Djerassi Unplugged
A 1-day, tech-free retreat
About
Get away from alerts and notifications amidst extraordinary natural beauty. Hosted by Tyson Fok and Maria Sperduto, the retreat is held at The Djerassi Resident Artists Program, an internationally recognized residency set on 583 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains. For over four decades, Djerassi has supported over 2700+ artists from around the world by offering uninterrupted time and space within a landscape of extraordinary natural beauty where focus deepens and meaningful connection unfolds. At the heart of Djerassi’s mission is a belief in the transformative power of time, space, and place fostering clarity, experimentation, and presence.
Djerassi Unplugged is a 10-hour silent retreat that draws directly from the residency ethos. The day is gently structured and intentionally spacious, offering participants a rare opportunity to recalibrate their nervous systems and experience what it feels like to be fully present, without pressure to perform, speak, or respond. March 14 and June 20.
Complete Freedom
Meditation is not required. Programming is invitational. The day is truly yours. Enjoy unstructured time for what nourishes you. Hike, write, nap, draw, dance…
We’ll open the day at 9:30am before a silent guided hike of the grounds, red wood groves, flora, fauna, vistas, art.
In the afternoon, drop in to optional guided reflection & meditation sessions with Michelle and Maria.
Lunch and dinner by Chef Yusuke are served in silence, offering a return to presence, wonder, and enjoyment.
Our Team
Tyson Fok creates spaces where people can slow down, pay attention, and remember what it feels like to be undistracted. With a background in interior design, podcasting, and community-building, Tyson’s work focuses on how environments shape our inner lives—often more powerfully than intention or effort. Across creative projects, gatherings, and long-form podcast interviews, he has been drawn to simple structures that invite clarity without instruction. Djerassi Unplugged grew out of his own need for relief from constant stimulation, and a belief that many people don’t need more tools or teachings—just fewer inputs.
Michelle Lee designs experiences that help people slow down, gain clarity, and reconnect with what matters. For over 15 years, Michelle has helped leaders, organizations, and communities excavate their essence, shift consciousness, and translate insight into action. Her work spans strategy, living systems thinking, and physical space design across industries with clients such as Google, Adobe, Rivian, and the U.S. government. Michelle creates conditions for self-reflection and transformation—regenerating soul and soil.
Maria Sperduto holds contemplative containers that help people reconnect with innate powers to rest and gather insight through connecting more intimately with life. For 10 years in corporate and Ivy league contexts, she has helped others find natural doorways into meditation and build habits they love. She draws on 18 years of meditation with teachers in Insight, Zen, and Tibetan Buddhist traditions alongside non-dual and Tantric yogic traditions. Known for her life-affirming approach that celebrates individuality, Maria creates conditions for relief, inner freedom, and enjoyment in meditation.
Chef Yusuke Konno approaches food as a quiet form of care. Trained in Japanese culinary traditions and influenced by seasonal, ingredient-driven cooking, his work emphasizes restraint, balance, and attention. Rather than seeking novelty or spectacle, he focuses on how food supports the body and the moment it’s eaten—especially in environments designed for slowness and presence. For Djerassi Unplugged, Chef Yusuke prepares simple, nourishing meals to be eaten in silence. His cooking reflects the same ethos as the day itself: fewer inputs, more awareness, and respect for what’s already there.
Weekly Sitting Group - Instinctive Meditation
This weekly sitting group is an Instinctive Meditation weekly practice group. There is no “right” or “best” meditation technique that “works” for everyone. The Instinctive Meditation approach supports us to identify and honor our own natural doorways into meditation, so that we can enjoy, sustain, and evolve a rewarding meditation practice.
Guided meditations during this group range from 10-25 minutes long. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll exploring a life-affirming principle of Instinctive Meditation.
Weekly Sitting Group - Mindfulness Meditation
Deepen your understanding and practice of mindfulness and meditation in community. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll practice arriving in the present moment with and as our full selves, then lay the foundation for doing so in our daily lives for the upcoming week.
New students are welcome!
This weekly practice group is a great fit for students who finished Intro to Mindfulness with Maria and are looking to sustain and deepen practice. Beginner-friendly, guided meditations during this group typically range from 10-15 minutes long
Weekly Sitting Group - Instinctive Meditation
This weekly sitting group is an Instinctive Meditation weekly practice group. There is no “right” or “best” meditation technique that “works” for everyone. The Instinctive Meditation approach supports us to identify and honor our own natural doorways into meditation, so that we can enjoy, sustain, and evolve a rewarding meditation practice.
