- Examine negativity bias in the brain as it pertains to depression.
- Utilize concentration, distancing, naming and thought substitution to change depression producing thoughts.
- Identify how emotional motivation systems of the brain impact emotional distress.
- Utilize therapeutic mindfulness to manage imbalances in emotional motivation systems of the brain.
- Determine how mindfulness protocols activate the affiliation system of the brain.
- Examine the default network of the brain, including placebo and nocebo effect, as it pertains to depression.
- Determine the benefits of including the body in emotional regulation strategies for anxiety treatment.
- Choose clinical skills of breathing, body scan, and body movement for stabilization.
- Utilize mindfulness interventions to dis–identify from a narrative of unworthiness.
- Identify four compassion practices to increase self-acceptance.
- Utilize compassionate interventions for treating the “inner critic” part of self.
- Integrate mindfulness breathing practices into depression treatment.
- Utilize EFT techniques, including tapping points and set– up statements, for affect regulation.
- Determine the five components of EFT used for regulating affect in anxiety.
- Use body awareness to alleviate the physical manifestations of shame.
- Choose mindfulness techniques to address negative thoughts.
- Develop a mindful communications process for conflict resolution.
- Choose mindfulness techniques to reduce the shame of overeating.
- Identify limitations of mindfulness applications as clinical interventions for depression and anxiety.
- Determine limitations of EFT as an emotional regulation skill.
- Utilize mindful yoga movement to reduce emotional distress.
Discover one of America’s best kept travel and wellness secrets...
the Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina
the Art of Living Retreat Center in Boone, North Carolina
Named in 2025 as Travel + Leisure’s Favorite US Wellness Spas
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains this is your unique opportunity to:
- Learn clinical meditation and yoga skills from a top expert
- Relax, reset and find your way back from burnout
- Treat yourself to a stress-relieving massage at an award-winning spa
- Nourish the body with Ayurvedic-informed meals, made with fresh, sun-grown ingredients
- Experience the dramatic “blue haze” effect of the Blue Ridge Mountains during a sunrise or sunset hike
PLUS, earn up to 21 CE Hours AND become a Certified Mindfulness-Informed Professional (CMIP)!*
Join seasoned retreat host, mindfulness expert and certified yoga therapist, Mary NurrieStearns, MSW, LCSW, C–C–IAYT, E–RYT 500, and a group of your colleagues for an immersive 5-day training to enrich your clients’ lives, as well as your own.
As clinicians, you know that talk therapy alone isn’t always enough to treat the roots of depression and anxiety. Immersive mind-body practices—such as meditation, yoga, and EFT—can help regulate the nervous system and support healing in ways conversation alone sometimes can't. Better yet, these tools become life-long skills that can help your client cultivate happiness and improve their daily lives long after they leave your therapy room.
This interactive retreat prepares you to integrate the foundations of mindfulness to address negative thoughts of depression, worrying thoughts of anxiety and thoughts that intensify chronic pain.
- Incorporate breathing practices and meditation, lead simple yoga movements, and utilize Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) with your individual clients and groups
- Integrate foundations of mindfulness interventions for addressing depression and chronic pain
- Utilize body/mind interventions to treat anxiety and calm the nervous system
- Use EFT for emotional regulation, gentle exposure of emotions and to increase self–acceptance
- Guide clients into present moment awareness and teach them to respond to unworthiness with compassion
Highly experiential, you will practice these interventions while you learn their clinical applications.
This retreat is rich in interactive mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and mind/body treatment approaches. You will follow a balanced schedule of gentle yoga movement, chanting meditation, clinical teachings, art expression, group discussion, and deep rest and learn how these tools can help you AND your clients.
No Yoga or Mindfulness Experience Needed!
Spots are limited and fill up fast! Secure yours today!
Yoga and Meditation Retreat
Mindfulness and Mind-Body Approaches for Clinical Practice
LIVE in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains
Monday, September 7 – Friday, September 11, 2026
Single Occupancy: $2,999.00
Plus, earn up to 21 CE Hours — included in your tuition.
Click here for Credit details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us. Credit hours may vary by board and profession.
Click here for cancellation policy details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us. Credit hours may vary by board and profession.
Click here for cancellation policy details
Here’s what a Travel + Leisure’s reader shared about The Art of Living Retreat Center
“The location itself is breathtaking—nestled in the serene Blue Ridge Mountains, the panoramic views are nothing short of spectacular. Watching the sunrise or simply sitting in quiet contemplation surrounded by such natural beauty was a healing experience in itself.”
“From the moment we arrived, we felt a deep sense of peace and healing. The programs offered here are truly transformative, providing powerful tools for personal growth and well-being.”
The all-inclusive Art of Living Retreat Center offers an awe-inspiring landscape, an Ayurvedic spa, nature trails, on-site fitness facilities, and incredible chef-created, vegetarian meals.
