fees cover the operational expenses of the retreat (site, equipment, fees, transportation, etc.). They do not cover the teachings, which are offered on a dana basis. Dana is a Pali word meaning generosity. In keeping with Buddhist tradition, teachers do not charge for their services but are sustained by the generosity of their students. Dana allows the teacher and retreat manager to continue their Dharma work. There will be an opportunity to offer dana to Jeanne for her teaching. (Ways to offer dana to Jeanne.)
Protocols to safely offer this retreat in light of Covid will be determined closer to the event.

Registration

Registration is closed.

January Daylong 🏠

Due to the extreme cold, this event has been cancelled.
Please consider attending our March 23 daylong instead.

The Refuge of Intention

Image by Manfred Antranias Zimmer from Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/photos/formation-migratory-birds-geese-508038/

An in-person daylong retreat
with Jeanne Corrigal

Saturday, January 13, 2024
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
location t.b.d.

Intention can be understood as a accessible refuge, rather than a goal that is easy to lose track of. On this day, we will explore intention as a gentle guide, an ever present support, and a way of offering meaning and purpose in our lives.

This day will include instruction, dharma reflections, practices of joy and celebration, and community practice.

Please bring a mat for lying down meditation.

This retreat is offered through mutual generosity. When you register, there will be an opportunity to pay a registration fee to help SIMC cover our administration costs. During the retreat, we will provide information for those who are able to offer financial support to Jeanne.

Registration

Please register here:
https://saskatooninsight.com/forms/view.php?id=70696

For in-person: Guidelines for caring around COVID

We will review the situation in Saskatoon closer to the event and will publish guidelines at that time.

Jeanne Corrigal is the guiding teacher for the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community, and a graduate of the 2017-2021 IMS teacher training program. She deeply appreciates metta and nature based practices. She has been practicing since 1999, and is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner and Community Dharma Leader Programs. Jeanne is certified with Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT), is a certified MBSR teacher, and she has trained with Mindful Schools and Somatic Experiencing. She is Metis, and one of her first teachers in loving presence was Cree Elder Jim Settee.

Cancelled: Introduction to Mindfulness

Unfortunately we have cancelled this offering due to lack of enrolment.
Please watch our website for future offerings.

SIT in Mindfulness

This Six week Introductory Training (SIT) in Mindfulness will teach you to develop a focused and embodied attention, self awareness, emotional intelligence, and greater sense of ease and well being. You will learn a variety of mindfulness meditations and practical ways to integrate mindfulness into daily activities at work, home and in relationships.

The course will include the following:

Training in meditation, developing awareness of breath, body, feelings and thoughts.
Managing stress and learning how to shift from reaction to response.
Recognizing and letting go of unhelpful habitual thoughts and mind states.
Exploring, understanding and working with a range of emotional experience.

The SIT course is designed for beginners to mindfulness or those who would like a refresher in its basic principles and techniques.

Each two-hour class will have a mix of the following components:

Guided meditation
Talk on weekly themes
Practice check-ins
Question and Responses
Experiential practices or exercises
Small group practices (dyads, triads, mindful listening and speaking), or alternative journaling activities
Suggested home practices

Dates and times

Thursdays, February 16, 23, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 2023
7-9 pm

Location

This is an in-person program, although we will pivot to online if necessary.
Address will be sent out as part of the registration confirmation.

Course fees

Administration fee:
The administration fee paid at the time of registration helps cover the administrative costs for SIMC.

Teacher dana/donation:
The registration fee does not include teacher support – there will be an opportunity to offer dana to the teacher. See dana information below.

Registration

The course has been cancelled due to lack of enrolment.

Course Teacher

Andrea Grzesina is a MTI Certified Teacher, having completed the Mindfulness Training Institute’s Certified Mindfulness Teacher Training with Mark Coleman and Martin Aylward in July 2021. A life-long learner and lover of the Dharma, Andrea has taken several training programs, including the Intensive Practice Program through the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center and several courses in Social Meditation Facilitation with Vince Fakhoury Horn and the Buddhist Geeks Sangha. She has been practicing meditation and mindfulness since 2014, and contributes to SIMC as a local dharma leader, a member of the planning committee, volunteer, retreat manager, cookie baker, and other duties as required.

