NORTHERN PINES, 559 Webbs Mills Road,
Raymond, ME 04071.
Tel. 207/935-7579,
Web: www.maine.com/norpines
Modest accommodations begin at $95 per night, single occupancy. Services are available at a modest price. Accepts major credit cards. Twenty miles northwest of Portland, Maine.
Marlee Turner founded Northern Pines in 1 980 after a bout with thyroid cancer taught her that inner health is something to be shared. Since then, her 70 acres of lakefront pine trees and cedar cabins have contributed to the sense of wellness that Turner aims to convey to each of the 15 to 20 guests she hosts at any given time. Whether they’re here to lose weight, meditate, or simply relax, guests in her Sebago Lake region of southern Maine find a highly personalized level of care and attention.
How personal do she and her staff get? Consider the Work and Play Memorial Day Weekend of 1 999. Guests on this weekend performed such seasonal tasks as clearing trails of winter storm debris, gathering firewood and painting steps. They enjoyed meals, canoeing, hot tubbing and the therapy of deep laughter. And they enjoyed a pretty good discount, paying just $25 for the three-day weekend. For a few extra bucks, they even picked up an occasional massage.
More typical at Northern Pines is the opportunity to avoid work-related thoughts, therapeutic as such stuff in the Northern Woods may be. What’s provided is an opportunity for transition, whether in mind, body, or soul.
Throughout the summer, daily classes are offered to encourage awareness. Weekly guest speakers join Turner and her staff in promoting this awareness, or they bring along a perspective all their own.
Some come for a juice fast; many come to lose weight through the combination of regular exercise and appropriate nutrition; others come for the simple tranquillity.
Northern Pines Services and Options |
