Build belonging & lasting engagement at your next company off-site in the
Hudson Valley.

Elevate your Upstate, NY corporate retreat with tailored yoga experiences, interactive icebreaker activities, & social wellness workshops.

Get Started

team building, corporate wellness, fun yoga

wine and yoga, drunk yoga, corporate wellness, fun yoga

“Thank you so much - the whole team had such a great experience!”

- Ashish Reddy, Spotify

Planning a meaningful & uplifting corporate retreat in Upstate New York shouldn’t be overwhelming—or break the bank.k.

Eli Walker teaching corporate yoga class outdoors in NYC with several people lying on yoga mats practicing relaxation or meditation.

That’s where The Uplift Centercomes in, bringing belonging to the heart of your off-site experience in the Hudson Valley, NY.

Eli Walker, a Hudson Valley local and social wellness expert, curates yoga, meditation, and playful interactive experiences—like games and icebreakers—tailored to your team retreat goals and optimized for meaningful connections. Beyond the fun, she leads professional development talks and workshops that empower your people with tools to build belonging in both their personal and professional lives, ensuring your off-site leaves a lasting impact.

Get Started

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A black silhouette of a cat with pointed ears, sitting and facing forward, with a visible tail curved around its body.

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“Eli was a major highlight of our event. Attendees raved about how fun and engaging she was—she even tailored her material to be crucially relevant to our specific audience. Eli was also super easy to work with—flexible, communicative and kind.”

- Stacy Heit, National Association of Workforce Boards

Get uplifted.

Get centered.

Get uplifted. // Get centered. //

People practicing yoga in a studio with mirrored walls and large windows showing greenery outside, with one instructor assisting a woman in a yoga pose.

People dancing on a rooftop with a colorful large mural of a woman's face in the background.

Two women dancing outdoors on a balcony, each holding a glass of water. They are smiling and wearing workout clothes, surrounded by potted plants and urban buildings in the background.

A group of people participating in a yoga class in a bright, spacious room with large windows overlooking greenery. They are seated in cross-legged positions on yoga mats, with a dog resting on the wooden floor in front of them.

A yoga instructor helps a man with a yoga pose during an outdoor yoga class, with three women lying on mats in the background, in front of a chalkboard with writing about yoga and relaxation.

Group of women participating in a yoga class indoors, sitting on yoga mats and raising glasses in a toast, with a blackboard and doorway in the background.

Three women on a rooftop terrace with city buildings in the background, participating in a yoga session and laughing, with one woman holding a glass and another practicing a yoga pose.

Group of people practicing yoga in a spacious room with wooden floors and ceiling, windows letting in natural light, and mirrors along the wall. The instructor in the foreground is leading the class with arms raised, in a warrior pose.

A woman practicing yoga in a sunlit room with large open doors showing a green outdoor area with trees.

Two women lying on yoga mats outdoors, receiving guidance from an instructor in a downward dog pose, with a third woman in the background, all participating in a yoga class.

People participating in a yoga class, performing side stretches while balancing on yoga mats on a wooden floor, with yoga blocks and towels nearby.

Group of women on a rooftop terrace participating in a yoga class, holding drinks, and smiling.

Two women practicing yoga outdoors on a terrace. The woman in the foreground has long dark hair in a ponytail and is smiling, wearing a black tank top with mesh detail and blue leggings. The woman in the background is sitting on a pink yoga mat, wear

A woman practicing yoga on a rooftop, sitting cross-legged on a pink yoga mat with 'Dharma V' written on it, holding a glass of orange juice above her head with eyes closed.

A group of women participating in a yoga class on a rooftop terrace in an urban setting. They are lying on yoga mats, some resting with eyes closed and one holding a drink. The instructor is kneeling, smiling at the group, with potted plants and city

Three young adults sitting on yoga mats outdoors on a terrace, stretching and smiling, with city skyscrapers in the background.

Two people sitting on yoga mats outdoors on a city rooftop, smiling and enjoying a sunny day.

People raising their hands, some holding drinks, on a rooftop with a city and ocean view during sunset.