Some words about the practice of dana

One guideline is to give the amount that brings you joy, knowing that your dana is supporting the Dharma to carry on (while being aware of not breaking the bank 🙂). One may also seek guidance by looking at the fees that are charged for similar events of workshops in our culture. Movies now cost $15 or more; yoga classes often $15/hour; in addition, workshop leaders are often compensated in recognition of the time it takes to prepare materials, the presentation, as well as their expertise.

Perhaps a helpful starting point for our sessions would be $25 – $35 per class. (This would be a range of something like $150 – $210 for the course). Please feel free to offer less than this in order to ensure your participation, knowing that your presence and any financial contribution are valued. Please feel free to offer more, if you are able, and it brings you joy to support others and the program in this precious way. Feel free to offer monthly or once or twice during the course – whatever works for you. And, please know that we are very grateful for both the dana of your presence in the program, and your financial dana; both danas contribute to our capacity to continue teaching. You can feel that your support is supporting the Dharma. Thank you.

Details how to offer your generosity to support Andrea and our community will be provided soon.

This course has been developed by the Mindfulness Training Institute.

Cancelled: Gentle Reflections on Death

I am disappointed to share that we are cancelling our program for this year, as we only have 5 registrants and that just doesn’t feel like enough for a good group – we had hoped for 10, in order to have some good group dynamics.

We want to support your interest in this important reflection, though, and plan to continue to offer this reflection in the sangha. We will hold a half day session of Closer Than We Think at the end of March. Also, if online interests you, Jeanne and Nikki Mirghafori will be offering an online class called Living With The Wisdom of Death through IMS (Insight Meditation Society) on Thursday evenings in February and March. We will share the registration for both of these in our sangha emails and they will be posted on our website.

Perhaps this talk by Jeanne will also be helpful:
https://tricycle.org/dharmatalks/death-buddhism/

A community exploration of how we prepare for, and support each other, in the transition of dying & the moment of death

A gravel path covered with leaves with the silhouettes of two people standing beside each other and waving.

This class is our continued reflection on death awareness, which feels like an important, life giving reflection to continue to deepen. This group will explore different territory from our first rendition last year. It is designed for those who are new to this reflection, and will also offer a deepening for those who took it last year. We see this as an ever evolving and nourishing practice.

This is an in-person program, although we will pivot to online if necessary.

Lead by Jeanne Corrigal, guiding teacher for the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community.

Dates and times

6 sessions, including 5 evenings and 1 day long
Mondays 7 pm – 9 pm CST, Oct 17, Nov 14, Dec 12, Feb 27, Mar 27
Daylong, Saturday, January 14, 9 am – 4 pm CST

Course fees

Administration fee:
The administration fee paid at the time of registration helps cover the administrative costs for SIMC.

Teacher dana/donation:
The registration fee does not include teacher support – there will be an opportunity to offer dana to Jeanne. See dana information below.

Location

This is an in-person program, although we will pivot to online if necessary.
Address will be sent out as part of the registration confirmation.

Course Prerequisite

Basic familiarity with Insight Meditation practice, and a commitment to a daily practice, because of the need to steady the mind and heart as we reflect on this material.

Registration

Please register here:
https://saskatooninsight.com/forms/view.php?id=54956

For more information, contact: contact@saskatooninsight.com

Course teacher

Some words about the practice of dana

We often have queries about what might be an appropriate range for any financial dana offering to the teachers that you might wish to make. Before we consider this, it is really important to know that the teaching of dana is a liberation teaching, because it is an intentional opportunity to practice generosity, which can directly erode the habit in the mind of grasping. The Buddha invites us to tune into the joy of dana, the joy of giving, before, during and after… So please, see this as a joy and liberation practice!

