Essential Spotlight
Sewall House Yoga Retreat Island Falls, Maine Simplicity in a Complex World
Each season a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training is offered at the beginning and end of the season (May and September) and ongoing retreats are also offered so guests can choose the retreat good for their schedule or choose other special offerings.
In addition, this summer every month a Stand-Up Paddleboard weekend is offered. I
n 1997 Sewall House Yoga Retreat opened its doors to the public in a spirit of hospitality and healing. The home had the tradition
since it was built in the 1860’s, welcoming a weak sickly Harvard student who became healed from asthma by the fresh air, hikes up Mount Katahdin and into the deep woods to meet the lumberman/ loggers. For this Harvard student, the loggers were very different than the people in his elite, educated upbringing but he got along well with them and admired their ability to live in and understand nature. William Sewall was his guide, a noted nature guide from Island Falls, a newly settled town in Aroostook County. This young man was Theodore Roosevelt. He returned for three fall expeditions with William, which lasted several weeks, creating a lifelong friend- ship between the two men.
Nestled in this small Maine town are two beautiful lakes, a river running through the town, with a tiny falls and island where the Sewalls first settled. Today Sewall’s great grand-daughter offers her thirty plus years of experience in the healing arts in the same home. Unlike many yoga retreats today, this one has a history of friendship and healing embedded in its walls.
The home is in the Historic Registry. Donna Sewall Davidge
brings her years of teaching yoga in New York City (which she still does full time in the winter months) to the retreat guests at Sewall House each summer. Nearby lakes offer opportunities for kayak- ing, canoeing, swimming and doing yoga while hikes in Katahdin Woods and Waters, Baxter State Park and through the woods near the house all offer opportunities to experience the natural beauty of northern Maine. An often undiscovered and ignored part of Maine is the perfect location for a tranquil retreat to learn and practice yoga and reflect on one’s life in these modern fast paced times.
The Sewall House also has a tradition of hosting writing retreats and has been featured in Poets & Writers. This summer, August 17th to August 22nd, Birth a Book in Island Falls, will be offered to writers of all levels, and in all stages of book development. The class will be taught by NYC based author and book writing teacher, Doro- thy Holtermann. The retreat will give writers a rare opportunity to explore and fast track all aspects of their book writing projects from the magic of topic selection and creative writing to the more mun- dane aspects of self-publishing and promotion. This will be a unique opportunity to ignite your inspiration and recharge your energy with instruction from generous teachers, while being nurtured by the boundless energy of nature and yoga. For more information and registration, visit:
www.birthabookcoach.com/sewallhouse. See ad on page 19.
www.EssentialLivingMaine.com
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