Join Us For A 2-Night Yoga & Contemplation Retreat

Wild Sanctuary

A two-night retreat to rest, reimagine, and rediscover the sacred in the wild.

Embrace the Wild Sanctuary…

We all carry quiet assumptions about where God can be found…. That sanctuary lives in stillness, silence, and carefully held spaces. That the wild is something to be cautious of—untamed, unpredictable, perhaps even unsafe.

But Scripture tells a different story.

God meets people in deserts and storms, on dusty roads and in borrowed rooms. The Spirit moves like wind and fire— untethered, alive, and impossible to contain.

🍂 What if the wild was never meant to be feared, but received as beautiful and free?
🍂 What if sanctuary was never meant to be rare, but something you could enter at any moment?

Welcome to Wild Sanctuary, a two-night yoga and contemplation retreat. Together, we’ll gently examine the ways we’ve learned to define what is sacred and allow God to reshape those definitions with tenderness and truth. Through Christ-centered yoga, contemplative prayer, time in nature, and sacred ritual, we’ll explore a deeper, freer understanding of God’s presence in both the expansive and the ordinary.

This retreat is an invitation to unlearn what has kept you from noticing the sacred, and to rediscover a God who is present not only in quiet sanctuaries, but in the wide, living world and within your own breathing body.

Wild Sanctuary is an invitation to slow down, listen closely, and rediscover the sacred in places you may have overlooked.

Over two nights and spacious days, you’ll be guided through practices that help you release limiting spiritual narratives, encounter God in unexpected places, and carry a renewed sense of freedom and safety back into your everyday life.

As our signature retreat, Wild Sanctuary continues to evolve each year offering returning and new participants alike a space where beauty, theology, embodiment, and community intertwine. Set in the breathtaking landscape of St. Mary’s in Sewanee, we’ll gather as a community of women and share in sacred moments of prayer, rest, and ceremony, laughter and grace.

What You’ll Experience

  • Contemplation

    Engage in guided practices that gently reshape how you notice God’s presence. Through prayer, Visio Divina, silence, and reflection, you’ll be invited to release old assumptions and encounter the sacred with fresh eyes.

  • Restoration

    Breathe in the mountain air, soak in the sunset, share stories by the fire, and find joy in playful moments. From creative expression to quiet reflection, you’ll discover new ways to carry sanctuary into your daily rhythms.

  • Yoga

    Experience Christ-centered yoga designed to help you reconnect with your body as a place where God dwells. From grounding and gentle movement to deeply restorative practices, each session is invitational, adaptable, and rooted in compassion.

This Retreat is for You

This retreat is for you if you are:

🍂 Wondering if your ideas about God and sacred space might be ready to grow and expand

🍂 Longing to feel more freedom, safety, and authenticity in your spiritual life

🍂 Drawn to exploring your faith through embodiment, contemplation, and time in nature

🍂 Craving beauty, sacred community, and space to breathe without pressure or performance

🍂 Returning from a previous Wild Sanctuary retreat and ready to go deeper in a new way

No prior yoga experience is necessary. Every practice will be gentle, invitational, and adaptable to your body and comfort level.

The Benefits of Attending

You’ll leave the retreat with…

🍂 A renewed understanding of where and how God meets you

🍂 Greater freedom to embrace the “wild” parts of your life and self as places of sacred encounter

🍂 Simple, accessible practices for entering sanctuary in everyday moments

🍂 A rested body and settled nervous system through restorative and soulful yoga

🍂 Deepened relationships with others who are seeking a faith that is both grounded and alive

Retreat and Reimagine

If you are longing for a sacred pause— space to rest, question, move, pray, and rediscover God’s nearness— this two-night retreat is for you.

Step into a slower rhythm, explore a wider vision of what is sacred, and return home with a faith that feels both freer and more deeply rooted.

Retreat Itinerary

The full retreat itinerary is coming soon. For now, get a glimpse of the nourishing retreat planned for you.

Friday, October 9th

Arrive to St.Mary’s and settle in.
Gather as a group for our Welcome Circle, followed by Sunset & Charcuterie, followed by a session you won’t soon forget— Yoga Under The Stars.

Friday is about arriving, settling in, and looking at how we’ve defined ‘wild’ and ‘sanctuary’ in our lives— releasing the narratives and limiting beliefs about God, sacred space, or the wild.

Saturday, October 10th

A full day of retreat.
Nourishing meals prepared with love, time in the wild in silence, engaging yoga and contemplative sessions, ceremony, and sacred play (hello movie night!) are all part of our full day together.

This year includes an optional Yoga 101 session designed to to introduce familiar with yoga terms and shapes and begin to explore how things feel in your body.

Saturday is about re-seeing— encountering God in the wild, in our bodies, and in unexpected places as the day unfolds.