One guideline is to give the amount that brings you joy, knowing that your dana is supporting the Dharma to carry on. (while being aware of not breaking the bank 🙂) One may also seek guidance by looking at the fees that are charged for similar events or workshops in our culture. Movies now cost $15 or more; yoga classes often $15/hour; in addition, workshop leaders are often compensated in recognition of the time it takes to prepare materials, the presentation, as well as their expertise.

Perhaps a helpful starting point for our sessions would be $30 – $40 per class, with a greater contribution for the daylong. (This would be a range of something like $240 – $320 for the year). Please feel free to offer less than this in order to ensure your participation, knowing that your presence and any financial contribution are valued. Please feel free to offer more, if you are able and it brings you joy to support others and the program in this precious way. Feel free to offer monthly or once or twice during the program — whatever works for you. And, please know that I am very grateful for both the dana of your presence in the program, and your financial dana; both danas contribute to my capacity to continue teaching. You can feel that your support is supporting the Dharma… Thank you.

Note that your dana is shared with any guest teachers.

If you wish to offer your generosity to support Jeanne and our community, please visit our dana page to find details.

Cancelled: Mindfulness Retreat for Young Adults

Unfortunately low registration has led us to cancel this retreat – for now. We plan to host more events like this in future for young adults, and hope that you will stay tuned to our website or email list and join us again. Meanwhile, many young adults join us for our regular Wednesday night sit, and for our other classes and retreats, and it would be lovely to see you there, too!

Developing Your Stress Toolkit

with Jessica Morey
cofounder of Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme)

Half-day Retreat – Ages 15 – 25

This retreat is for: teens, students, young professionals,
all young adults welcome!

When: Saturday, February 5, 2021, 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm (CST)
(2-7 Eastern, 11-4 Pacific)

Colorful handprints in a circle.
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

Learn mindfulness: Learn go-to mindfulness tools you can use anywhere, any time for ease and presence.
Experience meditation through a variety of guided practices from longtime meditation teacher, Jess Morey.
Develop a stress toolkit: Learn some simple yet effective tools to deal with everyday life stress.
Have Fun! This half-day retreat includes games and connections that make mindfulness engaging and applicable for your life!

Where: Online (zoom link will be sent upon registration)

Cost: by donation $0 to $50 – We want this to be accessible to all young adults, to offer what you can.

We invite the sangha to support the youth of our community. Please consider making a donation to support the teacher. (Use the registration link below and select “Community support for the teacher” to specify the amount you wish to donate.)

What you’ll need: Just yourself! For young adult perspectives on iBme, check out https://inwardboundmind.org/teen-retreats/retreat-experience/

Hosted by the Saskatoon Insight Meditation Community (SIMC)
For more information, please contact Madeline Docherty at youth@saskatooninsight.com

To register:
https://saskatooninsight.com/forms/view.php?id=42836

Jessica Morey leads meditation retreats across the US and offers one to one meditation and leadership coaching. She is a cofounder and lead teacher of Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme), a nonprofit organization bringing in-depth mindfulness training to youth. She began practicing meditation at age 14 on teen retreats offered by the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) and graduated from the IMS Teacher Training Program in 2021. She has been leading meditation retreats since 2009 and is honored to currently serve as the Board Chair of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.

Before founding iBme, Jessica worked in clean energy and climate policy. Her published works range from the chapter ‘Ordinary Awakening’ in Blue Jean Buddha to Conflict Resolution of the Boruca Hydro-Energy Project: Renewable Energy Production in Costa Rica. She combined these areas of passion in an article in the Shambhala Sun, Bodhi Trees, about the potential of Buddhist practice to heal our relationship with the natural world. She holds a BA in Environmental Engineering from Dartmouth College and Masters degrees in Sustainable Development and International Affairs. She loves dancing, yoga, and being outside.

Jessica is based in Concord, Massachusetts.