The Experiences Menu

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The Experiences Menu /

01:
[Social] Yoga & Mindfulness

The viral sensation that started it all. Our yoga drinking game with a beverage in hand, coffee, wine, juice, coconut water or whatever makes you feel like your cup is full.

These bespoke, beginner friendly interactive yoga drinking games turn a solo practice into a social one, with games and laughter built in, so wellness and community building become a one-stop solution. It is the fastest way to get a room laughing, moving and talking to people they have never met.
Good for: brand activations, conferences, off-sites, celebrations, instant energy.
The Drunk Yoga® story

All the fun of Drunk Yoga® with none of the drinking. Gentle stretching and partner games loosen the body and the room at the same time, building camaraderie and reigniting a passion for the collective. It is the easy yes for groups that want movement and connection without the wellness intimidation factor or the beverage. People leave looser, warmer and noticeably more comfortable with each other.
Good for: team-building, off-sites, all-levels groups, sober-friendly events.

02:
[Non-cheesy] Play

This uplifting yoga session is paired with story and themed music playlists to unlock a deeper sense of belonging to yourself, your body and the present moment. It is intelligent and all levels, so a room of total beginners and seasoned practitioners can move through it together and feel equally welcome. Think less performance and more permission. A grounding, restorative way to open or close a day before the bigger group moments begin.
Good for: conferences, off-sites, retreats, opening and closing a day.

Guided meditation made ever so slightly social through light interactive moments, so stillness becomes something a group does together rather than alone in the same room. Beginner friendly and connection forward, it builds the quiet, the safety and the centeredness that real connection needs before it can happen. A calm reset that works as its own moment or as the settling beat before play and conversation.
Good for: conferences, retreats, high-stress teams, a reset inside a packed agenda.

The classic game night, redesigned to build belonging. Think charades but better, plus a rotating lineup of fast, interactive, lightly competitive games that get a whole room shouting, laughing and accidentally (but like, totally on-purpose) bonding.

Teams form on the fly, the usual hierarchy goes out the window and people who would never chat at a mixer end up high-fiving over a ridiculous round. It is structured enough to never stall and loose enough to feel like recess for grown-ups. The kind of night people bring up for months.
Good for: off-sites, parties, team-building, conference evenings, anyone who wants the energy turned up.

The cringe free icebreaker. Playful, interactive and non cheesy 30 to 45 minute sessions for facilitated networking at live events, designed to uplift, engage and spark radical belonging. No name tags read aloud and no forced fun that makes people quietly check their phones. Just designed prompts and games that get a room laughing and actually talking, fast. The perfect on-ramp before a keynote, a meal or a longer program.
Good for: conferences, networking events, kickoffs, the first hour of anything.

A woman with glasses and curly hair standing at a microphone on stage, holding a sign with the number 2. Five people are in the background, some holding signs with numbers 3, 5, and 8. The background has colorful letters spelling out a word, and the event seems festive.

The intern and the executive spell the same impossible words. Competitive, hilarious, and surprisingly humbling. A team spelling bee that brings out everyone's inner overachiever.
The intern and the executive spell the same impossible words, and the whole room is rooting for both. Competitive, hilarious and surprisingly humbling, this team spelling bee brings out everyone's inner overachiever and flattens the hierarchy in the most joyful way possible. Equal parts game show and bonding exercise, it is the kind of thing people are still quoting back at each other weeks later.
Good for: off-sites, parties, team-building, anyone who likes friendly chaos.

03:
[Chill] Connection

Networking with soul. A facilitated gathering of storytelling, intentional small groups and structured conversation that gets you past "let's connect on LinkedIn" and into the architecture of belonging.

A host led story opens the room, breakout questions invite people in gently and a closing moment lets everyone offer one line back to the group. It is the antidote to the awkward mixer, designed so the introverts and the extroverts both leave having actually connected.
Good for: conferences, founder and member communities, networking events.

