You can spend years hoping a parent will finally understand, change, apologize, or become who you needed them to be. In this deeply supportive retreat with licensed marriage and family therapist Whitney Goodman, you’ll explore why the parent-child bond can hold such power long into adulthood and begin making peace with the parent you actually have. Drawing from extensive research, family systems work, acceptance-based approaches, and more than a decade of clinical experience, Whitney will help you grieve what was missing, loosen the grip of old expectations, and gain greater clarity about the relationship, boundaries, or distance that feel right for you now.
SAVE! Add a day or two and save 20% off our R&R rates. Select your added day(s) on the Registration page.
Greater Acceptance
Come to terms with who your parent is, rather than remaining caught between who they are and who you wish they could be.
Honest Grief
Give yourself permission to mourn both the relationship you have and the parent-child relationship you hoped to experience.
Clearer Boundaries
Better understand what level of contact, access, and emotional involvement feels sustainable and appropriate for you.
Personal Freedom
Begin releasing inherited expectations, roles, and pressures so you can make choices based on the adult you are today.
Stronger Self-Trust
Develop greater confidence in your own perceptions, needs, and decisions without relying on parental approval or validation.
Estrangement Clarity
Explore whether distance or estrangement may be appropriate for you and better understand how to navigate the decision and its aftermath.
This weekend creates room for the complicated truths that are often difficult to hold at the same time: loving a parent while feeling hurt by them, missing someone while needing distance, or accepting reality without pretending it was okay. With Whitney’s clinical guidance and research as a foundation, you’ll examine the family messages and expectations that have shaped you, clarify what belongs to you now, and consider what a healthier relationship with yourself and your parent might look like. Rather than prescribing reconciliation or estrangement, the experience is designed to help you arrive at decisions that reflect your own values, circumstances, and emotional well-being.
Examine the experiences, expectations, and family messages that continue to influence how you relate to your parent and yourself.
Put words to losses, unmet needs, conflicting emotions, and hopes that may have been difficult to fully acknowledge.
Explore recurring roles and dynamics through a family-systems lens and consider how they may still shape your adult choices.
Work with practical acceptance-based tools for relating to realities you may not be able to change without abandoning your own needs.
Share and listen within a supportive community of adults navigating complicated, distant, enmeshed, or estranged parent relationships.
Bring real-life questions to Whitney and gain additional perspective on boundaries, contact, estrangement, grief, and difficult family dynamics.
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
Whitney Goodman is the licensed marriage and family therapist behind the popular Instagram account @sitwithwhit, the founder of Calling Home, and the author of Toxic Positivity. She helps adults build better family relationships and make peace with the parents they have.
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.
