Grounding in Presence, Growing in Peace: A Mindful Living Retreat

With Kay Stewart, M.Ed.

September 25 - 27, 2026

Date and Time Details: Check-in is 3-4pm on Friday and check-out is at 1pm on Sunday.

Location: Forest Studio

Address: 251 Elohee DriveSautee Nacoochee, Georgia 30571

What to Expect: To help you fully unwind and deepen your retreat experience, Elohee does not provide televisions or internet access (unless you bring your own hotspot). Reliable cell service is available for AT&T, Verizon, and T-mobile. Upon arrival, you’ll leave your car in a secured parking lot and be shuttled to your room. Shuttle service is also available at any time during your stay and for your departure. All facilities at the top of the mountain are within a five-minute walk of each other, along gently sloped gravel paths. Two cottage rooms are ADA-compliant, and all cottage rooms are located on the ground level.

Small Private Room/Shared Bath – $562.00
Single Occupancy/1 King Bed/Private Bath – $764.00
Double Occupancy/2 Twin Beds/Private Bath (Price is per person, must register separately) – $562.00
Double Occupancy/1 King Bed/Private Bath (Price is per person, must register separately) – $562.00

Price includes the course fee, room, meals, and grounds fee but does not include taxes. Full price is shown upon selection of room type prior to registering. A 40% deposit is due at the time of registration with full payment due 2 weeks prior to the retreat start date. Registration closes 3 days prior to the retreat start date.

Elohee's Registration and Cancellation Policy

Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see.
-Thich Nhat Hanh

Join Kay Stewart at Elohee Retreat Center, allowing the beauty and energy of the natural world to invite us to slow down and listen deeply within and around us. We’ll explore practices for grounding in presence, including mindfulness meditation, gentle mindful movement, and mindful walking in nature. As we arrive more deeply in the present moment, poetic inquiry and other self-reflective practices will invite us to grow
together in peace.

Embracing the need for practice in both solitude and community, Kay will intentionally create open spaces to re-discover innate capacities for loving presence and peace, no matter the outer circumstance. We’ll engage in meaningful conversations as a pathway to mindfully living life on life’s terms, accepting what we cannot change, changing what we can, and having the wisdom to know the difference.

The poet Rumi reminds us, beyond wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. Kay invites us to meet in that field, grounded by her experience with the principles and practices at the intersection of Jon Kabat Zinn’s teachings in mindfulness and Parker Palmer’s circle of trust retreat approach. Our unhurried time on retreat will allow us to be guided by what is deepest within us, regardless of what we name that deepest part – soul, true self, inner teacher, spirit – opening us to embody qualities of wholehearted, mindful living as a pathway to peace.

We’ll turn to nature for insight and inspiration, with ample time to relax and enjoy the beauty of Elohee. Whether hiking on lovely, well-marked trails, strolling peacefully through the woods, or simply sitting and breathing it all in, you’ll be surrounded by the serenity and healing energy of this oasis in the mountains of North Georgia.

This Mindful Living Retreat is all-inclusive including:

Two nights’ lodging in Elohee’s cozy, comfortable cottages.
Delicious meals provided from arrival day dinner through departure day lunch. All meals are prepared by a local chef using freshly-prepared ingredients.
A 24-hour tea house, always open for relaxing and enjoying a cup of tea
A gentle rhythm of invitations to group sessions including guidance in mindfulness meditation, mindful movement/yoga, poetry, self-reflection, journaling, and small and large group conversations
Bonfire/star gazing (weather permitting)
Guided hike as well as unguided hiking on well marked trails (weather permitting)
Optional Massage/Spa services (*not included in registration fee)

Retreat Schedule:
Group sessions will meet in Forest Studio throughout the weekend. This is your retreat, so feel free to find your own rhythm.

Friday

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Arrival and Check in with Elohee staff
4:45 PM – 6:00 PM Opening Circle, Forest Studio. Touchstones for our time on retreat
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM Arriving, being in the body … Gentle practices for peaceful presence

Saturday

7:30 AM – 8:00 AM Optional morning meditation
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Breakfast
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Grounding in presence as a pathway to peace.
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Turning to Nature for Insight (Pavillion)
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM Optional guided nature hike
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM Resting in Awareness … unhurried time to just be. Time for optional massage/spa appointments, naps, walks in the forest, journaling
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM Connection as a pathway to peace.
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM Bonfire & S’mores as a pathway to peace!

Sunday

7:30 AM – 8:00 AM Optional morning meditation
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Breakfast
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Presence, Perspective, and Possibility
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Closing Circle –Grounding in Peace … an invitation to ongoing practice
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Lunch
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM check out.

For more information, contact Kay Stewart, M.Ed. at kstewart@shallowford.org.

Check out Elohee’s Guest Information FAQs here.

About the Leader

Kay Stewart, M.Ed.

Kay Stewart, M.Ed., serves as Director of Mindfulness Education for the Shallowford Center for Mindful Living in Atlanta. She began teaching classes and retreats at Shallowford in 2013 after completing graduate studies in mindfulness and contemplative education. For more than 26 years, Kay served on the faculty in the Department of Health and Physical Education […]

Learn more about Kay Stewart, M.Ed.

Categories : Breathwork, Home, Meditation, Personal Development, Self-care