About
Eileen Ybarra has studied Theravadan Buddhism and Insight meditation since 2004, beginning with teacher Trudy Goodman. She has trained with teachers at Against the Stream Meditation Society, Insight Meditation Center of Redwood City, Durango Dharma Center, and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She completed two facilitator training programs with Against the Stream and the Dedicated Practitioners Program at Spirit Rock. Ybarra teaches guided meditations and leads group discussions for meditation groups at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, for young adults, and for middle-aged practitioners. She works as a public librarian.
Teaching focus
Eileen Ybarra's teaching focus, drawn from the source profile, sits in the Theravada and Insight traditions. Several threads come up: steady attention to body and breath; the relationship between ethics and meditation; and short, direct teachings rather than long talks. On talks, the style is closer to thinking-along than presenting. Eileen Ybarra works with whatever shows up in the room rather than reading from notes, which is part of why these talks land as conversational instead of scripted. Short pauses, longer sits, and questions that come back to direct experience are usual. Listed specialties on the source profile include teens, in-person. The bigger move Eileen Ybarra keeps making is back toward attention itself: what's happening, how it's being held, and what gets in the way. That keeps the teaching close to practice rather than drifting into commentary about practice. For talks, schedules, and longer essays, the affiliated organization's page is where the live material lives. Eileen Ybarra's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on. Eileen Ybarra's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on.
Background
Eileen Ybarra teaches in the Theravada and Insight traditions. The teaching home is InsightLA. From the teacher's own profile: Eileen Ybarra began studying Theravadan Buddhism meditation practice in 2004. Her first meditation teacher was Trudy Goodman. Since 2004, she has also studied with a variety of dharma teachers through the Against the Stream Meditation Society, Insight Meditation Center of Redwood City, Durango Dharma Center, and Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Her profession is public librarianship, a meaningful practice of service and mindfulness, which she is grateful for. Eileen is one of the teachers for the Hollywood Forever Cemetary, Young Adult, and Middle-ish meditation groups, where she leads guided meditations and group discussions. She has completed two 1-year long facilitator training programs with the Against the Stream Meditation Society. She has also completed the Dedicated Practitioners Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. In the Insight stream Eileen Ybarra works inside, the emphasis is on direct attention to body, feeling tone, and mind, alongside the brahmaviharas and an ongoing investigation of how clinging and aversion arise. Talks tend to be conversational rather than scripted, and there's room for sila and ethics to be talked about as part of practice rather than as a separate topic. Eileen Ybarra's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eileen Ybarra's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eileen Ybarra's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eileen Ybarra's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eileen Ybarra's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eileen Ybarra's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Eileen Ybarra's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography.
Lineage
Eileen Ybarra teaches as a lay teacher in the Theravada and Insight traditions. The institutional home, per the source listing, is InsightLA, and that's where most of the public teaching schedule and any retreat offerings will be posted. The Insight lineage in the West runs through teachers like Mahasi Sayadaw, U Ba Khin, Anagarika Munindra, and Dipa Ma into the founders of IMS, Spirit Rock, and the regional centers, and most contemporary Insight teachers position themselves somewhere in that broad family.
What to expect
On a class or retreat with Eileen Ybarra, the basic shape is short instruction, longer sittings, and some Q&A. The container is shaped by InsightLA, so format details, fees, and access policies follow that organization's norms. Expect plenty of silence, less talking-at-you than you might think, and an emphasis on letting the practice do its work rather than chasing experiences. For exact dates, registration, and any sliding-scale or scholarship information, There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice. There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice.