Guided meditations during this group range from 10-25 minutes long. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll exploring a life-affirming principle of Instinctive Meditation.
Weekly Sitting Group - Mindfulness Meditation
Deepen your understanding and practice of mindfulness and meditation in community. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll practice arriving in the present moment with and as our full selves, then lay the foundation for doing so in our daily lives for the upcoming week.
New students are welcome!
This weekly practice group is a great fit for students who finished Intro to Mindfulness with Maria and are looking to sustain and deepen practice. Beginner-friendly, guided meditations during this group typically range from 10-15 minutes long
Weekly Sitting Group - Instinctive Meditation
This weekly sitting group is an Instinctive Meditation weekly practice group. There is no “right” or “best” meditation technique that “works” for everyone. The Instinctive Meditation approach supports us to identify and honor our own natural doorways into meditation, so that we can enjoy, sustain, and evolve a rewarding meditation practice.
Guided meditations during this group range from 10-25 minutes long. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll exploring a life-affirming principle of Instinctive Meditation.
Weekly Sitting Group - Mindfulness Meditation
Deepen your understanding and practice of mindfulness and meditation in community. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll practice arriving in the present moment with and as our full selves, then lay the foundation for doing so in our daily lives for the upcoming week.
New students are welcome!
This weekly practice group is a great fit for students who finished Intro to Mindfulness with Maria and are looking to sustain and deepen practice. Beginner-friendly, guided meditations during this group typically range from 10-15 minutes long
Weekly Sitting Group - Instinctive Meditation
This weekly sitting group is an Instinctive Meditation weekly practice group. There is no “right” or “best” meditation technique that “works” for everyone. The Instinctive Meditation approach supports us to identify and honor our own natural doorways into meditation, so that we can enjoy, sustain, and evolve a rewarding meditation practice.
Guided meditations during this group range from 10-25 minutes long. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll exploring a life-affirming principle of Instinctive Meditation.
Weekly Sitting Group - Mindfulness Meditation
Deepen your understanding and practice of mindfulness and meditation in community. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll practice arriving in the present moment with and as our full selves, then lay the foundation for doing so in our daily lives for the upcoming week.
New students are welcome!
This weekly practice group is a great fit for students who finished Intro to Mindfulness with Maria and are looking to sustain and deepen practice. Beginner-friendly, guided meditations during this group typically range from 10-15 minutes long
Weekly Sitting Group - Instinctive Meditation
This weekly sitting group is an Instinctive Meditation weekly practice group. There is no “right” or “best” meditation technique that “works” for everyone. The Instinctive Meditation approach supports us to identify and honor our own natural doorways into meditation, so that we can enjoy, sustain, and evolve a rewarding meditation practice.
Guided meditations during this group range from 10-25 minutes long. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll exploring a life-affirming principle of Instinctive Meditation.
Weekly Sitting Group - Mindfulness Meditation
Deepen your understanding and practice of mindfulness and meditation in community. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll practice arriving in the present moment with and as our full selves, then lay the foundation for doing so in our daily lives for the upcoming week.
New students are welcome!
This weekly practice group is a great fit for students who finished Intro to Mindfulness with Maria and are looking to sustain and deepen practice. Beginner-friendly, guided meditations during this group typically range from 10-15 minutes long
Weekly Sitting Group - Instinctive Meditation
This weekly sitting group is an Instinctive Meditation weekly practice group. There is no “right” or “best” meditation technique that “works” for everyone. The Instinctive Meditation approach supports us to identify and honor our own natural doorways into meditation, so that we can enjoy, sustain, and evolve a rewarding meditation practice.
Guided meditations during this group range from 10-25 minutes long. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll exploring a life-affirming principle of Instinctive Meditation.
Weekly Sitting Group - Mindfulness Meditation
Deepen your understanding and practice of mindfulness and meditation in community. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll practice arriving in the present moment with and as our full selves, then lay the foundation for doing so in our daily lives for the upcoming week.
New students are welcome!
This weekly practice group is a great fit for students who finished Intro to Mindfulness with Maria and are looking to sustain and deepen practice. Beginner-friendly, guided meditations during this group typically range from 10-15 minutes long
Weekly Sitting Group - Instinctive Meditation
This weekly sitting group is an Instinctive Meditation weekly practice group. There is no “right” or “best” meditation technique that “works” for everyone. The Instinctive Meditation approach supports us to identify and honor our own natural doorways into meditation, so that we can enjoy, sustain, and evolve a rewarding meditation practice.
