Zen Gestalt 5-Week Pilot Workshop
Sitting / Observing the breath and body / Touching others and the world
This is a five-week experiential workshop integrating Zazen (sitting meditation) with Gestalt therapy process groups.
Sitting while being aware of the breath and body. Exploring and verifying what is noticed there through direct contact with others.
We journey together with the same group of participants over the course of five weeks. For the first four weeks, we gather online once a week, culminating in a two-day in-person workshop in Tokyo.
Why Zen and Gestalt?
Gestalt therapy works with bodily sensations, emotions, thoughts, and the “here-and-now” experience emerging between people. While noticing what is happening inside oneself and what is arising between self and others, we observe the ongoing process in the moment.
In Zen, attention is gently brought to the breath and body. Rather than immediately interpreting or giving meaning to what arises in body and mind, we carefully observe subtle shifts. In doing so, we often touch upon sensations and internal movements that are easily overlooked in daily life.
How do the insights discovered in the stillness of Zazen transform in relational space with others? Sitting alone, and being with others—we will attend carefully to the movement back and forth between the two.
A Five-Week Continuity
In this workshop, we gather online once a week to sit and engage in dialogue. Between these weekly meetings, participants continue short, solitary Zazen sits at home while observing what unfolds in everyday life.
We sustain this rhythm over four weeks, and for the final two days, we come together in person to repeatedly move between sitting meditation and relational dialogue.
Workshop Details
Zazen (Sitting Meditation)
Sitting with gentle awareness of what is happening right now—breath, bodily sensations, sounds, thoughts, and emotions. Rather than trying to change anything or immediately label the experience, we allow ourselves to stay a little longer with whatever arises.
For those without prior meditation experience, foundational guidance on posture and breathing will be provided to ensure an accessible, grounded start.
Process Group
The Gestalt therapy component takes place in the form of a process group. Participants engage in open dialogue, bringing awareness to what is directly unfolding between them in the moment.
Moving Back and Forth Between the Two
Through Zazen, observing what is happening within yourself.
Through the process group, observing what is emerging between people.
Both online and in person, we continuously cycle between these two ways of being.
For the weekly themes and the daily practice, read more →
About the Pilot Program and Research
This program is an exploratory pilot study investigating how participants experience and articulate practices combining Zen and Gestalt therapy. Findings will be presented at the IAAGT Biennial Conference in Rosario, Argentina (March 2027), within the workshop titled:
“Zen and Gestalt in Practice: From Structural Affinity to Embodied Contact.”
The primary areas of inquiry include:
- How participants experience the integrated practice of Zen and Gestalt therapy.
- How the cyclical rhythm—moving from Zazen to a process group, and returning to sitting—is experienced.
- What carries forward, and what shifts, as the work moves from an online container to in-person contact.
Research Participation Components:
- Surveys: 3 sessions total (Pre-program, prior to the in-person workshop, 1–2 weeks post-program / 10–15 mins each)
- Short Written Reflections: 5 sessions total (Following each online session and after the final in-person weekend / 3–5 mins each)
- Individual Online Interview: 1 interview following the program (approx. 50 mins, online)
Theoretical Background
The theoretical ground for this pilot is set out in the following paper, delivered as the presidential address at the 14th Annual Conference of the Japan Association for Gestalt Therapy (January 2025).
Zen and Gestalt Therapy: Structural Affinity in the Phenomenology of Paradoxical Transformation
Yusuke Jinnai (Former President, Japan Association for Gestalt Therapy)
This paper examines the structural affinity between Rinzai Zen practice and Gestalt therapy, focusing on the phenomenological dimensions of paradoxical transformation. While these two traditions emerged from distinct cultural and intellectual contexts, they exhibit remarkable structural homology in their understanding of how authentic change occurs—not through deliberate effort, but through what may be termed pre-reflective presence to immediate experience.
Read the full paper (PDF, 29 pages)
Program Overview
- Schedule (JST - Japan Standard Time):
- Week 1: Wednesday, November 4, 2026, 19:30–21:30 (Online)
- Week 2: Wednesday, November 11, 2026, 19:30–21:30 (Online)
- Week 3: Wednesday, November 18, 2026, 19:30–21:30 (Online)
- Week 4: Wednesday, November 25, 2026, 19:30–21:30 (Online)
- In-Person Intensive: Saturday & Sunday, December 5–6, 2026, 9:30–16:30 each day (Tokyo)
- Location: Central Tokyo (Yoyogi area; exact venue details provided to registered participants)
- Language Requirement:
All sessions, process groups, and interviews for this cohort will be conducted entirely in Japanese. Fluent conversational and expressive Japanese is required to ensure psychological safety and deep group dialogue. - Eligibility:
Those interested in their body, emotions, and relational processes, and who wish to gently explore what unfolds through Zen and Gestalt practices. No prior experience in Zen meditation or Gestalt therapy is required. - Capacity: 8 participants (Minimum required: 6)
- Participation Fee: Free (Pilot program conducted in collaboration with research)
- Requirements: Able to attend all scheduled sessions and agree to participate in the research study.
- Attire & Materials: Comfortable clothing for sitting. Meditation cushions (zafu) and mats (zabuton) are provided at the venue.
- Facilitator: Yusuke Jinnai (About the Facilitator)
- Registration & Inquiries:
Contact: info@zengestalt.com.
For prospective participants, we will send an Information and Consent Sheet on Research Participation and schedule an initial conversation before confirming your registration. - Application Deadline: Applications are now closed (the workshop is full).
Note for International Visitors & Future Programs
If you are an English speaker interested in future English-language online workshops or an intensive Zen Gestalt retreat in Japan, please feel free to reach out to us at info@zengestalt.com. We would be delighted to connect and keep you informed as international offerings develop.
Safety Notice:
This program is educational and exploratory, and is not designed for psychiatric treatment, clinical diagnosis, or medical intervention. During silent meditation or focused dialogue, emotions and somatic sensations may surface more vividly than usual. We hold participants’ psychological safety and well-being with the utmost care. If you are currently undergoing treatment for a mental health condition, please consult with us and your care provider prior to applying.