About Jaya:
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"She meets a vast range of people where they are with unconditional love and very precise teaching and guidance.
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"Her reframing, rebirthing of teachings and texts, and her elucidating teaching from them, opens them up in a way that brings me delight, great relief and an enormous sense of possibility."
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~ Sophie, France
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Jaya Ashmore
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In her teachings, Jaya Ashmore integrates her own love of meditation—and of life—with deep experience in the traditions of Buddhism, Advaita (non-duality), yoga, Christianity, and Hindu mysticism, as well as ecology, embodied movement, and the Japanese art of Jin Shin Jyutsu.
Born in the U.S, where she studied religion and art at Harvard, Ashmore began practicing meditation in 1985 and was authorized to teach in 1998. A gentle revolutionary, she has taught meditation through deep rest on silent meditation retreats in 12 countries.
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She has spent most of her adult life in India with her teachers, and her nonprofit Open Dharma has supported awakening in thousands of people from any and no religion since 1999.
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Comments from participants on retreat:
"To have genuine guidance and yet the full range of unguided vision to discover my own experience without right and wrong."
~ Jens, Sweden
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"Every time I arrive to a retreat, it’s like coming back home again—this 'aaaaah, finally!' kind of feeling.
I remember once I was telling Jayaji my 'drama' of the moment ('ooooh, i’m soooo....'--fill in the blank with whatever sounds terrible and impossible to overcome), and she simply smiled at me with her loving eyes and answered, 'I don’t believe you.' Well, I found I had a total lack of convincing arguments about what I was saying, so I stopped believing it myself!"
~ Virginie, France
"I had one of those retreats that are life-changing, that will be remembered as a turning point, as a point of 'before' and 'after.' It was profoundly meaningful to me."
~ Sandya, Israel
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All in Central European Time (CEST)
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Online Weekly Meditations
January 1st - February 26th 2026
Mondays and Thursdays
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"Weaving Life" online program
January 11th - February 27th 2026
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In Person Deep Rest
Meditation Retreats in 2026
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US, Boulder, Colorado
May 7 - 10
Non-Residential
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Email:
kerrywithakdesign@gmail.com
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US, East Hampton, NY
May 21 - 22
Non-Residential
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Information coming soon
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CATALONIA
June 21 - 28
Residential
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Information and Registration
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USA, BELLINGHAM
WASHINGTON ​
July 8 - 12
Non-Residential
Email Jaime for info:
jaime@opendharma.org
Information and Registration
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USA, DURHAM, NC
July 16 - 19
Non-Residential
Email for info:
opendharmancretreats@gmail.com
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UK, near Totnes, Devon
August 21 - 25
Email Frances for info:
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Dharmacosm on Patreon.com
An online space for our
Dharma community through Patreon.com
Each talk just moves something, somewhere, sometimes like a huge boulder tumbling, sometimes a breath-like touch.
~Carolyn, UK
All of your sessions have a significant effect on me, but that one had the most profound effect. Incredibly, it revealed and unlocked the problem (which was related to the death of my father when I was 12). It also helped to reveal my potential.
~Andrew, Australia
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There's a flourishing and widespread community of people who have done retreats with Jaya, and who connect through the newsletter, retreats and social media.
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Receive a free newsletter every 2nd month-- fresh writings from Jaya, upcoming events and other news, and interesting links, lovely poetry (sometimes from retreat participants!), photos and a sense of community that many people treasure.
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Sign up here to receive the newsletter or tiny newsletter with announcements of upcoming events
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