A BEYOND CALM RETREAT
Six days on the tropical Japanese island of Ishigaki to work with your emotions, find deeper presence, and let go of what you're holding onto.
Five minute application. No commitment. We'll talk before either of us decides.
APRIL 26 - MAY 1, 2027
FIVE NIGHTS / SIX DAYS
LE LOTUS BLEU, ISHIGAKI
TWO MINUTES FROM THE BEACH
12 PEOPLE
BY APPLICATION ONLY
WHO THIS IS FOR
You may already know a lot about yourself.
You’ve read the books, listened to the podcasts, meditated, gone to therapy, or spent time on retreat. You know why you people-please, shut down, overthink, or pull away.
And still, when life gets close enough, the same reactions return.
Insight matters. But insight alone doesn’t always create transformation.
tired of understanding their patterns without truly changing them
disconnected from their body, emotions, or intuition
caught in the same relationship dynamics
exhausted by constantly working on themselves
ready to meet what is underneath, but without forcing or overwhelming themselves
Here, we put away our phones, slow down, and meet those patterns directly through somatic practice, attachment work, meditation, movement, and honest connection.
And we let the sea, the jungle, and the spacious rhythm of island life become part of the healing.
Six days of meeting yourself more directly
less controlled by the patterns that usually take over
more able to stay with difficult emotions without becoming overwhelmed
more connected to your body, needs, and boundaries
more open and honest in your relationships
more grounded, alive, and connected to the natural world
THE ARC OF THE WEEK
The week has an intentional direction: body first, then the patterns, then their roots, then the heart, then the question of who's underneath all of it.
DAY ONE · APRIL 26
Settle into the space, have dinner with the group, and join our opening ceremony.
DAY TWO
Meditation and movement to get out of the head and into felt sense. Then we start noticing the loops — the ones you brought with you — running in real time.
DAY THREE
Loving-kindness practice, chair work and eye contact - bringing kindness to ourselves and each other.
DAY FOUR
Attachment work. Practices for meeting the younger material underneath the loops, drawing on attachment theory and parts work.
DAY FIVE
Inquiry, impermanence, nondual practice. Having worked with the patterns all week, we turn and look at what's aware of them. This is the "beyond" in Beyond Calm.
DAY SIX · MAY 1
Closing circle and breakfast, then home.
The daily rhythm: yoga and a sit in the morning, the main practice block before lunch, an island afternoon, then circles and sound in the evening. Depth needs slack — the schedule has built-in space in it for integration.
WHAT WE PRACTICE
Yoga and guided sits in the morning and evening, moving from settling practices early in the week toward impermanence and who-am-I inquiry by the end. Beginner-friendly, deep enough for old hands.
Structured practices for the patterns underneath the patterns: how you learned to connect, protect, and hide. Drawn from attachment theory and parts work, adapted for a retreat container.
Eye gazing, paired listening, authentic relating. Being seen is half the work, and it's the half you can't do alone on a cushion.
Morning hatha yoga with Ryoko, somatic practice, Machiko's sound baths, and the sea. The patterns live in the body, so that's where we go looking for them.
The week draws on Buddhist mindfulness and nondual inquiry, attachment theory, Gendlin's Focusing and unconditional positive regard, and movement and sound practice.
Conversation with a past retreat participant
If you’re in the middle of an acute crisis, completely new to this kind of inner work, or mainly looking for a beach holiday with a bit of yoga and meditation, this probably isn’t the right retreat for you. I’d much rather be clear about that beforehand than realize it halfway through the week.
We’ll be doing some deep and sometimes challenging inner work, but this is not therapy. If you’re currently working through something particularly heavy with a therapist or other professional, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t join — the application call is where we can talk openly about what’s going on and whether this feels like the right time.
We'll talk for 15 minutes before either of us decides.
THE ISLAND
Ishigaki sits on one of the largest blue coral reefs in the world. You don't do five days of this kind of work without somewhere to put it down. So we go outside.
