Break Up With Your Vice
A Two-Day Retreat for Breaking Old Patterns and Reclaiming Your Peace. You’ve tried harder. Maybe it’s time to try differently. October 3rd and 4th.
Who This Retreat is For
This retreat is for adults who find themselves returning to a habit or behavior that no longer feels fully chosen—whether that’s alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, food, shopping, gambling, social media, or something else you’ve tried to change but keep getting pulled back toward.
You do not need to identify as having an addiction to belong here. Maybe the pattern is seriously disrupting your life, or maybe you’ve simply begun to notice that it’s taking more than it gives. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, this weekend is about understanding what keeps the pattern alive, strengthening your ability to meet what lies beneath it, and developing greater freedom and choice in how you respond.
What This Weekend Gives You
Two Perspectives. One Whole-Person Approach.
Clinical Expertise. Practical Wisdom. Whole-Life Recovery.
Chelsea’s clinical recovery work helps you understand the psychology beneath addiction and unwanted habits—why certain triggers, thoughts, emotions, and circumstances keep pulling you back, and what you can practically do about them.
Living Peace and mindfulness bring another layer to that work: learning how to actually stay with discomfort, create space between craving and action, loosen the grip of automatic thoughts, and build greater steadiness into everyday life. Together, the two approaches move beyond simply knowing better or trying harder toward developing the capacity to respond differently.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s greater choice.
Meet Your Facilitators
Two complementary perspectives, working together to help you understand the pattern and practice a different response.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to identify as having an addiction to attend?
Not at all. This retreat is for anyone who feels caught in a habit or behavior that no longer feels fully chosen. You may be dealing with a significant addiction, trying to cut back, or simply noticing that a pattern is beginning to take more than it gives.
What kinds of habits or behaviors is this retreat for?
Participants may be working with alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, food, shopping, gambling, social media, or another recurring behavior they would like to better understand and change. The specific vice matters less than the underlying pattern and your desire to develop a different relationship with it.
Do I need previous experience with meditation or mindfulness?
No. The zazen and stillness practices will be introduced gradually and made accessible for beginners. You’ll always have options for how you participate, including sitting in a chair or adjusting the practice to what feels appropriate for you.
Is this therapy?
The retreat includes clinically grounded recovery education led by licensed therapist and addiction counselor Chelsea Steck, LCSW, LAC, but the weekend itself is an educational and experiential retreat rather than individual psychotherapy. Participants who need a higher level of clinical or medical support may be encouraged to seek additional care.
Do I need to be abstinent from my vice before attending?
No particular recovery identity or length of abstinence is required. The retreat is designed to help you explore your relationship with the pattern, understand what keeps it going, and clarify what meaningful change looks like for you. Participants are expected to attend the retreat sober and able to participate fully.
What will the weekend actually include?
Expect a combination of recovery education, facilitated discussion, practical exercises, Living Peace teachings, guided reflection, progressively introduced zazen practice, and time to develop a personalized plan for continuing the work after the retreat. It won’t be two days of sitting through lectures.
What should I bring?
Comfortable clothing, a water bottle, and anything you personally need to feel comfortable throughout the day. Journaling and workshop materials will be provided. Chairs and meditation cushions will be available.
When and where is the retreat?
Break Up With Your Vice takes place October 3–4, 2026, from 9:00 AM–5:00 PM both days at Alaric’s Abbey, 555 Rivergate Ln #B4-82, Durango, Colorado.
How much does it cost?
Early Bird registration is $395 through September 1, after which registration is $495. Space is intentionally limited to keep the experience personal and interactive.
What is the cancellation policy?
Because space is limited and your registration reserves a spot that may otherwise be offered to someone else, cancellations made 30 days or more before the retreat will receive a full refund, less any nonrefundable payment-processing fees. Cancellations made 14–29 days before the retreat will receive a 50% refund. Registrations are nonrefundable within 14 days of the retreat. If the retreat is canceled by the organizers, participants will receive a full refund.