Past participants rave about how wonderful it is to stay at Art of Living…taking time to unwind, rejuvenate and connect with themselves and their community of colleagues…all at this remarkable place. The daily schedule is designed to allow ample personal time to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and amenities.
By the end of this retreat, you will feel transformed on both a personal and professional level – refreshed, revitalized and confidently equipped with new tools and practices to help your clients.
And all of it backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee so you have nothing to lose.
Are you ready? Register today and see you in the mountains!
Yoga and Meditation Retreat
Mindfulness and Mind-Body Approaches for Clinical Practice
LIVE in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains
Monday, September 7 – Friday, September 11, 2026
Single Occupancy: $2,999.00
Plus, earn up to 21 CE Hours — included in your tuition.
Click here for Credit details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us. Credit hours may vary by board and profession.
Click here for cancellation policy details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us. Credit hours may vary by board and profession.
Click here for cancellation policy details
Retreat Schedule
Monday, September 7, 2026
4:00–6:00 pm
Check-in
6:00–7:00 pm
Dinner
7:00–7:30 pm
Orientation & Property Overview (required)
7:45–9:15 pm
Educational Program*
Tuesday, September 8 – Thursday, September 10, 2026
7:30–8:30 am
Breakfast
8:30–11:00 am
Educational Program*
11:00 am–12:00 pm
Yoga and Yoga Nidra
12:00–1:00 pm
Lunch
1:00–3:00 pm
Restoration and Relaxation
3:00–5:00 pm
Educational Program*
5:00–5:30 pm
Meditation
6:00–7:00 pm
Dinner
7:00–9:00 pm
Educational Program*
Friday, September 11, 2026
6:30–7:30 am
Chanting Meditation
7:30–8:30 am
Breakfast
8:30–9:30 am
Closing Circle
10:00 am–12:00 pm
Check-Out & Depart
(Lunch available at 12pm, if desired)
(Lunch available at 12pm, if desired)
Included at No Cost! Yoga Classes, Meditation Classes & Bonfires!
*CE is awarded during these specified times. Licensing boards require full attendance to the entire retreat, including departure day, to receive any credit for the entire retreat. Please plan travel accordingly.
Who Should Attend?
The target audience includes:
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychotherapists
- Marriage and Family Therapists
- Behavioral Health Nurses
- Psychologists
- Addiction Counselors
- Mental Health Professionals
Yoga and Meditation Retreat
Mindfulness and Mind-Body Approaches for Clinical Practice
Mindfulness and Mind-Body Approaches for Clinical Practice
LIVE in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains
Monday, September 7 – Friday, September 11, 2026
Single Occupancy: $2,999.00
Plus, earn up to 21 CE Hours — included in your tuition.
Click here for Credit details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us. Credit hours may vary by board and profession.
Click here for cancellation policy details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us. Credit hours may vary by board and profession.
Click here for cancellation policy details
Retreat Content
Mindfulness Fundamentals
- Definition & components of mindfulness
- Mindfulness as conscious relationship
- Mindfulness & neuroplasticity
- Mindfulness & cultivating beneficial mind states
Brain Perspective
- Evolutionary model of the brain
- Negativity bias of the brain for survival
- Social brain: causes & conditions
- Default network of the brain
- Placebo & nocebo effect
- Emotional centers of the brain–affiliation, threat, drive
- Nervous system responses to perceived stressors
- Basic neuroscience as psychoeducation
Mindfulness Interventions
- Conscious mind/store consciousness - awareness & choices
- Consumption of thoughts & relationship to thoughts
- Sense of identity & mindfulness – you are more than your thoughts
- Concentration, observation, naming, distancing – application of mindfulness components in treating thoughts associated with depression & anxiety
- Mindfulness & brain training to activate affiliation system of the brain
- Specific mindfulness of breathing practices for depression
- Clinical applications of mindfulness of body, emotions & thoughts
- Accessing beneficial ancestor memories
- Mindfulness communications process for conflict & connection
- Breathing practices, present moment awareness & mindful yoga movements to lessen anxious states of physiological arousal
Importance of Body in Emotional Regulation Skills
- Cultivate client resilience - resourcing & safety
- Utilize window of tolerance to monitor level of client distress & impact of mindfulness & EFT interventions
- Practice breathing practices, body scans & body movement to calm & or wake up nervous system
Utilizing Emotional Freedom Techniques for Anxiety
- Protocol of EFT (including tapping points and set–up statements) for affect regulation
- Utilize EFT to approach & expose, versus avoid, emotions
- Utilize EFT to identify emotions in the body as physical sensations
- Utilize EFT to increase client self-acceptance
- Five key components of EFT needed for effective use in affect regulation
- Reinforcing therapeutic gains with EFT
Responding to Chronic States of Distress with Compassion
- Utilize compassion to approach, versus avoid, experiences of shame
- Psychoeducation on origins of & identification with shame
- Label shame as innocent misunderstanding of identity
- Four compassion practices to increase self–acceptance & decrease self-rejection
- Effects of self - criticism
- Acknowledge inner critic & specific compassion practices for critical parts of self
- Body awareness & movement to alleviate the physical manifestations of shame
- Reinforcing therapeutic gains with self – compassion
Applications of Mindfulness and EFT for Addressing Pain & Overeating
- Primary & secondary causes of pain
- Mindfulness techniques for addressing pain
- EFT for pain, muscular tension, & fear–based thoughts
- Danger in me (DIM) and safety in me (SIM) thoughts & choices
- EFT for urge management & shame of overeating, including exposure & self-acceptance
- The effect of self - criticism on urge management & self–compassion for urge management
Mindfulness & Body/Mind Approaches for Clinical Groups
- Teaching mindful breathing & mindful yoga movement
- Learn EFT protocols for group work
- Utilizing body-focused approaches to teach present moment awareness, quiet the mind & soothe emotional distress
Research Limitations & Potential Risks
Yoga and Meditation Retreat
Mindfulness and Mind-Body Approaches for Clinical Practice
LIVE in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains
Monday, September 7 – Friday, September 11, 2026
Single Occupancy: $2,999.00
Plus, earn up to 21 CE Hours — included in your tuition.
