Gretchen Miura Wellbeing Consulting

Zen Wisdom for Modern Living

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Inquire Now

Wellbeing Consulting

Gretchen Miura Wellbeing Consulting: Zen Wisdom for Modern Living

Hi there! I’m Gretchen.

I am a retreat facilitator, mindfulness meditation teacher and wellbeing consultant based at Dairyuji Zen Temple in Akita, Japan. My work focuses on integrating personal and communal wellbeing to help leaders and organizations navigate stress, transitions, and uncertainty. I believe that through presence, ritual and community we can show up in our lives with a sense of clarity, alignment, and connection.

What is Wellbeing? 

Wellbeing is a grounded sense of ease in the body, mind and spirit, that is not dependent upon changing moods or temporary situations. Instead of chasing perfection, wellbeing embraces wholeness providing the resiliency to navigate life's ups and downs with strength, integrity and compassion.

Services Available:

  • An easy and engaging way to check in and connect. 

    With warmth and curiosity, I run custom workshops that blend mindful awareness, creative rituals and community engagement to improve overall wellbeing. 

    Services include:

    • Online workshops

    • In-person workshops at Dairyuji Temple

    • In-person workshops onsite at your location

  • Sharing our stories illuminates our collective humanity.

    I use my personal journey to serve as a catalyst for thoughtful conversations on a wide range of topics including mindfulness, communal wellbeing, grief and intercultural understanding.

    Services includ:

    • Speeches & Presentations

    • Group Panels

    • Interviews

  • Enjoy the serenity of Dairyuji temple to reconnect and slow down.

    l create one of a kind, personalized and transformative retreat experiences to treasure for a lifetime. 

    Services include:

    • Private retreats for small groups up to 10 people

    • Customized focus on your group’s needs

    • Full service includes all meals, activities & accommodations

  • Comprehensive consulting for sustainable wellbeing.

    I offer in-depth, personalized assessments accompanied with practical approaches to facilitate long lasting support.

    Services includes

    • Personal leadership wellbeing consulting

    • Communal organizational wellbeing consulting

  • We heal and thrive in community.

    My life’s passion lies at balancing the intersection of individual and communal wellbeing. Understanding other paradoxes such as how sorrow and joy can coexist helps us live meaningful lives. Without rushing or judging, together we create community where we feel seen. 

    Services includes

MY APPROACH

Presence, Ritual & Community

Sustainable wellbeing does not come from quick fixes. I believe that it grows from three human foundations: mindful presence, meaningful ritual, and supportive community.

Presence Grounds Us.

Presence allows us to meet life as it is with clarity and compassion.

Modern life pulls attention in many directions. Stress, technology, and constant busyness make it difficult for people to truly experience the present moment. Learning how to be present is a foundation of wellbeing.

Presence helps people:

  • reduce stress

  • respond rather than react

  • cultivate clarity

  • reconnect with themselves

Practices include:

  • mindfulness meditation

  • mindful breathing & walking

  • embodied somatic exercises

  • awareness during daily activities

Ritual Guides Us.

Ritual transforms and aligns ordinary moments into meaningful experiences.

Concrete, timely, and symbolic, rituals create structure and emotional grounding. Alchemizing an intellectual understanding into an embodied knowing, rituals work as a bridge between the unconscious and awareness.

Rituals provide a way to:

  • mark transitions

  • prioritize values

  • create intention

  • regulate emotions

Examples of rituals:

  • tea practice

  • mindful meals

  • honoring solstices & equinoxes

  • communal gatherings

Community Sustains Us.

Connection grows out of personal and communal wellbeing supported in community.

Many people today experience deep loneliness and disconnection, even when surrounded by others. Luckily, a sense of belonging, human connection and shared experience is something that can be fostered.

Community encourages:

  • emotional & practical support

  • accountability for practice

  • a sense of belonging

  • deeper understanding of others

Communal wellbeing emphasizes:

  • shared practice

  • receiving & giving support

  • compassionate listening

  • creating meaning together

WORK WITH ME
WORK WITH ME

My Story

My work is rooted in a lifelong journey across cultures, traditions, and ways of understanding wellbeing.

I grew up in suburban New Jersey, where my very typical childhood was filled with a sense of play, belonging and wonder—catching fireflies in the summer and spending long days outside with friends. The world felt safe, alive and full of possibility.

My world view was also shaped early on by experiences of profound loss. Grief opened a space in my life that felt disorienting and deeply questioning.  In the years that followed, time in nature and travel became a source of healing, awakening a quiet but persistent call to explore the unknown—both in the world and within myself.

This path eventually led me to rural Japan, where I have been married to a Zen priest and part of a temple community for 25 years. The transition was both beautiful and challenging. I had to learn a new language, assimilate to a different culture, and adjust to a slower rhythm of life. My personal wellbeing journey deepened as I navigated adapting to my new surroundings while staying true to myself. Honoring traditions without being confined by them requires a delicate balancing act. Such juxtapositions encouraged me to create meaningful work that feeds my soul, supports the community and keeps an eye on the future generations. Through daily life in the temple, I began to appreciate how simple practices of presence, ritual, and community create stability and meaning, even during times of uncertainty and change.

Alongside these lived experiences, I have a BS in Anthropology from Santa Clara University where my senior thesis focused on Tibetan refugee communities in the Bay Area. I recently received an MA in Global Communications from Akita International University researching how to cultivate communal wellbeing in intercultural settings. In 2021, I obtained my Mindfulness Meditation Teaching Certificate after a two year training program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. I also studied under David Kessler to become a grief educator. Being a lifelong student continues to shape the way I support others.

Today, I work with individuals and organizations who want to make a positive change in the world by strategically integrating wellbeing into their vision. Much of this work takes place at our family Zen temple Dairyuji in Akita, where participants can step away from the pressures of modern life and reconnect with themselves through mindful presence, meaningful ritual, and supportive community. 

My intention is to bridge the wisdom of Zen with grounded, practical ways to meet modern life with clarity and care.

Let’s Work Together!

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If you're interested in working with me, please complete the form with a few details about your interests and needs. I will review your message and get back to you soon.

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