We have one room available as of October 14th!

In this on-site- in-person- workshop, we will spend 5 days learning, hiking, and cooking, together.** Reserve Your Spot NOW .

Full pricing below**

Brain Health; it’s all connected.

This in-person retreat begins on Sunday, October 15th at 4:45 PM and ends on October 20th at 11:00 AM. Blueberry Hill Inn Goshen, Vermont Spaces are limited

Cost:

Private Room per person $3,130 per participant

Share a room $2,800.00 for two each person

Share a room $2600.00 for each person sharing a room of 3.

The Inn has two rooms which have a queen downstairs and two twins upstairs.

All rooms have private baths.

NOTE: Please indicate if you are sharing a space with another with the name

Carlise is available and can be shared with up to three guests: 

Loft Rooms Carlisle is located right off of our ‘greenhouse,’ a year-round indoor garden brimming with a wide selection of flowers and plants. This was originally the attached barn to the farmhouse and is named after early Goshen settlers. An ideal space for families; each room has a queen bed downstairs as well as two twin beds upstairs in a loft. Each room is equipped with a private bathroom (shower and built-in tub) complete with local artisan soap and soft, fluffy towels

AN OVERVIEW OF THE RETREAT:

There will be time around the campfires, lectures, and cooking classes each day. We will begin by looking at personal health challenges. You will be paired with partners each day to touch base to support one another in working through your challenges. We will journal and keep track of food and take notes on how we feel. We’ll also explore how you nourish your health through spirit. This is a community-centered approach to finding balance both in foods and our way to health.

Exercise has many known benefits, and hike we will do! Research shows regular physical activity also benefits the brain. The health of your arteries and veins is important to your heart health, and it is also critical for brain health. And naturally, your diet plays a large role in your brain health. Our meals, cooking classes, and recipes will emphasize plant-based foods, but also high-quality meats, fish, eggs, and healthy fats.

Our daily lectures enforce a healthy brain lifestyle and meals will take on new meaning in deliciousness and creativity!

There are many dimensions to health that require a regular commitment to become a habit. It can be challenging to find balance with respect to how much attention or time we allow for each on a daily basis. Our intent and interest in different areas of health often change over time and we shift our energy accordingly. What if there was a synergistic effect where multiple components of health accompanied each other in one experience and their benefits were greater than the sum of the parts?

Getting outdoors and moving, in nature, is the best model of integrated self-care possible. The movement, natural light, meditative aspect, and importance of sustaining, nourishing foods are intertwined and part of the overall intention.

In addition to losing our way with both the foods that serve as our molecular foundation and the physical movement that builds cardiovascular and skeletal muscular health, so too have we had an increasing absence of nature in our lives. Spending time outdoors provides clarity by bringing us to the present. So many philosophers, poets, and authors discovered the power of nature as an avenue to reach elevated thought and creativity. Hiking and moving outdoors can also give us a great sense of whether our nutrition is working for us or against us.

And….

Your body is an essential part of the formula when it comes to brain health. 

In this five day in person retreat, we will be hiking everyday! 

Exercise is the single most important thing anyone can do to improve brain function and resiliency to disease. In addition to hiking the Long Trail , (right outside our door!) we will explore both intermittent fasting as well as offering an opportunity to be on a ketogenic diet, which is great for brain health. We will cook and eat our meal together and share our daily health challenges and approach it all in a fun, intimate and interactive manner.

First, it is all connected! The gut aka the "second brain," as it produces many of the same neurotransmitters, chemicals released by nerves needed for communication with nerves and tissues. The gut and brain are also connected through a joint partnership called the gut-brain axis that links biochemical signals both to and from the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system.

But what about the gut and the heart? Do they have a similar connection? Research suggests there might be a link, but that it travels in one direction — from the gut to the heart — and that keeping your gut healthy can be another means to protect against heart disease, and keeping your gut healthy also keeps the brain healthy!

Health is a multidimensional state that contains a variety of biochemical, mental, and spiritual components or pathways. Pathways describe the dynamic nature of each versus the static image that most individuals have in their minds. We are always changing, and this requires ongoing efforts to maintain some sort of homeostasis on all fronts.

We will take a close look into brain health and yes, It will be delicious and yes, It will be fun!

one more thought from a recent lecture form John:

Everyone is aware of the importance of insulin sensitivity to prevent diabetes, weight gain, and heart disease. However, insulin sensitivity of the brain is possibly the single most important characteristic for the prevention of dementia, depression, cognitive impairment, and possibly Alzheimer's disease. More and more research is highlighting the role of insulin in the etiology of neurological disease especially in the area of accelerated aging of the brain. What's becoming increasingly clear is the importance of providing neurons with alternative sources of energy rather other than glucose.  Fatty acids and carbohydrates are what most of our body's cells and organs use as fuel. The brain however is not able to use significant amounts of fatty acids as fuel. In fact, there's a great deal of evidence that the limited capacity to oxidize certain fatty acids (omega 6 polyunsaturated types for example) by the brain is for good reason as it is very damaging to neurons. Therefore the brain can only safely use glucose or ketones as primary sources of energy. If carbohydrates are always present in our diet then glucose will always be available to the brain. Ketones will rarely be present and will not be an option for brain metabolism. Our goal should be to provide our brain with both potential sources of energy. That requires periods of time with low levels of carbohydrate and the right types of fat to support ketone production. These basic changes along with daily exercise to increase insulin sensitivity for the rest of our body can dramatically improve brain health and prevent the impairment associated with an aging brain. 

Learn more about Brain Health in this article John wrote!

Join us for this journey that will establish a new set of standards for your self-care. Body, mind, and spirit will be nourished by a combination of amazing, delicious organic meals, a wonderful, caring community of friends, and the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont.

A typical day schedule looks like this:

6:00- 10:00 Hot Lightly Roasted Coffee with Vermont Grass Fed Cream or Black
6:30- Hike and Explore
7:30 Cooking Demonstrations: Chard Soup and Poached Eggs
8:00 Breakfast
9:00-11:00 Lecture, Stretching and Journaling
11:30 Question and Answer
12:00 Cooking Demonstration
1:00 Ginger and Chicken Soup & Fall Salad
2:00 Hike
3:30-4:30 Lecture
4:30-6:00 Free Time
6:00 Dinner served
Fresh Wild Fish with Lemon Potatoes and Arugula and Tarragon Yogurt Sauce Fermented Slaw and Green salad
Warm Fall Soups, Curried Carrots, and Campfire Pizza is on the menu too!

PLEASE SEND ROOM REQUESTS

Available upstairs rooms in the original Inn, Hogback, and White Rocks, are named after local geographical features. These rooms are part of the Inn that was built in 1813. The Hogback, & White Rock rooms each have queen beds.

One Loft Room is available, Carlisle. The Carlisle is located right off of the ‘greenhouse,’ a year-round indoor garden brimming with a wide selection of flowers and plants. These rooms were originally the attached barn to the farmhouse and are named after early Goshen settlers. An ideal space for families; each room has a queen bed as well as two twin beds upstairs in a loft. Each room is equipped with a private bathroom (shower and built-in tub).

One pond-side room, Orniblue, is each named after a variety of blueberries common in our blueberry patch, right outside the door. Overflowing with natural light and the soft tones of the nearby brook and pond, each room features a queen bed, and Vermont-inspired artwork and decor. Orniblue is our ‘dog room,’ and we welcome your well-behaved furry friend! Each room is equipped with a private bathroom (shower and built-in tub).