Click here for Credit details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us. Credit hours may vary by board and profession.
Click here for cancellation policy details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us. Credit hours may vary by board and profession.
Click here for cancellation policy details
Meet Your Retreat Instructors
Mary NurrieStearns, MSW, LCSW, ACEP–EFT, C–C–IAYT, E–RYT 500, is a licensed clinical social worker with four decades of professional experience. She maintains a virtual counseling practice in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mary has presented seminars to mental health professionals across the USA since 2006. She has trained extensively in clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques and received ACEP certification. She is a certified trauma–informed yoga therapist, has over 1200 hours of yoga teacher training and has taught yoga classes for 20 years. A long–time student of Thich Nhat Hanh, she was ordained into his Order of Inner Being. Mary is also author of numerous articles on psycho–spiritual growth, co–author of Yoga for Anxiety, Yoga for Emotional Trauma, Yoga Mind, Peaceful Mind and co–editor of Soulful Living. She is the author of Healing Anxiety, Depression and Unworthiness: 78 Brain–changing Mindfulness and Yoga Practice (2018). She and her husband, Rick, have conducted retreats on the transformative, mind–body healing practices of yoga, meditation and self–compassion for over 20 years. She credits mindfulness–based practices for significant healing in her own life.
Click here for information about Mary NurrieStearns
Rick NurrieStearns, a seasoned retreat facilitator, has co–led transformation retreats for 20 years. He has been immersed in consciousness studies, meditation and mindfulness practices for more than four decades. For over 20 years he was involved in publishing transformational books and magazines. He was the publisher of Lotus and Personal Transformation magazines, and co–author of the books Soulful Living, Yoga for Anxiety, Yoga for Emotional Trauma and Yoga Mind, Peaceful Mind. He has trained in clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques. He is a mindfulness student of Thich Nhat Hanh and an ordained member the Order of Interbeing. Rick experiences chronic pain, the result of injuries from an airplane crash in 2009, and was diagnosed with a physically debilitating tick–borne disease in 2014. He relies on mindfulness practices for healing and has learned that you can cultivate happiness and inner peace even when you are hurting.
Click here for information about Mary NurrieStearns
Rick NurrieStearns, a seasoned retreat facilitator, has co–led transformation retreats for 20 years. He has been immersed in consciousness studies, meditation and mindfulness practices for more than four decades. For over 20 years he was involved in publishing transformational books and magazines. He was the publisher of Lotus and Personal Transformation magazines, and co–author of the books Soulful Living, Yoga for Anxiety, Yoga for Emotional Trauma and Yoga Mind, Peaceful Mind. He has trained in clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques. He is a mindfulness student of Thich Nhat Hanh and an ordained member the Order of Interbeing. Rick experiences chronic pain, the result of injuries from an airplane crash in 2009, and was diagnosed with a physically debilitating tick–borne disease in 2014. He relies on mindfulness practices for healing and has learned that you can cultivate happiness and inner peace even when you are hurting.
What does Tuition Include?
- Learn to utilize mindfulness & mind-body approaches to address clients’ depression, anxiety, and more
- Education and experiential guidance in yoga, meditation, EFT, & other techniques
- CMIP Certification Application Fee – A $99.99 value!
