Seeker's Path

Rest and Restore

A Fall Meditation Retreat

permiculture oasis

About the Retreat

Settle into Being

Follow the season inward toward greater peace, presence, tenderness, and ease.

As autumn gives way to winter, the natural world begins to slow, quiet, and settle. Yet our lives can keep us moving at a pace that leaves little room to listen inwardly. Rest & Restore offers a spacious weekend to step out of habits of constant doing and pushing and reconnect with the deeper rhythms of body and mind.
Gather in beloved community at the Namchak Retreat Ranch to slow down, tune into inner wisdom, and allow the mind and body to settle more deeply into their natural states. Through Buddhist practice and meditation, participants will cultivate greater presence, peace, and gentleness while creating the inner and outer conditions for genuine rest and restoration.
Throughout the weekend, Rachel Ashley and Emily Ballentine will guide Shamatha meditation, mindfulness of body and breath, body scans and regulation tools, Clearing of the Stale Winds, tenderness (tsewa), loving kindness (metta), mantra recitation, and Sangha Skills. Together, these practices support a shift from habitual striving toward a more grounded experience of simply being.

Portrait of Rachel Ashley.
Woman in a blue jean jacket and khaki pants, wearing glasses, smiling while seated on a couch.

Facilitators

Rachel Ashley

Emily Ballentine

When

Friday, November 6 – Sunday, November 8, 2026

where

Namchak Retreat Ranch in Hot Springs, Montana

Explore Our Tuition Options

WHAT YOU’LL GAIN

Practices for Rest, Presence, and Loving Awareness

Explore accessible Buddhist meditation and embodied practices that help settle the mind, soften tension, cultivate innate warmth, and carry greater awareness and compassion into everyday life.

Shamata Meditation

Cultivate inner calm, stability, and stillness by gently resting attention in the present moment.

Embodied Regulation

Use body scans, breath awareness, and regulation tools to release tension and support settling.

Clearing Stale Energies

Practice a pranayama technique that helps settle the body and mind before meditation.

Tenderness & Loving Kindness

Connect with innate warmth and basic goodness while nurturing goodwill for yourself and others.

Sangha Skills

Bring greater awareness, presence, and compassion into relationships and daily interactions.

Sangha Skills were developed by Aaron Stern and the Academy for the Love of Learning™.

Delight in Stillness

At the Ranch

A place where life slows down and the sacred becomes tangible.

Spring_Photography

Forest-to-Table Food

10,000 Acres of Solitude
Nature_Landscape
Namchak

Peaceful Accommodations

TIERED PRICING SYSTEM

Tuition

HOW IT WORKS

We offer a tiered pricing system for retreat registration. These prices reflect either in-person or online attendance. For in-person attendance, the prices include shuttle costs, lodging, three meals a day, and teaching expenses.

Supported: The community will supplement this reduced fee for those with limited financial resources who will benefit from participating in this retreat.

Suggested: For those with sufficient financial resources who can pay fair value for the experience.​

Sponsored: For those with the financial resources and the desire to support access for others.

In-Person Retreat Attendance

Supported Room -$300
Suggested Room -$450
Sponsored Room -$650

Registration for this program closes on Friday, October 30 at 12:00pm MT.

OUR PROMISE

No one will be turned away for lack of funds. If you would like to apply for a grant to attend this course, please contact kmorris@namchak.org.

Namchak Retreat Ranch - Hot Springs, MT

Who is this Retreat for?

This retreat is for anyone who'd like to learn foundational meditation practices — whether you're just starting out or looking to deepen your practice. It's for those seeking relaxation and regulation tools to complement their meditation, and for anyone curious about the Buddhadharma and how these teachings might apply to daily life. It's also for anyone who feels called to embody more Loving Kindness, spaciousness, tenderness, and ease — and for those who want to connect with others in sangha (community) to experience and contemplate these practices together.

Portrait of Emily Ballentine

meet your Facilitator

Emily Ballentine

In slowing down, we remember who we are.”

Portrait of Rachel Ashley

meet your Facilitator

Rachel Ashley

Each breath is a new beginning.”

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