Embodied Essence
Experience a direct, felt connection to your true nature that cultivates greater wholeness, presence, and inner peace.
Personal growth isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about remembering who you are beneath self-doubt, emotional overwhelm, and the constant pressure to fix yourself. During this immersive retreat with Joy and Matt Kahn, you’ll learn the Quantum Expansion Technique (QUE), a practical, repeatable method that helps you return to clarity, emotional freedom, and inner alignment in just seconds, leaving with tools you can use throughout everyday life and in service to others.
Participants who complete the program will be eligible to receive QUE Level 1 Certification from Matt and Joy Kahn.
SAVE! Add a day or two and save 20% off our R&R rates. Select your added day(s) on the Registration page.
Embodied Essence
Experience a direct, felt connection to your true nature that cultivates greater wholeness, presence, and inner peace.
Instant Alignment
Learn a simple five-second practice that helps you return to clarity, confidence, and coherence whenever you need it.
Core Qualities
Recognize and cultivate the essential qualities of being that bring greater trust, freedom, and conscious choice.
Greater Self-Trust
Strengthen confidence in your inner knowing and quiet self-doubt through guided experiential practice.
Emotional Freedom
Move through difficult emotions with greater resilience instead of avoiding, suppressing, or becoming overwhelmed by them.
Conscious Creation
Shift from constantly trying to fix yourself toward living with greater intention, alignment, and choice.
Throughout the weekend, you’ll move beyond intellectual understanding into direct experience through guided activations, structured partner practice, and compassionate coaching in a supportive retreat environment. As your confidence grows, you’ll cultivate greater emotional resilience, strengthen your connection to your true nature, and develop practical tools that help you respond to life’s challenges with steadiness, presence, and choice. You’ll leave not only with a Level 1 certification, but with a sustainable practice designed to support lasting transformation long after the retreat ends.
Experience three immersive activations designed to cultivate a direct, embodied connection to your Essence, Source, and the seven core frequencies.
Give and receive the Quantum Expansion Technique in a supportive environment that builds confidence, trust, and practical skill.
Receive compassionate guidance from Matt and Joy as you deepen your understanding and integrate the work.
Learn and refine the five-second QUE circuit for returning to clarity, presence, and coherence throughout daily life.
Process your experiences through intentional reflection, allowing new insights to settle into lasting change and everyday practice.
SAVE! Add a day or two and save 20% off our R&R rates. Select your added day(s) on the Registration page.
This experiential retreat offers a well-balanced schedule that combines structured educational sessions with flexible time blocks – ensuring you have ample opportunity to engage in learning while also allowing personal time to explore the retreat center, participate in activities, and enjoy moments of reflection and relaxation.
Check-in Begins 4:00 pm
Dinner 6:00–7:00 pm
Orientation 7:00–7:20 pm
Session 1 7:30–9:00 pm
Breakfast 7:30–9:30 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 7:30–9:30 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
Breakfast 7:30–9:30 am • Lunch: 12:00–1:30 pm • Dinner: 6:00–7:30 pm
Optional activities include
Yoga • Meditation • Kirtan • Bonfire • Labyrinth • Nature Trails
QUE Level 1 is for coaches, healers, practitioners, and sincere seekers who want a direct, embodied experience of their Essence and a practical daily practice for alignment, emotional freedom, and conscious creation. You do not need to be “advanced” or have previous experience with Matt and Joy’s work.
No. The retreat is designed to meet both longtime practitioners and beginners. The pre-retreat book, QUEing Up Magic, brings everyone to the same baseline so the live time can be fully experiential.
QUE is a short, repeatable alignment practice built around three in-person activations: Essence, Source, and the 7 Core Frequencies (Love, Belonging, Acceptance, Value, Trust, Freedom, Creation). Once learned, the core circuit takes about five seconds to run and can be used before a conversation, session, or decision to return to coherence and self-trust on demand.
An activation is a guided experience that helps your nervous system and awareness register a new way of being as real and available now. In practice, this looks like a held group field, specific language, and a clear attention pathway Matt and Joy walk you through so your body actually feels your Essence, Source, and the core frequencies, instead of only understanding them intellectually.
Each day includes a core teaching/practice block with Matt and Joy, partner exercises, reflection time, and spacious integration windows for rest, meals, trails, spa, or quiet. It is a retreat, not a bootcamp: there is structure, but also ample time to let the work land.
You’ll be invited into partner practices and group sharing, but you always choose your level of disclosure. The container is designed to feel safe, respectful, and trauma-aware. You can participate fully without revealing personal details you’d rather keep private.
You receive your QUE Level 1 Certification at the closing ceremony after completing all three activations and the supervised practice block. This certifies that you have learned and practiced the QUE circuit and the Level 1 tools. Many attendees use QUE to support their existing client work, and Level 1 is also the required foundation for future study (through our Healer’s Code Academy).
QUE is a spiritual and transformational practice, not psychotherapy and not tied to any one religion. It can complement therapeutic work but does not replace medical, psychological, or psychiatric care. The retreat is open to all sincere participants regardless of faith background.
Your certification retreat is followed by a 30-day guided Essence Practice inside The Healer’s Code community. You’ll receive prompts, simple daily practice guidance, and live integration support so the activation becomes a way of living, not just a powerful weekend memory.
This retreat is designed as a live, in-person experience. Portions of the teaching may be recorded for internal use, but the certification is based on being present in the room and participating in the partner practices, not on watching a replay.
Becoming Frequency was a life transforming retreat. Learning with Matt and Joy was a beautiful experience; they held space for participants from around the world, with palpable love and grace, creating a safe container for healing. The lessons, teachings, and guidance, combined with their heart- and body-centered approach, shifted us away from old patterns and programming, allowing us to find our authentic selves.
QuE is like the lighthouse guiding me back to shore. I love using it when I’m with the horses to bring myself into congruency.
QuE brings me fully into my body, feeling all feels that are present in that moment. It helps me feel centered and at peace. Bringing mind and heart into coherence.
QUE turned up the volume on the communication that had been misplaced between my heart and mind and also allowed me to witness my essence and really connect and bring me home .. Que also has me constantly being reminded of the inner strength and power I truly have within to create.
As a Reiki Master of 20 years, I thought I had energy all figured out. Matt and Joy's QUE brought me back to my own true essence and my own true power.
The becoming Frequency was a retreat like I’ve never experienced. Matt and Joy shared so generously of themselves. I still feel the magic of this retreat. I am continuing to integrate and become frequency. They are both so real and so approachable. I feel very blessed that I get to fall in love with myself all over again with their guidance and my heart’s evolution.
Going into the retreat was an initiation out of my comfort zone. By embracing authenticity and vulnerability, I was able to let go of fear to see the beauty of who I am. Through powerful exercises, Matt and Joy gave voice to my unprocessed pain within to allow limiting beliefs to surface and be released.
Attending the retreat with Joy and Matt was one of the most pivotal experiences of my life. They have the remarkable ability to connect on a deep level with each participant, offering support that is both empowering and inspiring. I have a renewed sense of purpose; I have gained clarity and confidence. I highly recommend them to anyone seeking profound personal growth.
Joy and Matt, thank you for the inspiring event. I could feel your passion, commitment and purpose to support humanity in this world awakening. I am pulled even deeper into the Essence of my wholeness and service.
Joy and Matt Kahn are the co-founders of The Healer’s Code Academy, a graduate-level training school for healers, coaches, and transformational leaders. Over the past two decades, they have guided more than 100,000 students in emotional mastery, spiritual integration, and professional development through a body of work that bridges mystical wisdom with nervous-system-informed practices.
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.
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