Well Being Retreat Center

Well Being Retreat Center We're a non-profit retreat center on 160 peaceful acres surrounded by river in Northeast TN. We offer hosted retreats and welcome outside retreat leaders.

Mostly organic meals and a quiet space for stillness, presence, and connection with nature. When Well Being Retreat Center was purchased in 2008, there was only an old barn here. Since then, we have constructed four Earth-Sheltered Cabins, the more conventionally built Wood Duck Cabin, the Retreat Center Building, six Cabinettes, six tiny houses, and the Powell River Pavilion. These facilities are available for wellness workshops, Yoga retreats, mindfulness programs, meditation retreats, personal retreats & sabbaticals, family reunions, civic meetings, church groups, ecological conferences and similar.

“Deepening Practice: A Silent Meditation Retreat and Gathering with Upali” will take place at Well Being, March 23-29, 2...
01/31/2026

“Deepening Practice: A Silent Meditation Retreat and Gathering with Upali” will take place at Well Being, March 23-29, 2026.

This meditation retreat offers a rare opportunity to deepen your practice in a serene setting with experienced guidance. Led by Dharma teacher Upasaka Upali, the retreat integrates Buddhist wisdom with modern perspectives, encouraging the development of deep meditative states and their integration into daily life.
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You’ll join a supportive community of fellow practitioners who value spiritual depth and presence. Participants often leave feeling refreshed, inspired, and more deeply connected to their practice—and to themselves.

For more information and registration please see the event link: https://www.wellbeingretreatcenter.org/upali-silent-meditation-retreat

01/30/2026

The Zen Den at the Top of the Hill at Well Being Retreat Center in Tazewell, Tennessee has a huge view from the Adirondack chairs on the porch and a quiet intimate interior space for meditation or contemplation with view to the wooded hillside in back.

01/28/2026

At Well Being Retreat Center we culture our own organic coconut yogurt as a vegan dairy-free option for retreat breakfast. We began making it ourselves because it was hard to find vegan yogurt in the store that both tasted good and didn’t have any questionable ingredients. This coconut yogurt is easy to make and has only two ingredients: Organic coconut cream and a probiotic starter. Of course, we also offer regular milk yogurt, but we notice that many people prefer our coconut yogurt once they’ve tasted it!

01/26/2026

Our three Westview cabins at Well Being Retreat Center are a scenic walk from the Main Conference Building. They are considered private cabins with two comfortable twin beds, vaulted ceilings, pine interior, AC, lots of windows, tile floors, a kitchenette with basic utensils, and bathroom with a shower and unlimited hot water. The deck has a huge view looking out to sunsets and mountains in the distance with deer often graze just below the deck.

01/24/2026

Here at Well Being Retreat Center there is silence in abundance. Our nearest neighbor is half a mile away and the nearest paved road is 1 1//2 miles away. Of course there are the soothing sounds of nature: wind in the trees, the riffles of the river and the birds. Lots of birds. Our guests often remark on how silent it is here – a commodity that is ever more difficult to encounter. We value this profound silence for its support of inner work.

Don Oakey and Patty Bottari will be leading a 2-night in-person weekend retreat, “From Seeking to Finding,” February 6-8...
01/21/2026

Don Oakey and Patty Bottari will be leading a 2-night in-person weekend retreat, “From Seeking to Finding,” February 6-8, at Well Being Retreat Center.

The cost to attend is $295, which includes two nutritious meals, served during Friday supper and Sunday lunch, lodging and tuition.

For those who cannot attend in person, a livestream option is available for $75. For more information about the livestream, please visit: https://events.zoom.us/ev/AoSxARYsQLMQaEp8Yh0CT9bTxpK_MHs36e66FC6X-2zKqFNXM1l6~AlhU0eMST5ZQV790_wkbaJ-Tfq93uiFDDk__pX3ghEG9onBIJWkjS8K8kg

For more information and registration for the in-person retreat, please visit: https://www.wellbeingretreatcenter.org/well-being-retreat-b

01/20/2026

“Deepening Practice: A Silent Meditation Retreat and Gathering with Upali” will take place at Well Being, March 23-29, 2026.

This meditation retreat offers a rare opportunity to deepen your practice in a serene setting with experienced guidance. Led by Dharma teacher Upasaka Upali, the retreat integrates Buddhist wisdom with modern perspectives, encouraging the development of deep meditative states and their integration into daily life.
​
You’ll join a supportive community of fellow practitioners who value spiritual depth and presence. Participants often leave feeling refreshed, inspired, and more deeply connected to their practice—and to themselves.

For more information and registration please see the event link in bio or visit Well Being’s website.

01/17/2026

The blue heron cabin is one of four earth sheltered cabins at well being retreat Center. These cabins are built into the hillside with a “Green roof” for extra warmth and energy efficiency in the winter months which also keep the cabin reasonably cool in the Summer. Deer and turkeys occsionaly graze on the roof. The Blue Heron is two-bedroom (“shared”) cabin; each bedroom has two comfortable twin beds. The tile floors are heated. The ceiling is vaulted with exposed pine beams. The bathroom has a tub shower with unlimited hot water, In the kitchenette there is a fridge, a two-burner stove and basic utensils. The two easy chairs are a good place to read and reflect. The Powell River flows below the cabin just past the pasture.

01/17/2026

A labyrinth is used for walking meditation, spiritual reflection, and stress reduction, offering a single, but roundabout path, to a center. One of the most famous labyrinths is in the Chartres Cathedral in France. The labyrinth at Well Being was constructed one weekend with volunteer help from Reiki practitioners. Our guests use the labyrinth for prayer, mindfulness, emotional processing, and to find inner peace, balance, and to deepen their spiritual journey.

01/14/2026

At Well Being Retreat Center in Tazewell, Tennessee, we keep egg-laying chickens. They are fed only organic grains, meals scraps and garden excess fruits vegetables and have continuously running fresh water. They range freely within a 5,000 square foot netted enclosure to protect them from hawks and owls. The enclosure is within a fenced one acre garden to protect them from racoons, coyotes and possums. They produce between 18 and two dozen beautiful eggs a day which we use for retreat meal breakfasts and for baking.

01/11/2026

We love to serve fresh organic salads for retreat meals at Well Being Retreat Center. Microgreens are freshly sprouted vegetable seed which are harvested within two weeks of planting. At harvest they are about 2 inches tall and packed with a high density of vitamins and minerals. They are also a great complement to our home-grown organic lettuce mix.

Address

557 Narrows Road
Tazewell, TN
37879

Telephone

+14236269000

Website

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Our Story

Well Being Retreat Center is a non-profit, non-denominational venue located on 158 acres of land in the rolling Cumberland mountains of northeast Tennessee. The scenic Powell River surrounds the land for 2 1/2 miles. We have constructed four Earth-Sheltered Cabins, six Tiny Houses, the Wood Duck Cabin, the Retreat Center Building, six Cabinettes, and the Powell River Pavilion. These facilities are available for wellness workshops, Yoga retreats, mindfulness programs, meditation retreats, personal retreats & sabbaticals, family reunions, church groups, ecological conferences and similar. Nature and silence abound.

“It is a very beautiful, peaceful place indeed. And infused with the kind, loving, humble, big hearts of Don and Patty. I've spoken to a number of people who have done retreats at venues all over the US. Well Being Retreat Center is always the favorite.” - David C.