- Up to 21 CE Hours, CE certificate, & course manual
- Forest trails, labyrinth & peaceful location set in the stunning Blue Ridge Mountains
- Healthful vegetarian cuisine
- Lodging, with private bathrooms, and first class amenities, for duration of your stay
Are you ready to step into the life awaiting you as a
Certified Mindfulness-Informed Professional (CMIP)?
Certified Mindfulness-Informed Professional (CMIP)?
Elevate your career with a new certification, and walk away from this training with CMIP as a new credential!
Certification Made Simple
Certification Made Simple
In just three easy steps, you will become a Certified Mindfulness-Informed Professional* (CMIP)!
- Step 1: Attend the retreat!
- Step 2: Complete the CE test.
- Step 3: Submit your application to Evergreen Certifications & we’ll cover the cost of your certification fee (a $99.99 value!)*
That's it! No hidden fees, no catch. Just certification made EASY.
*Professional and clinical standards apply.
Click Here to Learn More About CMIP Certification
We partner with Evergreen Certifications to include certification with some of our products. When you purchase such a product, we may disclose your information to Evergreen Certifications for purposes of providing services directly to you or to contact you regarding relevant offers.
*Professional and clinical standards apply.
Click Here to Learn More About CMIP Certification
We partner with Evergreen Certifications to include certification with some of our products. When you purchase such a product, we may disclose your information to Evergreen Certifications for purposes of providing services directly to you or to contact you regarding relevant offers.
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The Art of Living Retreat Center – Boone, NC
Set in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains of Boone, North Carolina, Art of Living Retreat Center (AOLRC) is the perfect place to restore your mind and body.
AOLRC is fully equipped to help you escape the rush of the outside world and ground yourself in nature. Walk in pristine forests, or unwind with fantastic views, AOLRC is yours to experience and explore.
Retreat Highlights:- Secluded retreat, offering 380 peaceful acres
- Private or shared lodging with private bathrooms
- Healthful vegetarian cuisine (3 meals daily)
- Beautiful mountain setting with gorgeous views and vistas
- Tranquil walking trails set in ancient forests
- Award-winning spa featuring Ayurvedic treatments & therapies (*Additional fees)
- Daily yoga and group meditation classes
- Awe-inspiring sunrises, sunsets, and stargazing
- Vedic architecture, labyrinths, and fire circles
- Direct shuttle service available from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (Additional fees)
*Spa requires reservations and additional cost. Paid services are not included with retreat registration – cost is the responsibility of the guest. Please contact Shankara Ayurveda Wellness in advance for more information.
Retreat Location
The Art of Living Retreat Center
639 Whispering Hills Rd
Boone, NC 28607
Phone: (800) 392-6870
Travel Information
Art of Living is located within driving distance of several airports. Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT) in Charlotte, NC is recommended due to availability of rental cars and direct shuttle to the retreat center. Please visit Art of Living’s website for detailed travel information and recommendations:
Retreat Center Travel Information
Please review the retreat’s schedule above and plan flights/travel accordingly.
Accessibility
Art of Living’s campus sits on top of a mountain, so it’s important to note the grounds are spacious and hilly. The entire campus is walkable and accessible. However, those with mobility issues may encounter difficult terrain. Please visit Art of Living’s website for more information:
Retreat Center Accessibility Information
If mobility is a concern, please contact the retreat center before registering with PESI.
Non-Participating Retreat Guests
Art of Living is an all-inclusive retreat center. All reservations are per individual, not per room. All individuals staying at the retreat center incur a room and board charge whether or not they are participating in the PESI educational training. If you are considering bringing a guest with you who will not be participating in the PESI educational training, please contact PESI at 800-844-8260.
CE Information
Please review the retreat’s credit information by clicking any of the “Click here for CE credit details” links found above.
PLEASE NOTE: Most licensing boards require full attendance to the entire program to receive any credit.
Please review the retreat’s schedule above and plan your travel accordingly to ensure full attendance to the program.
Travel Advisories
All attendees are advised to purchase travel insurance that includes a cancellation for any reason option to protect your travel plans.
If for any reason you are unable to attend, please contact us immediately:
Email: retreatinfo@pesi.com • Phone: 800-844-8260
Please check with your local government to see what advisories are in place before you travel. All flights are subject to the terms and conditions of your airline carrier’s policy travel plans.
From Purchase Date until August 6, 2026: Cancellation results in a full refund less a $100 administrative fee
From August 7, 2026: Cancellation results in a 50% penalty of the total purchase amount
Yoga and Meditation Retreat
Mindfulness and Mind-Body Approaches for Clinical Practice
LIVE in the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains
Monday, September 7 – Friday, September 11, 2026
Single Occupancy: $2,999.00
Plus, earn up to 21 CE Hours — included in your tuition.
Click here for Credit details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us. Credit hours may vary by board and profession.
Click here for cancellation policy details
Don't see your state profession listed? Contact us. Credit hours may vary by board and profession.
Click here for cancellation policy details