Sunday, October 11th

A morning of integration and farewell.
After a nourishing breakfast, we will gather for our final time together. A final yoga and contemplative practice and closing circle i

Sunday is about reclaiming— carrying renewed wildness and sanctuary into daily life.

About St.Mary’s

Genius loci is the spirit of a place. It’s the intangible quality that makes a location feel sacred—the way the sun filters through the trees, the scent of the earth, the hush of the breeze.

At St. Mary’s Sewanee: The Ayres Center for Spiritual Development, the genius loci is irresistible. Located on Monteagle Mountain, about an hour and a half south of Nashville, this retreat center is a haven for rest, renewal, and reconnection. Its walking trails, labyrinth, open-air views, and cozy gathering spaces invite deep peace.

During your time here, you can wander the grounds, sit in stillness with a cup of tea, or gather with friends on the porch as the day fades into night.

We acknowledge that Sewanee, Tennessee, and the surrounding areas are the original lands and waters of the Cherokee, Shawnee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek peoples.

Details

RETREAT DATE | Friday, October 9th – Sunday, October 11, 2026

RETREAT LOCATION | St. Mary’s Sewanee, 770 St. Mary’s Lane, Sewanee, TN 37375

WHAT’S INCLUDED | Lodging, all meals, snacks, beverages, all sessions guided by 500+ hour certified yoga instructors, including all session materials. All you need to bring is a workout mat, journal, pen, and your overnight essentials.

WELCOME STATEMENT | You are welcome here no matter where you find yourself on your faith journey. We honor and embrace the diversity of our experiences and trust that God is present with each of us.

Registration

Early Bird Registration on NOW until June7th.
🚨SAVE $50🚨
Single Occupancy Room $475.00
Double Occupancy $440.00 per person

Regular Registration Begins June 8th.
Single Occupancy $525.00
Double Occupancy $490.00 per person

Registration Closes on September 6th.

CAPACITY | We need at least 10 participants to run this retreat. Space is limited to 24 participants.

Registration Form

The wild was never meant to be feared.
Sanctuary was never meant to be scarce.

In God, you are invited into both—freedom and refuge, movement and rest, wonder and belonging. And you are welcome to carry that sacred knowing with you wherever you go.

Meet Your Guides

We’re Kimee and Aelea— two kindred spirits who believe that God meets us in the sacred ordinary and the wild sanctuary of right now lives. Together, we bring years of experience in yoga, spiritual formation, ministry, and soul care, along with a shared desire to create spaces of depth, gentleness, beauty and delight. Put simply, we are space holders for receiving and extending God’s love out into the world.

Our retreats are born from our friendship, our love of yoga and contemplative practices, and our desire to invite others into the kind of presence that heals and holds.

Learn More

 FAQs

  • Our practices are rooted in the way of Jesus and shaped by the Christian calendar. All women are welcome, and you’re invited to engage with practices at your own comfort level.

  • Not at all. This retreat is designed for all levels—whether you’ve been practicing for years or are stepping onto the mat for the very first time. Yoga will be gentle and accessible, with options for chair yoga if needed. Contemplation practices will be guided with clarity and ease.

  • Absolutely. Many participants attend solo, and we create an atmosphere where it’s easy to connect and feel at home

  • Yes—your registration covers your overnight stay at St. Mary’s, along with all meals and retreat programming

  • Yes! Please let us know any allergies or dietary restrictions when you register, and we’ll do our best to accommodate you. In our experience, the food at St.Mary’s is absolutely incredible and can accommodate allergies and dietary preferences!

  • You’re in the right place! This retreat is intentionally designed to be welcoming, gentle, and beginner-friendly.

  • No—both shared and private rooms are available. If you register for a shared room, we’ll thoughtfully pair you with another participant, or, on your registration form, you can list the name of the participant you’d like to share a room with.

  • We keep our retreats intentionally small so the experience feels spacious, intimate, and connected.

  • We know life happens, and sometimes plans need to change. Because space is limited, all registrations become non-refundable after September 30th, unless we’re able to fill your spot from our waitlist.

    If an unexpected personal emergency arises, we’re happy to review your situation and may be able to offer a partial refund on a case-by-case basis.

    If you can’t make it, you’re also welcome to gift or transfer your registration to a friend.

    Thank you for understanding and honoring the time, energy, and preparation that go into creating this retreat—we truly want this to feel fair and caring for everyone involved.

  • Yes! We want this retreat to be accessible. You can pay 50% of the registration fee to reserve your spot, then the remaining 50% is to be paid by September 6th.

  • Have questions? We’d LOVE to answer them! We’ll be hosting a Info Night over ZOOM in the coming months. Information will be updated here as the date and Zoom details are available.

Contact us

Have questions? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!