CLICK HERE to view on the Tifton Gazette or read below.

Getting healthier in the mountains of North Georgia

By Christine Tibbetts

TIFTON May 05, 2008 11:39 am

— Crisp mountain air, fresh-picked food and skies showing stars make me feel better just thinking about finding some of them.
Hunting for a place to help me stay better as I faced up to my 60th birthday dominated my April travel agenda and my quest worked out, not too far north of Atlanta. The air, stars, fruits and veggies turned out to be extras.
Two resorts with different personalities in Georgia’s mountains each present good-health things to do all in one place, not far from one another, under rustic roofs and starry skies. I checked them both out carefully and plan to immerse myself in their regimens long before the next birthday arrives.
One’s a 1920s-style reproduction farmhouse with rolling hills, big views, meditative gardens, spa treatments, private cabins, yoga classes and a chef who believes in fresh.
The other’s a brand-new wellness center in 140 wilderness acres in a well-established luxury resort near the ancient site of a Cherokee village. At this one, if I pay a little attention, I can re-create what I learn there at home because this is all about sustainability, about staying well.
Either one, you can leave the car parked and engage in a wide range of spa treatments, walks-in-the-woods, fine meals, calm moments, hot tub soaks, yoga classes and sitting and staring at the vista.
All good for turning 60 and preparing to be a healthy 70, and all good for being any age. Good too with a traveling partner and husband like mine who has yet to find his way to a yoga class; plenty of fishing and reading time and good food for him to be happy too.
For unusual diversion, there are 300 kangaroos down the road in a conservation center and the nine different species can be seen in a walkabout or guided tour on an open truck. Baby ‘roos in pouches too.
Probably that’s healthy as an outdoor adventure, but my focus was on realigning my lifestyle for the days and decades ahead.
Blueberry Hill is the location of the replica farmhouse complex called Pura Vida USA in Dahlonega, a pretty good omen for me that somebody would be paying attention to good food and anti-aging anti-oxidants.
Pura Vida, which means pure life, takes a minimalist view: neither television nor telephone in the farmhouse rooms or cabins and meals are vegetarian, with fish and chicken available if preferred.
WiFi works fine throughout the property and cell phones picked up signals too; Dahlonega has plenty of fine chefs who cook beef if that matters to traveling companions.
Vegetarian’s good for the rest of us who are glad to stretch and bend and breathe deeply in the 1,400-square-foot yoga hall, lined with windows facing the Blue Ridge Mountains. Classes happen Friday, Saturday and Sunday for $12 per session.
Come with a group instead of just yourself and you can arrange yoga other days too. Eighteen guest rooms are available between the farmhouse and cabins so retreats, wedding parties and friend getaways can fit easily.
I never watch anyone else’s poses in a yoga class; it’s quite enough to balance on one foot with my eyes straight ahead and arms raised, but this Chattahoochee National Forest view calls for some daydreaming during class, and later.
Margaret Nemec likes arranging eco tours for Pura Vida USA guests, on the 72 acres of forest and field, or into the region. She can even point you to sister properties in Costa Rica and Mexico with the same philosophy as the north Georgia center: total wellness through physical, mental and spiritual practices to promote anti-aging.
The spa is painted a calming lavender, and treatments include information about what you might expect to happen as a result.
Just enjoy the massage if you prefer and don’t bog down with facts, but I was hunting my healthy future and was glad for the concepts.
How about massage to identify trigger points and pain patterns to speed healing by releasing endorphins, or hot stones from a local river to harmonize my energy with the earth’s life forces?
Maybe a sea salt scrub to activate my lymphatic system or a facial with the collagen fibers hospitals use on scars, burns and wounds for those pesky lines in my face?
I counted 15 possible treatments and it wasn’t out of the question to match each one up with some issue of benefit to my body, and so I suspect, with my future.
Some time under the stars in the big outdoor hot tub, rocking on the wrap-around porch and walking the 1.5-mile trail fit well into the Pura Vida USA wellness notions too.
Forrest Hills Mountain Resort and Conference Center didn’t know I was coming to check out staying healthy options, and I didn’t know they were launching the Anidawehi Wellness Center with a staff of 12 and a commitment to sustainability: keeping up what you gain here.
I figured I’d discover some feel-good opportunities in an upscale cabin with my own hot tub overlooking the woods, a fireplace, full kitchen, stereo CD, big TV with DVD and long private back porch with rocking chairs, plus a visit to the spa or walk in the woods.
That happened, and could also be accessed in a startling array of accommodations, from private cabins just for you or two to an inn with 12 bi-level suites, Victorian cottages and lodges big enough for the whole family, corporate retreat, church group or non-profit rejuvenation.
Forrest Hills can handle crowds but they won’t be in your space. Laughing will. And many kindnesses.
The second generation of the Kraft family runs this place and they clearly love it and each other based on the joy they exude and the ways they treat each other and their guests.
Together they built Forrest Hills, literally, hammers in hand, 31 years ago. This tight-budget family endeavor in 1977 today is gracious and luxurious, and now cutting edge with the Wellness Center that opened May 4.
I’m all for seeing what happens to me with their full-deal staying-well process which takes two weeks in these lovely woods with the staff of 12 trained in natural healing. Talk about self focus.
They call it cleansing and renewal.
That includes eating raw, nothing cooked and hands-on classes to do so at home, removing toxins via colon hydrotherapy, massage, yoga with a take-home program just for me, Reiki, sweat lodge, infrared sauna and my own life coach.
Dedicating two weeks to my future might be tricky, but signing up for the three and four-day options could be a start.
Age defiance is what Denise Roberson – one of the Kraft family sisters – calls the retreat that focuses on keeping age-related illnesses at bay.
“Achieving optimum wellness naturally and sustaining it over your lifetime” is the mission she maintains as director of Anidawehi Plantation Wellness Center.
She doesn’t mind repeating that Cherokee word and legend about mythical spiritual beings possessing the ability to heal as she outlines anti-aging options.
Sleep therapy with natural remedies for relieving insomnia, health and fitness consultations with a licensed medical doctor, life coach and physical fitness professional, food classes about the impact of inflammation on aging, and makeovers she says incorporating all-natural steps for that age defiance.
“Find a new starting point,” Roberson says, “and re-start your wellness.”
Weight normalization is one way, she says, with cooking and eating classes, plus spa treatments, yoga, personal fitness training and biorhythm feedback. This one lets you stay in touch with the trainers and teachers via specific computer software or telephone if you prefer to help keep up the changes.
The sustainable lifestyle change retreat focuses on your current favorite meals with ways to adjust for the Anidawehi wellness philosophies, including how to eat fast, healthy food on the run.
Setting myself some new goals for being 60-plus looks do-able. Coping after seriously significant events has a place here too.
Roberson and her healing staff designed a rest and rejuvenation retreat using private, secluded cottages for people dealing with death, surgery, chemotherapy and other catastrophic events.


Forrest Hills Mountain Resort and Conference Center
www.ForrestHillsResort.com
800-654-6313
Anidawehi Plantation Wellness Center
www.anidawehi.com
706-864-3818
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it