Mindful Man

Welcome to Mindful Man. We are a loose confederation of male Mindfulness teachers and practitioners in the Upper Midwest dedicated to bringing Mindfulness to men and supporting men who already have a Mindfulness practice. We also teach Mindfulness and Buddhist retreats that are open to both men and women. We welcome with an open heart people of all... backgrounds and sexual orientations and all levels of experience with the practice of Mindfulness. While there is nothing intrinsically male about the practice of Mindfulness, we specifically direct some of our efforts toward men for several reasons. Most notably, we strongly believe, based on our own experience, that Mindfulness is a powerfully transformative practice that leads us toward true authenticity, joy and effective engagement in the world. Yet, typically the overwhelming majority of those attending events such as Mindfulness retreats are women. Men are almost always under-represented and, in our experience, can be reluctant to try Mindfulness and to engage in an on-going Mindfulness practice. We regularly offer Days of Mindfulness and weekend retreats for men. Our aim is to create a safe and supportive environment in which men can learn and deepen their Mindfulness practice. See the Events page for more information about upcoming retreats, Days of Mindfulness and other practice opportunities. There are many wonderful ways to practice Mindfulness and each of us in Mindful Man comes to Mindfulness from a different direction. Some of us are Buddhists, and some are non-Buddhist psychotherapists who apply Mindfulness to help their clients. Some are teachers of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, a non-Buddhist approach to Mindfulness commonly offered in public institutions such as hospitals, and some teach the ancient movement and energy practice of Qigong, which shares common roots with Zen. We don't proselytize for any specific Mindfulness practice but, rather, we encourage men to find the specific type of practice with which they are most comfortable.Read More