Equanimity in Difficult Times:
A Daylong Retreat with Gina LaRoche & nico hase
Saturday, October 11th
10 am to 4 pm pacific time
There’s a lot to worry about these days.
From the big things, like continuing racial injustice and the ever-mounting consequences of climate change, to the personal things, like raising kids and paying the rent on time . . . how can we maintain a sense of balance and evenness in the midst of it all?
The answer is uppekha parami, the cultivation of an embodied equanimity. And the way to build this evenness of the heart is step-by-step, moment by moment, one mindful breath at a time.
What We’ll Explore Together
In this one-day online retreat, Gina & nico will delve into upekkha parami ("equanimity"), that quality of the heart that keeps an even keel.
The day will begin with an hour of conversation and an opening talk around the theme. We’ll then sit and walk for four hours in lightly guided practice, before reconvening for a closing talk and further dialogue.
A Full Path of Practice—Rooted in Community
🪴Monthly Daylongs – This is the tenth in an annual series of ten online daylongs offered by Refuge of Belonging, a dharma community rooted in presence and open to all.
🪴The Paramis – The ten paramis are heart qualities that range from kindness and equanimity to resolve and letting go. They offer a time-tested path for cultivating what truly benefits both ourselves and others.
🪴Community – Refuge of Belonging is an online community offering a WhatsApp group, weekly dharma talks, monthly daylongs, quarterly classes, and an annual residential retreat—all designed to nourish and sustain your practice.
Registration & Payment
Date: October 11th
Time: 10am to 4pm pacific time
Format: Online via Zoom
We offer these daylong retreats on a dana model. The suggested donation is $50 to $150 per session. We gratefully accept contributions of greater or lesser amounts, based on your resources.
Gina LaRoche (she*/her*) is an Insight Meditation practitioner and teacher. Gina has participated in several IMS retreats, sitting the annual People of Color retreat as well as other retreats with teachers such as Gina Sharpe, Larry Yang, Sharon Salzberg and DaRa Williams. She was a teacher at the New Haven (Connecticut) Insight Sangha now called Elm Community Insight and now serves as their board chair. In 2014, Gina was nominated by Sharon Salzberg for the Community Dharma Leaders Program at Spirit Rock where she graduated in 2017. She has completed the eight-week MBSR training. She is currently on the Board of Insight Mediation Society in Barre, MA, is one of the leaders for Cambridge Insight Meditation Center (CIMC) POC affinity group. And co-led a Dharma Talk Series for Tricycle Magazine called, “Living in Our Money-Driven Society: Navigating a Path to Awakening.”
nico hase lived in a monastery for six years before earning a PhD in counseling psychology and becoming an Insight Meditation teacher full time. He serves as guiding teacher of the online dharma community Refuge of Belonging, teaches online and in-person retreats, and speaks with students in one-on-one sessions. He and his beloved life partner devon are the authors of How Not to Be a Hot Mess and the upcoming new book This Messy, Gorgeous Love: A Buddhist Guide to Lasting Partnership (2026).
