New Mountain Healing Resort Opens in Asheville
Words by Sucheta Rawal
Photos by Ayurprana
The charming mountain town of Asheville, North Carolina, was severely impacted by Hurricane Helene in the Fall of 2024. Today, acres of trees still lie on forest floors as you drive up Elk Mountain. The Arts Center was annihilated, and businesses downtown are sharing storefronts to help each other. While the land and people continue to heal, SoHum Mountain Healing Resort, which reopened in February 2025, invites visitors to join the rebuilding process in Asheville.
Asheville’s reputation as a haven for holistic healing isn’t new. It’s a tradition that dates back centuries. The Cherokee, who have long called the Blue Ridge mountains home, believed in the sacredness of the land, its pure mountain air, and its mineral-rich earth, including abundant quartz deposits. Asheville is considered one of three “energy vortex destinations” in the United States, where some New Age believers say ley lines converge. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, these theoretical, invisible lines are thought to connect important landmarks across the world and hold the most spiritual energy at the points where the lines intersect. Some believers attribute Asheville’s grounding and restorative energy to the city’s location in relation to these ley lines. The healing mountain air is what drew George Vanderbilt to build the Biltmore Estate there in the late 1800s, and more recently, why the prestigious Ayurvedic Institute chose Asheville as its new home.
As you enter the humble mountain top cabin at SoHum, the aroma of sandalwood incense and melodic, chanting music captures your attention. The friendly staff perform a ceremony with lamps, flowers, and rice to welcome attendees to a weeklong Panchakarma program, which is based on an ancient Indian Ayurvedic process of cleansing the mind, body, and spirit. Ayurveda is a 5,000-year-old medicine that originated in ancient India, and Panchakarma is a seasonal cleanse designed to make you feel deeply nourished, divinely fulfilled, and at home in your body and spirit. Like the surrounding nature, humans also require a little cleanup, especially after major life events, illnesses, or aging, so we can plant new seeds for a renewed future.
For the participants, each day at SoHum starts with a sunrise ceremony in the small prayer room overlooking the valley to recognize the energy it gives to all beings. While SoHum is rebuilding the yoga barn after it was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, attendees practice yoga indoors, waking up their muscles with gentle movements. Ninety minutes of daily Ayurveda wellness treatments comprise nourishing warm oil massages to relax the muscles, stimulate circulation, eliminate toxins, enhance mental clarity, and balance emotions. Afternoons are spent drinking ginger tea by the fireplace, introspecting, journaling, and forest bathing on the trails. Before bed, positive hums of kirtan music and vibrating sound bathing offer physical, mental, and emotional healing on a cellular level. There are no devices, attractions, or distractions here. You are simply meant to be and focus on only yourself.
The Cherokee, who have long called the Blue Ridge mountains home, believed in the sacredness of the land, its pure mountain air, and its mineral-rich earth.
Because the program involves restoring nutrients in the body, the meals provided are easy to digest and sattvic (pure). They follow the Panchakarma diet; use vegetarian, locally sourced, and seasonal ingredients; and are free of gluten, sugar, and alcohol. Each dish is delicately spiced with flavors like cardamom, mustard seeds, and curry leaves.
the week progresses, guests and staff members open up and share their internal and physical struggles with one another, identifying their desires to slow down mental chatter, improve health conditions, and heal from prior trauma.
SoHum, a Sanskrit mantra that translates to “I am That” and is often interpreted as “I am one with the universe,” creates the perfect environment for you to be fully present, reflect on your state of being, clear your head, and move with ease and intention in today’s demanding world. It is also a reminder that you don’t have to wait for a storm to prioritize self-care.
Wellness Traveler’s Guide to Asheville
Asheville continues to draw wellness seekers from around the world. Its thriving community of practitioners offers everything from outdoor yoga and energy work to herbal medicine and integrative therapies. The connection to the natural world remains at the center of it all. Here, healing doesn’t just happen in treatment rooms. It happens on trails, under waterfalls, and in moments of stillness with the mountains as witness.
Take a half-day yoga, meditation, and hiking mini-retreat with Namaste in Nature. https://www.namasteinnature.com
Practice the Japanese art of forest bathing in the woods with Asheville Wellness Tours. https://ashevillewellnesstours.com/tour/guided-forest-bathing-nature-therapy/
Purify your skin with Turkish and Moroccan-style baths at Asheville Salt Cave & Spa. https://ashevillesaltcave.com
Heal with the sounds of crystal bowls, gongs, didgeridoo, and hand pans at Skinny Bears Drums. https://skinnybeatsdrums.com
Boost your metabolism at a Nordic-style sauna and cold plunge at Sauna House. https://www.saunahouse.com
