Well, my friend and I had a girl weekend in Asheville and tried a few fun workouts while we were in…read moretown. My girlfriend has been an aerialist for 4-5 years now and I've only taken one class before but we knew we'd love it. I figured if I couldn't manage any of the moves well, at least I could provide comic relief, right? The other young lady in our group was an Asheville local who just started lessons a month and a half ago, so between us there were many skill levels represented. Being a compact space, there are only four silk stations available so we had the privilege of watching the instructor on a set of silks as well. Carly lead us through a stretching warm up before we practiced with the silks. When Carly saw what we were able to manage she would add to it, varying the tasks for each of us as we all had wildly different strengths and weaknesses. The music was fun, Carly was patient and had wonderful verbal cues as well as demonstrating for me when the verbal clues left me scratching my head. I wish I lived closer and could build my upper body strength and enjoy this unique workout more often. It was hard and fun and two days later my shoulders and back are still sore but I'd go back tomorrow if I could! Now, where is my Cirque du Soleil contract???

Um. I love this place. If I had the power to teleport, you better believe this is one of the places…read moreI'd hit up very, very frequently! (As often as my bruised limbs could allow. The lyra really digs into you, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and doubling up on fabric would probably also be pretty helpful. I'd been itching to take either a pole class or an aerial silks/lyra class for ages, and since I plan my travels around food and awesome fitness classes (priorities, right?), I definitely had to make a stop here before leaving Asheville! I called beforehand to make sure that it was okay for me to take the aerial lyra class, and the lady I spoke to was really helpful and friendly. (I'd only taken one class before, and that was quite unfortunately back in early 2012, so uh...it's been a while!) ...But my goodness, this was a super fun class! Evan was our instructor, and there was only one other student, so we started the class off with a light warmup, and then jumped right in. Evan was really good about explaining everything, and also in evaluating where we were at so that he could tailor the class to our level. We took turns going through a sequence and learning how to clean it up and make it look pretty + fluid. He was also really great about giving us pointers and cues, which was definitely helpful when we were puzzling out a couple of the moves. All in all, super super fun, and I really hope to come back to Asheville at some point again to visit, and so I can take more classes here! The handbalancing class that Evan teaches looks like a lot of fun, and I'd love to take more aerial lyra (+ silks!) classes!

Hi I would like to address Sandy H of the JUNE 30, 2025 review of the Silent Meditation Retreat. In…read moreit she headed it with: "it's Cult, STAY AWAY". LOL She also stated "...we noticed a level of unquestioning reverence for the AOL founder that felt more like cultish devotion than the pursuit of wisdom". And "...In our view, AOL does not represent a genuine path toward spiritual growth. For those seeking meaningful insight, authors like Alan Watts..." etc. I've been on this spiritual path for 50 years! yeah forever! hahahha - and I love Alan Watts and Ramana Maharishi and some of the other great Advaita teachers and lectures. And after 30 years of meditation and even teaching meditation, I also took the "Silent Retreat Course" several time and frankly - IT CHANGED MY LIFE. I FINALLY GOT WHAT SILENCE ACTUALLY MEANT. As far as it being a cult - Well everything can be considered a cult if one is devoted to it. Have you every been to one of those "Krishna Das cults" hahahahha? I live here on the mountain near the Retreat Center, I'm not a teacher nor a "cult member" lol. I'm just happy here with the knowledge I've gained here at the retreats. As far a Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder is concerned - Yes, he's my Guru, so was my mother. But the beauty of Sri Sri was that he (by example) showed me what SILENCE REALLY MEANT. So I would encourage people who want to come here to this beautiful retreat to remember that the PURPOSE of words, critical thinking, spiritual discourse is Silence and rejoicing in your own Being. Conversation is nice, interesting But the revelation of Silence is inner peace and true wisdom. (in my humble opinion :D ) and for sure my dogs love it here too! :D

If you or anyone in your group has mobility challenges, please think twice before booking here. The…read moreArt of Living Retreat Center in Boone is on a steep, uneven property and is not wheelchair-accessible, despite what you might assume from a "wellness" center. We let them know in advance we were bringing a wheelchair. Yet we received a non-accessible room, no toilet riser, and no shower chair until I asked in person. The shuttle can't take a wheelchair, the handicap parking is gravel (where my husband fell), and there's no accessible route to the dining hall or restrooms. When I explained how unsafe and disappointing this was, the staff offered no empathy--just said they were "grandfathered in" for ADA compliance and don't even offer to comp the unused night. We left early, exhausted and disheartened. I've never encountered a place so out of touch with accessibility and hospitality.

I took a lesson from Sandi at Pilates Performance inc....she knows so well how to deal with issues…read moreof the body. She showed me how to properly move so as not to injure my knees and lower back....I cannot thank her enough for her knowledge, compassion and laser sharp abilities to work with varying individuals.

After just one session with Sandi, I knew I had landed in the right place. I already feel stronger…read moreand so optimistic and inspired to keep going! Never was a "workout" so much fun and so rewarding! Magnificent!

This was a fun little dinner show, the food was really simple and your typical faire for a dinner…read moreshow in that area. Fried chicken, barbecue, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and their signature creamy vegetable soup. The show itself was fun natured and the cast were fun and energetic as well as funny. Our server, chip, was hilarious himself, and that just added to the front of the experience. At the end, you're going to find yourself wandering through the gift shop, and I'm not going to encourage you or discourage you either way, but it's a great place to meander while you're partner or spouse are in the bathroom.

We did the 5pm show on a Thursday. We bought our tickets inside the Dollywood Park at a little…read morestand. They did a $5 off on each ticket but any of the coupon books you see in town have a $3 off adult ticket coupon that is good for up to 6 people. The food was good but definitely not anything special. We were served fried chicken and pulled pork which those that ate it said was good. I had a vegetarian meal which you have to request when you get the tickets. They served me a large portion of steamed veggies and a large portion of veggies and rice. I also ate the corn on the cob and mashed potatoes and I had the creamy soup which was very good (but does have a chicken broth in it). The drinks are Coke products or iced tea. One thing to know, they stop serving food when the show starts so make sure you get there at least 30 minutes before so you can get seated and get served. The show was really entertaining! The kids (7, 9, and 12) were mesmerized the entire show. The have an entire pool under the floor which they dive into. You can buy beer and other adult beverages at the bar outside the theater. I also bought the group photo which was 2 pictures for $40. It was expensive but it was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed it!