Voice of the Heart Retreat

October 15 - 19, 2026

Learn more about Moon Rising Retreat Center near Blowing Rock, NC here.

We can't wait to share this space with you! It's Allison's 2nd retreat here, and Moon Rising is an absolute gem, a sanctuary for the spirit.

If you choose, you can explore silence as a practice for an afternoon, a day, or the entirety of the journey. It's up to you.

Residential quarters will be silent spaces 100% of the time.

The dining hall is not a silent space and neither is the practice room.

Align the Pathway from Voice to Heart

Daily Schedule

Thursday

3:00 Check in, Orientation, & Relax
5:00 Dinner
6:00 Opening Circle
7:00 Vedic Chanting, Rāga Intro, & Kirtan
9:00 Yoga Nidra & Sanskrit Lullaby

Friday - Sunday

8:00 Walk
9:00 Yoga
10:00 Vedic Chanting
11:00 Brunch

Afternoons will be hikes, time to relax on your own, and impromptu satsangs with Allison on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Vedic Astrology, and Indian Music - she will be available to answer questions but will not be offering Jyotisha sessions while on retreat. You can schedule a session ahead of time here if you like.

3:00 Nāda Nakșatra Upāsana
5:00 Dinner
7:00 Kirtan
9:00 Yoga Nidra and Sanskrit Lullabies or Bonfire and Song Circle

Monday

8:00am Closing Circle
9:30 Breakfast
11:00am Check out

An Invitation to Explore Your Authentic Voice in a place of Quiet refuge

Somatic and Integrative Sound Practices for Clearing the Pathway from the Heart to the Throat

It's through our own regulated nervous systems that we can move from love and acceptance instead of reactivity, fear, and misunderstanding.

Clearing the pathway from the heart to the voice will help you to feel more connected to your intuition and more capable to communicate your truth effectively.

It's well known that sound clears the pathways for greater intuitive and cognitive awareness. Whether we want to meditate, study, celebrate, or mourn - sound helps us process life by giving us an opportunity to resonate with pure emotion.

Listening somatically to classical Indian music can help us excavate the truth from within and better intuit good action. Well organized sound, like what we practice in Vedic Chanting, reduces mental noise, dispelling the chatter of the mind. And the bhakti centric practices in Kirtan music give the heart wings to express grief, elation, longing, and hope.

Surrounded by the quiet beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, you’ll be held in a rhythm of restorative practices. Whether you're new to Indian traditions or have walked this path for years, this sacred time offers space to truly listen—to yourself, to the sounds of the natural world, and to the healing resonance that can be found through listening to yourSelf.

This is an all inclusive community of Yoga and Ayurveda practitioners, Jyotishis, meditators, musicians, and kindness crusaders. It's not necessary that you sing well. It's only necessary that you come in peace willing to make the sound of you.

The Moon will be transiting through the following stars during our retreat this year: Jyeshtha, Mula, Purva Ashadha, Uttara Ashadha, and Sravana.

Contact Allison here to reserve your Room: Read Options below

Cost

King Room with Private Bath: $3200 solo- 1 room available - ($2800 each for 2 people)
Two Twins with Private Bath: $3200 solo - 1 room available - ($2800 each for 2 people)
Twin solo with Shared Bath: $2500 - 3 rooms available
Twin Share with Shared Bath: $1800 - 7 rooms available (sign up with a friend for $1500 each or reserve as a solo room for $3000)

Includes 4 nights at the peaceful sanctuary Moon Rising, two vegetarian meals a day, all classes, access to the retreat grounds featuring a winding creek with hammocks, and a 24-hour tea and fruit station. Coffee included. Allison's dog Roo is a trained emotional support animal and he will join in. The property has 3 small friendly dogs, so expect canine joy and little dog shenanigans.

To reserve your spot simply contact Allison here . Payment plans are possible. No refunds unless you find someone to take your spot. Must be paid in full by October 1, 2026:

Zelle: ombluesky@gmail.com

Venmo: @allison-dennis-8

Vedic Astrology & Indian Music

What is "Nāda Nakṣatra Upāsana"?

Nāda Nakṣatra Upāsana,is a Nāda Yoga practice that links Vedic Astrology and Indian Music. It arises from the Temples of Tamil Nadu in South India.

Nāda = Sound

Nakṣatra = Constellation

Upāsana = Practice

Each of the 27 nakṣatras or lunar constellations are aligned with an Indian rāga, a scale or a song that creates a specific emotional response in the listener. In the private sessions you'll learn the song or scale that is best suited for you based on your natal birth chart.

We'll listen to and learn to sing śruti-based (microtonal) music for aligning emotions. This upāya, or Vedic Astrological remedy, aligns and calms the manas, the emotional, sensory, and instinctual mind.

Sliding or microtonal śruti exercises using your voice and the notes or svāras in your rāga or scale can clear the nadis, the subtle channels in the body, alleviating stagnancy and blockages.

The Sufi mystic Hazrat Inayat Khan used this upāya, as did Rukmini Devi from Kalakshetra School in Madras, Tamil Nadu.

Sarod maestro K. Sridhar has been sharing this technique with Allison since 2010. He descends from 14 generations of temple musicians and 20 generations of Jyotiși's . His mother was a famous Brahmin singer in the temples and Sridhar's lineage is the Brīhadīśvara Temple of Thanjur, connected to Mannargudi Raja Gopala Śastri and Tyagaraja, the Father of Carnatic Music. Sridhar learned directly from the Senior Dagar Brothers, Ali Akbar Khan, and Ravi Shankar.

You can learn more about Allison's music guru here.