Bringing the Whole Body Onto the Path: A Five-Day Meditation Retreat with Ayya Anandabodhi and Ajahn Kovilo with Bellingham Insight (In-Person on Samish Island)

Join Ayya Anandabodhi & Ajahn Kovilo for a five-day residential retreat, hosted by Bellingham Insight Meditation Society (BIMS) on Samish Island, Tuesday, Sept. 24th to Sunday, Sept. 29. Note that Clear Mountain’s weekly Saturday gathering in Seattle will still be held as usual with Ajahn Nisabho hosting.

The Buddha’s teachings highlight the body as a gateway to deeper wisdom and liberation, though many of us have become disconnected from our physicality. This retreat aims to bridge that gap by integrating mindful movement, breath awareness, and body-centered meditations. By grounding our practice in the body, we can cultivate a deep sense of presence, embodied awareness, and inner peace, enriching our spiritual journey and overall well-being on the path. 

To register, visit Bellingham Insight’s Retreat Page, at https://www.bellinghaminsight.org/retreats/.

Register

Biographies
Ayya Anandabodhi
Ayya Anandabodhi was born and raised in Wales, UK. She first encountered the Buddha’s teachings in her early teens, which ignited a deep confidence in the Buddha’s insight, and a wish to understand his teachings more deeply. Ayya began monastic training in 1992 at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England under the guidance of Ajahn Sumedho and the community of nuns. In 2009 she moved to the USA with a wish to create more opportunities for women monastics, receiving full Bhikkhunī Ordination in 2011. Ayya loves to share the Dhamma. Her practice is guided by early Buddhist scriptures, living in community, and through nature’s pure and immediate Dhamma. Ayya is the founder of Pārāyana Vihāra in Port Townsend, WA where she currently resides.

Ajahn Kovilo
Ajahn Kovilo is an Ohio-born monk who, having been introduced to meditation through the Goenka tradition, first entered the monastery in 2006. After receiving full ordination from Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro at Abhayagiri Monastery in California in 2010, he spent the next decade training at monasteries in the Ajahn Chah tradition in America and Thailand. In 2020, after a year practicing at a Pa Auk Sayadaw monastery, Ajahn Kovilo enrolled at the Dharma Realm Buddhist University (DRBU) to study Pali and to better understand Mahāyāna practices. Having graduated from DRBU in 2024, Ajahn Kovilo has now joined the Clear Mountain community in person.

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