A guided trip out to the blue coral. Float, swim, or stay on the boat — all of it counts.
A walk into the interior. Slow, green, and full of birds and butterflies.
A boat over to Taketomi island for the day. Sand, water, and nowhere to be.
Freediving is available on Ishigaki with a local instructor, mornings only, limited to a small group. If you want to do it, please arrive a day early or stay a day later and we'll connect you — it isn't part of the retreat schedule.
YOUR GUIDE
I’ve practiced meditation daily for over a decade and have been guiding retreats since 2021. I’m also the author of Beyond Calm: Why Meditation Is Not Enough — and How to Heal the Patterns That Shape Your Inner World, and a lot of what we’ll explore on this retreat comes from the practices and ideas in the book.
Before doing this work, I ran a venture-backed startup in Tokyo and eventually burned out pretty badly. What surprised me was that even after nearly ten years of meditation, there were still deeper emotional patterns, nervous system stuff, and ways of relating that meditation alone hadn’t really touched.
That experience changed the way I practice and teach. I still love meditation, but I’m much more interested now in what happens beyond simply calming the mind — and that’s really where this retreat comes from.
MEET THE TEAM
I guide the meditation and inquiry. Ryoko leads morning yoga. Machiko brings in the sound.
Mindfulness Guide
Yoga Teacher
Sound Healer
FROM PAST RETREATS
Igor - Retreat Participant
For a long time I thought this kind of work was something I'd make room for once everything else was handled. It never was. The crisis arrived before the space did.
You don't need to be burnt out, stuck, or at a breaking point to come. You may simply feel that this is something you want to make room for, before something makes room for it.
THE STAY
A restored villa in the quiet beach town of Shiraho — ten minutes from Ishigaki airport, two minutes from the water. Five tatami bedrooms, each with a private bathroom and shower.
Rooms are shared with one roommate, same sex, matched with care from the applications. There's plenty of house, and plenty of island, for being alone when you want it.
A limited number of private rooms are available at an additional cost. Mention it when you apply and we'll sort it out directly.
The waters off Shiraho are home to one of the largest blue coral reefs in the world. You can walk to it.
MEALS
Tamarind is a local favorite in Ishigaki — Okinawan flavors with global influences, seasonal island ingredients, plant-forward but not precious about it. Meat and vegetarian options at every sitting. Tell us about allergies and dietary needs in the application and we'll work it out with them ahead of time.
Fresh fruit salad
Greek yogurt with honey, almond butter & granola
Scrambled eggs
Beniimo (purple sweet potato) & cream cheese salad
Carrot & orange "shikuwasa" rapée
Salmon onigiri and fried egg
Okinawan jerk chicken
Spice curry plate with turmeric rice & seasonal veggie sides
Kale & parmesan salmon salad
HOW JOINING WORKS
Fill out the short form. Mostly questions about where you are in your practice and what you're hoping to work with. Applying doesn't commit you to anything.
A 15-minute call. This isn't a sales call — it's where we both figure out whether this group, this week, is right for you right now.
If it's a fit, you'll get an invitation with payment instructions. Your deposit confirms your place and locks in your price.
Why the application: With a small group sharing a villa for six days, the group itself becomes an important part of the experience. I speak with everyone beforehand so we can get a sense of whether the retreat feels like the right fit for you, and whether the timing feels right.
It isn’t about being advanced or having lots of experience. It’s simply about creating a group that feels safe, supportive, and well matched.
Applying doesn't commit you to anything.
PRICING
All prices are per person. Small group: maximum 12–13 guests.
Pay in Full Now — ¥176,000
Full payment at booking
Early Bird — ¥186,000
Deposit by December 1, 2026
Regular — ¥238,000
After December 1, 2026
Pay in Full Now — $2,100
Full payment at booking
Early Bird — $2,250
Deposit by December 1, 2026
Regular — $2,600
After December 1, 2026
Reserving your place: A ¥50,000 or $500 deposit holds your spot and locks in your price. The balance is due by February 25, 2027. You can pay it in full or split it — tell us what works when you’re accepted.
