Fine Balance Wellness

The number of places yoga can be practiced is endless, yet there are some settings that excel at complementing the core principles of yoga. Last month, Blackberry Farm, a pristine retreat nestled in the breathtaking Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, hosted a Yoga Getaway weekend for guests. As a New York based yoga instructor traveling to teach in the South, I embarked upon the journey with the same themes I would incorporate working with a new student: to embrace a new experience with openness and explore new ways to find balance. Blackberry Farm made achieving that objective easy. It reminds you of a much slower time, when we moved according to the seasons and with nature, quietly observing how our own inner nature interacts with the nature of the outer world.

Blackberry Farm provided a perfect platform to delve deeply into yoga. The serene environment, combined with the out-of-this-world hospitality perfectly complemented my goals as a yoga instructor to help guests unwind from the hectic bustle of their everyday lives and recharge. While any new place or new experience can challenge us in a myriad of ways, Blackberry Farm offered an energy that both soothed and calmed, similar to that of a mother, to allow us to be fully present in this idyllic retreat. Upon arriving to the resort you are greeted with the ease of visiting extended relatives, the one’s whose company you truly enjoy. You are escorted to your own cabin hidden in the lush woods of the mountains. Once in your room, you are reminded of what true hospitality feels like: beautiful classical music floating in the air, a welcome card with flowers, a gift basket with the finest of snacks and treats from the region, and, my personal favorite, a fridge stocked with Dove chocolate covered ice cream bars.

Yoga sessions were held each morning and afternoon in a beautiful open-air pavilion overlooking a serene pond surrounded by 4,200 acres of natural beauty. During the Yoga Getaway retreat, yoga became less of something you tried to manage to fit into your day, and more about what your day revolved around. Sessions were practiced amidst the glorious sounds of nature, which seemed to automatically eliminate the competitive nature sometimes found when practicing yoga in more high-strung environments. We ended with long meditative walks throughout the property, either guided or at your own pace. After each yoga session, superbly prepared local food, most of which comes from the garden, dairy and smokehouse on site, provided for exquisite meals served at a leisurely pace. Dinners were served in a glorious, original red wooden barn, where the owner, true to his roots and commitment to southern hospitality, greeted each table and served as the restaurants sommelier, which made you feel almost as if you were visiting an old friend for a home cooked meal.

Blackberry Farm is not the type of retreat where you attempt to continue to focus on your profession life and ignore the idea of relaxation; the lack of reception in the area makes it nearly impossible to wander aimlessly chatting on a cellphone or typing on blackberry. Fortunately, for you and all of the other guests, it enables you to be fully aware, allowing you to drink in each new experience with a sense of aliveness under appreciated in the grind of a daily routine. It served as a reminder for all, including those  who juggle the many different roles that the breathtaking awe of life is often found in the most simple moments, a baby’s first smile or the recognition of one’s own breath.

Spending time at Blackberry Farm can inspire thoughts of the quality of life being better at a different time in history. But the beauty of such an experience is it allows you to take elements of a slower pace and relaxed air back home. The solitude and fortitude that arises from such a tranquil setting helps to plant the seed for great change, as if something larger inside of us, something that has existed all along, is now allowed to grow. Blackberry Farm provides stepping stones for a profound way to live life: graciously interacting with everyone you meet and providing a reprieve from chaos to facilitate deep relaxation and fully recharge.