A refuge for people of various intersectional identities seeking to connect deeply with the natural world and support healing, community-building, and activism through eco-dharma / earth-based mindfulness and compassion practices.
We honour and celebrate the diverse identities within our community, fostering inclusivity, equity, and cultural sensitivity as core values to support collective healing and activism.
We acknowledge the roots of mindfulness in Buddhist dharma and engage with these teachings and diverse expressions of them respectfully, striving to practice without appropriation and with deep gratitude for their origins.
We strive to approach our work with honesty, care, and integrity, creating a space for genuine exploration, connection, and transformation.
After a season of our own fall and winter refuge, we are grateful to return to these monthly gatherings and to the comfort of sitting in community.
Over the coming months, we will meet to explore mindfulness woven with deep ecology, climate justice, grief and renewal practices, and the resourcing available through relationship with the Earth and one another.
Each gathering is shaped by a different theme, allowing our inquiry to unfold slowly and organically. These sits invite us into presence, listening, and remembering our belonging, our enoughness, and our capacity to be with life as it is. We explore what it means to shed old identities shaped by urgency and extraction, and to become who we are within ecosystems of interdependence, care, and belonging.
Our 90-minute sessions include guided sitting or lying meditation, gentle mindful movement, readings, musings, and poetry, and moments of shared reflection. Together, we create a field where rest, grief, resilience, uncertainty, and hope are all welcome.
Our refuge is designed for people of diverse and intersectional identities who long to connect deeply with nature and support collective healing, community building, and activism through mindful and compassionate practices. Here, we come together with our inner and outer landscapes, cultivating the courage to make a meaningful difference in the world.
No prior meditation experience is needed. You are welcome exactly as you are.
You are welcome to sign up for any single gathering or join us for the full series. Each sit stands on its own while also weaving into a longer arc of practice, connection, and care.
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As David Loy writes, “The ecological crisis is a spiritual crisis. We have forgotten that we are not separate.” This practice helps us remember, in the quiet of shared care.
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When & Where
When:
Dates (Please arrive 5-10 minutes early to check in so we may begin on time)
Thursday, January 29 · 7:00–8:30 PM
Saturday, February 2 · 11:00 AM–12:30 PM
Wednesday, March 26 · 7:00–8:30 PM
Wednesday, April 30 · 7:00–8:30 PM
Wednesday, May 28 · 7:00–8:30 PM
Wednesday, June 26 · 7:00–8:30 PM
Where:
Wonderlit Studio
243 Wallace Ave, Toronto, ON M6H 1V5 (near Lansdowne TTC)
Schedule
6:50 pm Arrival and check-in
7:00 pm Introduction to practice
7:15 pm *Doors Locked* Guided Practice (seated or lying down, occasionally including gentle movement)
7:50 pm Dharma Talk and Q&A
8:20 pm Closing Circle
Please note: the studio is located up a flight of stairs and offers one gender-neutral bathroom. Tea and water will be provided (please bring your own mug). Folding chairs, pillows, and space for personal cushions or yoga mats are available.
Rose Mina has been practising and teaching mindfulness meditation, mindfulness interventions for mental health, and therapeutic yoga for over 20 years. She discovered long ago that being in the mountains, surrounded by trees and greater-than-human beings, made her feel safe and at home, with a deep sense of belonging and unconditional love, unlike anything she had ever experienced.
Her diasporic journey, South Asian/South African roots, passion for ecological and social justice, and EcoDharma practice inform her teaching and worldview. She has studied with senior teachers from True North Insight (TNI), Rocky Mountain EcoDharma Center, Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock, and Plum Village.
Rose Mina completed a two-year Meditation Teacher Mentorship with TNI. She holds a Master's in Spiritual Care with Psychotherapy and a BMATH and works with Data and Higher Education Technology. She is a Registered Psychotherapist in private practice and teaches and adapts mindfulness-based programs with a culturally sensitive and trauma-informed lens. Rose Mina is pursuing a PhD (ABD) in Adult Education at the University of Reading in the UK on mindfulness and compassion-informed, anti-oppressive education and care.
For more, see: https://www.roseminamunjee.com
Simona Irwin is the creator of the Befriending Fear series, a mindfulness teacher, and a neuroplasticity coach. She recently graduated from the 2-year Mindfulness Teacher Training Program with Tara Brach, but her mindfulness journey began much earlier, at 16, when she attended her first Metta meditation sit. This transformative experience sparked a lifelong practice of communion with nature, guided by her passion for permaculture and deep ecology.
Her teachings are informed by her journey through C-PTSD, chronic illness, and an ACE score of 10, giving her a uniquely compassionate and trauma-informed perspective. As a former mentor at Primal Trust™ Academy, Simona integrates expertise in somatics, parts work, and earth-based practices into her offerings. She leads weekly classes and masterclasses on Befriending Emotions and Chronic Illness Symptoms, creating spaces that foster belonging and connection.
Simona is also a mom of two and runs a consulting business in the organic food industry. Her passion for conscious movement practice, inquiry, and stillness is woven into all aspects of her work. She has completed the Eco-Sattva Training with One Earth Sangha and Joanna Macy's Active Hope training, furthering her commitment to community building around these uncertain times.
For more, see: https://www.turningtowards.me
