“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think” - Buddha

Bring ease into the holiday season at this West Coast BEtreat! Explore your inner landscape, relax your mind and soothe the body in this mindful BEtreat at the foot of the Santa Cruz mountains. Settle beside the garden and orchard with: 

• Ruchika Sikri, former lead of Google’s original Well-Being and Mindfulness Program and now a General Partner at Wisdom Ventures;  

• Lara Wilson, Founder of Be Well Be Here, Writer, Mindful Wellness Educator and a profound thought leader on the power of storytelling for healing;

• Nishi Bhonsle, Senior Leader at Salesforce and a certified Fitness, Nutrition and Wellness Consultant

Practice mindfulness, compassion, nourishment and mindful writing to bring wellBEing into our lives as well as those near and dear to us. Join us to give yourself the gift of wellBEing that benefits all!

MINDFUL AFTERNOON ITINERARY - Pacific Standard Time

1:00 pm    Welcome

1:15 pm    Why Seek Ease? Ruchika

1:45 pm   Mindful Meditation

2:00 pm   Nourish Yourself with Nishi

2:30 pm   Refreshments

2:45 pm   Mindful Journaling with Lara

3:30 pm   Pause for Q&A

3:45 pm   Grounding Meditation

4:00 pm   Fond Farewell

$120
Details and directions to follow after registration.

BWBH offers scholarships and subsidized fees to share practice with ALL.

Ruchika Sikri is the co-creator of Wisdom Ventures, a collaborative foundation that brings together capital and visionary entrepreneurs who share a dedication to the inner life and want to support businesses that bring forth the best in humanity. After a successful 25-year corporate career at Google, Microsoft and Cisco, Ruchika now follows her life's purpose and mission to create a better world by supporting globally accessible mindfulness, compassion and wellness offerings. Her inspiration comes from leading Well-Being and Mindfulness Learning Programs & Strategy for more than 8 of 15 years as an executive at Google, where she successfully architected, facilitated, and curated well-being and mindfulness programs for over 120,000 employees. Ruchika’s mindful leadership led to a self-sustaining culture where tens of thousands of Googlers regularly practice mindfulness for better well-being, healthier interpersonal relationships, and sustainable high performance. For over 20 years, Ruchika's daily meditation and yoga practice has been grounded in increasing clarity of mind, purity of heart, and sincerity in action. She believes these skills are increasingly needed to uplift humanity, build genuine connections and increase respect for our planet. Ruchika also advises founders of wellness technology and conscious living startups, and lives in Bay Area California with her wonderful husband and two loving children.

Lara Wilson is the founder and executive director of Be Well Be Here, a 501(c)3 nonprofit mindful wellness educational collaborative in Concord, MA, whose mission is to equitably build compassionate communities through creative wellbeing practices. A lifelong meditator, writer and teacher, Lara established Be Well Be Here to share the experiential practices that helped her thrive after treatment for stage III breast cancer. Be Well Be Here offers creative mindful practices through online and in-person sessions, wellbeing retreats and inclusive community outreach. Lara holds a master's degree in English and American literature from Harvard and a graduate certificate in Mindfulness Studies from Lesley University as well as certification in Reiki and restorative yoga. She has been a featured presenter at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference, the Association for Independent Schools of New England (AISNE), and the Mind Body Medicine conference co-sponsored by the Henry Benson Institute at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Lara also serves as curator of the Concord Festival of Authors as well as the Concord Free Public Library’s Authors’ Series and Mindfulness Programming, and is a member of the Corporation Board of Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House. She and her husband are the parents of four beloved young adults.