The 9 Contemplations on Death

Learning to Live with Mindfulness | A Trauma-Sensitive Online Retreat that helps you meet death with compassion – and, through that, live more fully.

ONLINE RETREAT | 13. – 15. November 2026 – This Online Retreat will be held in German

ONLINE RETREAT |
13. – 15. November 2026 – This Online Retreat will be held in German

Register now
Donation-based | DANA

The 9 Contemplations on Death

Learning to Live with Mindfulness

In this retreat, we practice the “Nine-Round Meditation on Death” from Tibetan Buddhism – held within silence, gentle embodiment, and spaces for sharing. With mindfulness, compassion, and great care, we turn toward a theme often avoided in our culture – and discover within it a source of aliveness, clarity, and inner peace.

The practice invites you to welcome death as a teacher in your life, to transform fear, and to cultivate trust. In doing so, a profound shift into presence, freedom, and gratitude becomes possible.

Sea with rainbow over the water, driftwood forming an arch on the shore in front of it, calm and meditative atmosphere.

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We do not have to wait until the end of our lives to learn what death can teach us.

– Frank Ostaseski –

Your Path Through the 9 Contemplations – Death as a Teacher for Life

Arriving & Becoming Aware
We slow down and practice mindful meditation on impermanence. In silence, space opens for you to arrive more deeply in yourself—in breath, in body, and in the awareness of the preciousness of your time.

Deepening the 9 Contemplations
Step by step, we turn toward each of the traditional contemplations. You practice welcoming the reality of impermanence—allowing fear and attachment to soften.

Embodiment & Grounding
Through very gentle, trauma-sensitive yoga and embodiment practices, you anchor the experience in the body. A sense of safety, spaciousness, and calm can emerge.

Opening the Heart & Cultivating Compassion
With practices such as Karuna (compassion) and Metta (loving-kindness), you learn to meet life and death with kindness. Your heart can grow softer and more spacious.

Integration & Everyday Life
In shared reflection, you explore ways to bring these teachings into your daily life—for more trust, clarity, and aliveness.

You are invited to show up with everything that is present in you. This retreat can become a profound meeting with yourself – honest, compassionate, and transformative.

What to Expect

Online Retreat via Zoom

Portrait of Nirmala with her hair down, wearing a black dress with white dots and light blue earrings, smiling gently.

Guided Meditations

including the “9 Contemplations on Death” from Tibetan Buddhism

Stone pagoda with Tibetan prayer flags, surrounded by nature, meditative and mindful.

Periods of Silence

Silent phases to listen more deeply and reconnect with yourself; meditating lying down is always welcome

Nirmala from behind in a standing yoga position, one arm bent to the side at her ear, colorful, bright painting in the background.

Trauma-Sensitive Embodiment & Gentle Yoga

Grounding, safety, and embodied integration

White seated Buddha statue in the garden of a meditation center, with Tibetan prayer flags fluttering in the background.

Dharma Teachings

Inspiration and guidance from Buddhist practice

Sunset at the sea, golden rays breaking through the clouds, the sea glistening, gentle mountain ranges in the background.

Compassion Practices

Including Metta (loving-kindness) and Karuna (compassion)

Nirmala sits cross-legged, hands in namaste position in front of her heart, smiling, a large gilded singing bowl in front of her, Buddha in the background.

Questions & Answers / Sharing

Space for your experiences, resonance, and deepening

  • Retreat Schedule

Friday, October 31, 2025
18:30 – 20:00

Saturday, November 1, 2025
10:00 – 13:00 and 15:30 – 18:30

Sunday, November 2, 2025
10:00 – 13:00

  • Dana

This retreat follows the Buddhist tradition of dana. There is no fixed fee; however, I rely on voluntary donations for my livelihood.

Learn more about DANA
PayPal donation link with VISA, MasterCard, Maeatro, American Express
Donate via PayPal

Bank transfer:
IBAN: DE57 2565 0106 0036 2990 55 | BIC: NOLADE21NIB

Who is guiding you

I’m Nirmala, and for more than 25 years I’ve been supporting people through yoga, mindfulness, compassion, and Buddhist meditation. Death – alongside nature and my family – has been one of my greatest teachers. In my youth, I witnessed how a neighbouring family kept their blinds closed for years after losing a child. Since then, I’ve been deeply drawn to understanding what carries us when everything else falls away.

If you’d like to know more about me, you can read here:

More About Me
Nirmala facing forward, hands on her chest, looking at the camera, mouth slightly open, hair tied up, silver filigree tree earrings.

Would you like to learn how mindfulness and compassion can help you meet life and death with greater kindness?

Then sign up now.

Register now

Feedback from Participants

I was so afraid to face the topic of death – and then discovered how much it helped me appreciate life more deeply. Thank you for holding such a safe and compassionate space.
Rosa Rose vor blauem Himmel – meditativ, achtsam, symbolisch für Ruhe und Entspannung.
Anna | Yoga Teacher
The 9 Contemplations opened something in me. I feel clearer, more present, and at the same time softer in my heart. It continues to resonate in my daily life.
Lila Lilie – meditativ, achtsam, entspannt, symbolisch für Ruhe und Entspannung.
Claudia | (Holistic Practitioner)
What touched me most was how gently and trauma-sensitively you guided us. I could truly be with my feelings without having to force anything.
Rote Blumenblüte von oben, gelbe Mitte mit schwarzem Punkt, knallrote Blütenblätter – meditativ, achtsam, entspannt.
Sabine | Coach
It was unexpected: instead of heaviness, I felt lightness. Turning toward death has given me a deeper trust in life.
Rosa Heckenrosenblüten – meditativ, achtsam, natürlich, symbolisch für Ruhe und Entspannung.
Elisabeth | Artist
I have rarely experienced a space where silence, embodiment and meditation flowed together so naturally. The retreat feels like an inner anchor.
Zwei lila Blumen von oben fotografiert
Katharina | Social Worker
I’m taking with me that nothing is a given. That every moment is precious. And that I can dare to open to life more fully.
Pinke Blüten vor rosa Hintergrund I Symbol für Sinnlichkeit, Achtsamkeit und Verkörperung
Maria | Self-employed in Design