What if dealing with difficult people became less confusing because you could recognize what was happening sooner? In this engaging women-only retreat with bestselling author and Burned Haystack Dating Method® creator Jennie Young, PhD, you’ll learn to decode the language, behaviors, and rhetorical patterns that can leave you second-guessing yourself in dating and beyond. Drawing from applied rhetoric and Critical Discourse Analysis, Jennie translates academic methodology into practical, real-world strategies, with the feminism, humor, and candor that define the Burned Haystack community. You’ll leave better equipped to spot problematic patterns, trust what you’re seeing, and decide how you want to respond.
Recommended (but not required) Reading Burn the Haystack: Decode Dating, Torch the Duds, and Make Room for Men Who Matter by Jennie Young
SAVE! Add a day or two and save 20% off our R&R rates. Select your added day(s) on the Registration page.
Clearer Discernment
Recognize toxic rhetorical patterns more readily and gain greater clarity about what someone’s words and behaviors may be communicating.
Stronger Boundaries
Become more confident identifying what you will and won’t engage with, helping protect your emotional and physical well-being.
Sharper Analysis
Learn to look beneath the surface of language and examine patterns with greater objectivity rather than getting caught in confusion or self-doubt.
Confident Responses
Develop practical strategies for deciding when and how to respond to difficult, manipulative, or unhealthy communication.
Personal Agency
Strengthen your ability to make choices based on your own observations, standards, and priorities rather than someone else’s framing.
Everyday Application
Translate Burned Haystack strategies beyond dating and apply what you learn to difficult dynamics across other areas of your life.
Over the course of the retreat, concepts you may already know from Burned Haystack will become increasingly personal, tangible, and applicable to your own life. You’ll examine how rhetoric operates in real-world interactions, sharpen your ability to distinguish meaningful signals from distracting noise, and consider how you want to handle challenging dynamics when they arise. Just as importantly, you’ll have the rare opportunity to explore these ideas in person alongside other women who understand the context, humor, and feminist perspective behind the work. By the end, you’ll have created your own practical “algorithm” for navigating difficult people, giving you a framework you can adapt to dating, relationships, and other areas of life.
Analyze real-world language and communication through Burned Haystack strategies and learn to identify patterns that can reveal unhealthy or manipulative dynamics.
Put Burned Haystack concepts into action through individual exercises designed to translate academic methodology into practical, personally relevant skills.
Explore ideas, experiences, and real-life applications with other women in candid conversations grounded in feminism, humor, and mutual support.
Develop your own adaptable framework for identifying, analyzing, and responding to difficult people in dating and other areas of life.
Capture observations, examine recurring patterns, and connect what you’re learning to your own experiences, choices, and relationships.
Bring your questions directly to Jennie and deepen your understanding of Burned Haystack principles and their real-world applications.
SAVE! Add a day or two and save 20% off our R&R rates. Select your added day(s) on the Registration page.
Check-in Begins 4:00 pm
Dinner 6:00–7:00 pm
Property Orientation 7:00–7:20 pm
Session 1 7:30–9:00 pm
Breakfast 7:30–9:00 am
Session 2 9:30 am–12:30 pm
Lunch 12:30–1:30 pm
Session 3 2:00–4:00 pm
Free Time 4:00–6:00 pm
Dinner 6:00–7:30 pm
Breakfast 7:30–9:00 am
Session 4 9:30–11:30 am
Room Checkout 11:00 am Luggage may be held at Reception.
Lunch 12:00–1:30 pm
Jennie Young, PhD, is a best-selling author, professor, and expert in rhetoric whose sharp, accessible approach brings fresh insight to dating, relationships, communication, and contemporary culture.
Prices include daily vegetarian meals from dinner on the night of check-in through lunch on the day of checkout. (Rates below are per person.)
Ideal for individuals, couples, or friends seeking hotel-style comfort and amenities.
Ideal for friends seeking hotel-style comfort and amenities.
Ideal for individuals, couples, or friends seeking simple surroundings for peace and clarity.
Note Room may contain extra single beds.
Fully furnished 665 sq.-ft. apartment (max: 2 persons)
Note Furniture may vary; each apartment is different.
Fully furnished 995 sq.-ft. apartment (max: 4 persons)
Note Furniture may vary; each apartment is different.
Free activities include
Interactive Nature Hikes
Cooking Demos
Meditation & Movement Classes
Wellness Workshops
Paid activities include
Pottery Classes
Ayurvedic Wellness & Healing Arts Treatments
Take your rejuvenation to another level. Our spa offers treatments and therapies that integrate ancient Ayurveda with contemporary wellness.
Call to check availability during Shankara Ayurveda Spa business hours; seven days a week, 9:00 am–6:00 pm.
For room reservations, Ayurveda Wellness Retreats, and Art of Living Retreat Center (AOLRC) signature retreats, we have the following cancellation policy:
AOLRC reserves the right to cancel a program at any time. If AOLRC cancels a program, you will receive a full refund. Some programs may have special cancellation policies; see individual workshop descriptions. For all other retreats, please be sure to check the registration page specific to that retreat.
Unless otherwise indicated, our programs are open to participants 18 years of age and older.
To encourage a healthy environment, we ask that guests not consume alcohol or meat in our public spaces. However, guests may enjoy these items in their rooms.
Our property is always smoke-free.
Yes, we ask that guests with food allergies simply inform us so we can communicate those needs to our chef. Typically, we label potential allergens such as gluten, dairy, and nuts. You may email us at info@theartoflivingretreatcenter.kinsta.cloud.
Thanks to the cool climate of the Blue Ridge Mountains, air conditioning is rarely needed. For the occasional warm day, there is a fan in each room to help keep you comfortable.
We do have lodging and event venues that are ADA-compliant. Due to the topography of our mountain campus, some are easier to access than others, so please speak to Guest Services (800.392.6870) prior to registering to ensure we can best accommodate your needs. We also have shuttles that run frequently throughout the campus.
We are committed to the safety of our guests and staff. Our mountaintop location and the surrounding areas are spacious, remote, safe, and secure.
You can help!
Transportation Options Between Charlotte and the Center
Hickory Hop Shuttle Service Book online hickoryhop.com The Hickory Hop shuttle goes from Charlotte airport to Boone five times daily. Reservations are required, so book ahead online and be sure to confirm shuttle times coordinate with your travel plans.
High Country Limo 828.898.9595 highcountrylimo.com
Oscar’s Car Service 704.965.5800
Edwardo’s Car Service 704.949.6775
Blue Bird Transportation 828.989.7286 Blue Bird of Boone
Abby Cab 828.475.2988 abbycab.com
Uber or Lyft Book in app on arrival.
Other airports within driving distance from the Art of Living Retreat Center include
Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI) in Johnson City, TN (80 miles)
Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) in Greensboro, NC (110 miles)
Visit our directions page for more information.
Step into a world where mindfulness meets beauty. Our gallery captures the essence of the Art of Living—from serene moments of reflection to vibrant celebrations of life, wellness, and connection.
SAVE! Add a day or two and save 20% off our R&R rates. Select your added day(s) on the Registration page.