Guided meditations during this group range from 10-25 minutes long. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll exploring a life-affirming principle of Instinctive Meditation.
Weekly Sitting Group - Mindfulness Meditation
Deepen your understanding and practice of mindfulness and meditation in community. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll practice arriving in the present moment with and as our full selves, then lay the foundation for doing so in our daily lives for the upcoming week.
New students are welcome!
This weekly practice group is a great fit for students who finished Intro to Mindfulness with Maria and are looking to sustain and deepen practice. Beginner-friendly, guided meditations during this group typically range from 10-15 minutes long
Yale SOM drop-in meditation
Yale Community, start your day off with presence and intentionality. Join me to arrive into the moment with a morning meditation.
Join us in person or by Zoom. Sign up on Campus Groups for details and event reminders.
Weekly Sitting Group - Instinctive Meditation
This weekly sitting group is an Instinctive Meditation weekly practice group. There is no “right” or “best” meditation technique that “works” for everyone. The Instinctive Meditation approach supports us to identify and honor our own natural doorways into meditation, so that we can enjoy, sustain, and evolve a rewarding meditation practice.
Guided meditations during this group range from 10-25 minutes long. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll exploring a life-affirming principle of Instinctive Meditation.
Weekly Sitting Group - Mindfulness Meditation
Deepen your understanding and practice of mindfulness and meditation in community. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll practice arriving in the present moment with and as our full selves, then lay the foundation for doing so in our daily lives for the upcoming week.
New students are welcome!
This weekly practice group is a great fit for students who finished Intro to Mindfulness with Maria and are looking to sustain and deepen practice. Beginner-friendly, guided meditations during this group typically range from 10-15 minutes long
Yale SOM drop-in meditation
Yale Community, start your day off with presence and intentionality. Join me to arrive into the moment with a morning meditation.
Join us in person or by Zoom. Sign up on Campus Groups for details and event reminders.
Weekly Sitting Group - Instinctive Meditation
This weekly sitting group is an Instinctive Meditation weekly practice group. There is no “right” or “best” meditation technique that “works” for everyone. The Instinctive Meditation approach supports us to identify and honor our own natural doorways into meditation, so that we can enjoy, sustain, and evolve a rewarding meditation practice.
Guided meditations during this group range from 10-25 minutes long. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll exploring a life-affirming principle of Instinctive Meditation.
Weekly Sitting Group - Mindfulness Meditation
Deepen your understanding and practice of mindfulness and meditation in community. In addition to two guided meditations each week, we’ll practice arriving in the present moment with and as our full selves, then lay the foundation for doing so in our daily lives for the upcoming week.
New students are welcome!
This weekly practice group is a great fit for students who finished Intro to Mindfulness with Maria and are looking to sustain and deepen practice. Beginner-friendly, guided meditations during this group typically range from 10-15 minutes long
Yale SOM drop-in meditation
Yale Community, start your day off with presence and intentionality. Join me to arrive into the moment with a morning meditation.
Join us in person or by Zoom. Sign up on Campus Groups for details and event reminders.
Yale SOM drop-in meditation
Yale Community, start your day off with presence and intentionality. Join me to arrive into the moment with a morning meditation.
Join us in person or by Zoom. Sign up on Campus Groups for details and event reminders.
Yale SOM drop-in meditation
Yale Community, start your day off with presence and intentionality. Join me to arrive into the moment with a morning meditation.
Join us in person or by Zoom. Sign up on Campus Groups for details and event reminders.
Yale SOM drop-in meditation
Yale Community, start your day off with presence and intentionality. Join me to arrive into the moment with a morning meditation.
Join us in person or by Zoom. Sign up on Campus Groups for details and event reminders.
Intro to Mindfulness (4-week course)
The Intro to Mindfulness course was designed to help you build the habit of meditation, and it works! In RCTs, this course reduces stress, improves sleep, and boosts self-compassion with just 10 minutes of daily practice. In your small-group, you will explore a variety of meditation skills over 4 weeks to identify the practices that work for you in the current season of your life. Class meets once weekly for 60 minutes, and enrollment is capped at 14. Double check that you can attend all 4 classes and sign up here. Email Maria.Sperduto@yale.edu with any questions.
The app fee is waived for this group. You can download the app for free from the link in your welcome email.