A woman performing or speaking into a microphone indoors, with a decorative red room divider and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

A short storytelling workshop followed by a Moth-style open mic sharing sesh for folks to share personal, comedic stories. Bring your people together through shared laughter.
A short storytelling workshop followed by a Moth style open mic sharing session for people to tell personal, comedic stories. Bring your people together through shared laughter and the kind of honesty that only comes out when someone has a mic and permission. The workshop piece means nobody is thrown in cold, so even the quiet ones often surprise themselves. A roomful of coworkers becomes an audience that has actually met each other.
Good for: retreats, off-sites, culture moments, teams ready to go a layer deeper.

team-building yoga, team building activities nyc, yoga for conferences, fun off-site activities, drunk yoga

Hudson Valley Corporate Retreat Sample
Itinerary

Day 1 - Evening Arrival

7:30pm - 8:30pm - Icebreakers Uplifted™

Day 2 - Morning

7:30am - 8:30am - Sunrise Yoga + Meditation

Day 2 - Afternoon

2:00pm - 5:00pm - Belonging Bootcamp Workshop

Day 2 - Evening

7:00pm - 9:30pm - Storytelling Open Mic Night

Day 3 - Morning

7:30am - 8:30am - Coffee Yoga™

Day 3 - Afternoon Closing

4:00pm - 5:30pm - Happy Hour Yoga + Closing Reflections

Preferred
Hudson Valley
Retreat Venues

The Uplift Center partners with premier off-site retreat centers in the Hudson Valley. When you book with us, we’re happy to connect you with our preferred venues’ sales teams to make your event planning process even easier.

A grassy backyard with two white Adirondack chairs, a small fire pit, a wooden building with a metal roof, trees, a greenhouse, and a partly cloudy sky.

“In terms of community-building, Eli did not disappoint!”

- Rachel Abbate, WeWork

FAQs

Wherever you (our awesome client) tell us to go! Eli lives in the Hudson Valley, NY—(90 min. north of NYC in Upstate, NY)—so corporate wellness activities for off-sites in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut are considered “local.”

She partners with Hudson Valley corporate retreat centers in the Catskills, Hudson, Woodstock and beyond to help you source the perfect venue for your Upstate New York off-site.
We recommend booking at least 4-6 weeks in advance to ensure availability and allow time for customization. However, we’re happy to accommodate tighter timelines whenever possible.
Pricing varies based on the type of event and services required. All bookings include consultation, planning, and facilitation. Travel and accommodation costs (if applicable) are billed separately.
Yes! Many of our workshops and experiences can be delivered virtually, offering the same level of engagement and connection as in-person events.

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Get Started

Black and white photograph of Eli Walker sitting beside a desk, smiling at the camera, wearing a dark dress and accessorized with pearls.

Hi! I’m Eli.

After earning a BFA in Acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a decade of experience teaching yoga across the globe, I developed a knack—a superpower if you will—for helping people feel like they belong within live experiences. So, it was no surprise (to some more than others) that in 2017 I married my lifelong passions of storytelling and mindful movement to establish my first claim to fame: Drunk Yoga®—breaking the rules of yogic convention by infusing it with the social ritual of a happy hour.

As Drunk Yoga® (now The Uplift Center) grew to international acclaim, I discovered how to translate the very same theatrical devices I used to make yoga feel like a party into a methodology to create authentic communities, cultivate deeper connections and inspire sustainable belonging—in our work, communities and sense of purpose. Belonging is the vehicle that gets us there, and the best way to spark it is through play.

That’s why I love facilitating playful corporate wellness activities and interactive workshops for off-sites and retreats, especially immersed in the beauty of Upstate, New York. Hudson Valley retreat centers are ideal environments for teams to let go of old stories, step into collective narratives, and strengthen trust and collaboration.

Ready to make some belonging-cultivating magic?

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Book a Call

Build belonging & lasting engagement at your next company off-site in the
Hudson Valley.

“Thank you so much - the whole team had such a great experience!”

Planning a meaningful & uplifting corporate retreat in Upstate New York shouldn’t be overwhelming—or break the bank.k.

“Eli was a major highlight of our event. Attendees raved about how fun and engaging she was—she even tailored her material to be crucially relevant to our specific audience. Eli was also super easy to work with—flexible, communicative and kind.”

The Experiences Menu

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