Pay in Full Now: If you pay the full amount at booking, you receive the discounted pay-in-full rate.
Early Bird: Pay your deposit by December 1, 2026 to get the Early Bird rate. Deposits after that date are charged at the regular price.
Refunds: Your ¥50,000 or $500 deposit is refundable until April 1, 2027. After April 1, all deposits are nonrefundable.
Any amount paid beyond the deposit is fully refundable until April 24, 2027, the day before the retreat. After April 24, all payments are nonrefundable, but you may transfer your place to someone else, subject to approval.
If we cancel the retreat: You’ll receive a full refund of everything you’ve paid, including the deposit.
Five nights at Le Lotus Bleu, shared tatami room
Three meals a day by Tamarind Shokudou
All sessions, practices, and materials
Snorkeling trip, jungle trek, and island day
Transport on the island
Airport pickup and drop off
Flights to and from Ishigaki
Freediving, if you add it before or after the week
QUESTIONS
No. There's quiet time every day, but conversation, pair practice, and group circles are half the point. If you want ten days of noble silence, a Vipassana center will serve you better — and I'll tell you so on the call.
No. The practices draw on frameworks that therapy also uses, but this is a retreat, not treatment, and I'm a meditation teacher, not a therapist. If you're in active treatment, bring it up in the application and we'll work out together whether the timing is right.
You don't need to be advanced. You do need some familiarity with sitting practice, and a real willingness to look at your own patterns with other people in the room. If you've never meditated at all, start with the book or the audio course and come next time.
No. Ryoko tailors the morning sessions to whoever shows up, and there's no requirement to be flexible, athletic, or any particular shape.
As soon as your spot is confirmed. The retreat overlaps with the start of Golden Week, when flights inside Japan get expensive and sell out early. Your final payment is due two months out, so nothing's left hanging when you book.
Same-sex rooms, one roommate, matched from the applications. Every room has its own bathroom and shower. Want a private room? Say so when you apply — there are a couple available at an additional cost.
Yes. There's a question about it in the application, and we talk to Tamarind ahead of time.
Deposit: ¥50,000 for Japan residents / $500 USD for international guests.
Deposit is refundable until April 1, 2027.
After April 1, the deposit becomes non-refundable.
Any amount paid beyond the deposit remains refundable until April 24, 2027.
After April 24, all payments are non-refundable.
The remaining balance is due February 25, 2027.
You can allow someone to transfer their spot to another person, subject to your approval.
If you cancel the retreat, they get a full refund, including the deposit.
That’s completely understandable, especially if you’re traveling alone or joining a retreat with people you haven’t met before.
The retreat space has five spacious Japanese tatami-style rooms, each with its own bathroom and shower. I usually aim for around 10–12 people, so rooms are typically shared by two people of the same sex.
Everyone fills out a registration application and questionnaire beforehand, and I use those to pair roommates as thoughtfully as possible. Having guided dozens of retreats over the last few years, I’ve found that roommates often end up forming genuine friendships that continue beyond the retreat itself :)
The retreat also isn’t a traditional silent retreat. We do a mixture of guided meditations, pair practices, group practices, and conversations, and the connections that develop between people are often a big part of what makes the experience special.
So there is a little invitation to lean into some of the uncertainty or discomfort that can come with sharing a room. Sometimes that small edge of vulnerability actually becomes part of the experience.
That said, if having your own space feels important to you, I usually have one private room available at an additional cost, subject to availability.
The retreat is designed as a complete six-day experience, and I strongly encourage everyone to stay for the whole thing. A big part of the retreat is the trust and connection that develops when the same small group spends several days practicing and living together.
That said, I know taking nearly a week away isn’t possible for everyone. In a small number of cases, an earlier departure may be possible. If the retreat feels right for you but the dates are the only thing holding you back, mention it in your application and we can talk about it.
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