Escape to the Blue Ridge Mountains
Rest & Play Yoga Retreat
Labor Day Weekend 2025
Thursday, Aug 28th - Monday, Sept 1st
Arrival after 4pm - Departure 1:30pm
Knoxville, Maryland
Adult Summer Camp Meets Yoga Retreat
Indulge in Joy
Indulge in Joy
Indulge in Joy
Join yoga retreat leaders, Carrie and Brandon, for a weekend getaway on 27 acres of mostly forested land, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Choose your own adventure at this yoga retreat meets adult summer camp experience. Recharge daily with fun yoga practices, fresh home-cooked meals, and full body massages.
Move with Ease
Indulge in Joy
Indulge in Joy
Unplug under the canopy of trees, swinging in the hammock with the summer breeze. Take a dip in the Potomac River or hike along the C&O Canal. Make a new friend at game night or take some spacious self-care time. Retreaters may enjoy as much play or rest as desired.
Investment $1,000 USD
unwind, recharge, & play
Includes lodging for 4 nights, all meals, all classes (9)
& all activities (Hikes, Spa Night, Arts & Crafts)
flexible payment options available
The Blue Mountain Retreat Center
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a note from previous attendees
about our practice
Agency & Honoring Yourself
Throughout your retreat, many offerings are included. In addition to various styled yoga practices, you’ll be able to enjoy mindful time in nature, hiking, leisurely walking, delicious lunches and dinners provided by the retreat center. Indulge in quiet time, reading, art projects, napping, and connecting with good humans. Participate in as little or as much as you wish. We ask our participants to honor their needs, on and off the mat.
Teaching Styles
Our yoga lineage is centered around the teachings of Yin, Hatha, and Restorative Yoga. We like to weave yoga philosophy, anatomy, and inspiration from the natural world through our modern practice of Eastern traditions. We blend influences from Qi-Qiong, pranayama, Yoga Nidra (guided visualizations/ meditations, body scans), and chanting in an accessible, sacred container. Generally, we are offering a slower, sweeter pace giving time for you to arrive in each pose with spacious transitions. On retreat, the sunrise flow offers a steadier pace weaving in balance and core standing postures to move stagnant energy and gradually build strength. Evening sessions will offer more floor-based postures (seated, reclined, belly down, or side-lying) to ground, center, and relax into the night.
Friendly reminder, no previous yoga practice is necessary to retreat!
Reverence, Respect, & Reciprocity
Through the guidance of our teachers, we practice reciprocity to yoga history, Eastern culture, and understanding the nervous system and human body. We are extremely grateful for Machelle Lee (Roots & River Yoga, Brunswick, MD) and Tara Lemerise (Lighthouse Yoga, Olney MD & TaraLemeriseYoga.com ) for empowering us with their deep wisdom and dedication. Alicia Barmon has been a humble mentor in the practice of daily discipline of breathwork and compassion for the human experience. We sprinkle in small pieces of the larger context, to educate participants on the source material we teach from, giving homage to yoga's vast roots, interpretations, and various applications. We are still learning, every day, and try to stay humble to the curious student that lives in our heart. Navigating our oneness and our humanity through peace, love, and the process of self-inquiry as a way of being.
Carrie Dennison
Brandon Barnhard
Brandon Barnhard
Carrie Dennison is a self-care expert and community co-creator. You can find her offerings around various yoga studios in the Frederick area, curating spaces for people to practice caring and loving themselves. She is a forever student of yoga, yoga teacher, and Reiki Master. Her specialty is offering practices to help you connect deeply
Carrie Dennison is a self-care expert and community co-creator. You can find her offerings around various yoga studios in the Frederick area, curating spaces for people to practice caring and loving themselves. She is a forever student of yoga, yoga teacher, and Reiki Master. Her specialty is offering practices to help you connect deeply to yourself and others through downregulating the nervous system. Carrie runs her own business, Self-Care with Carrie, leading mini-day retreats, and seeing 1-on-1 clients for customized self-care sessions.
"Bringing the community together through yoga, resting, breathing, and ritual really lights me up. I intuitively guide individuals to connect to the humanness in themselves and to the humanness in each other. "
Brandon Barnhard
Brandon Barnhard
Brandon Barnhard
Brandon is known for a highly connected, playful, and motivating group fitness session, while being relatable and welcoming to all walks of life. Brandon is the owner of Fire & Water Fitness providing the Frederick community a custom fitness solution combining cardio kickboxing, strength training, and yoga. His goal as a facilitator is t
Brandon is known for a highly connected, playful, and motivating group fitness session, while being relatable and welcoming to all walks of life. Brandon is the owner of Fire & Water Fitness providing the Frederick community a custom fitness solution combining cardio kickboxing, strength training, and yoga. His goal as a facilitator is to provide a safe and welcoming space where you can move and love yourself! He especially extends that warm welcome to the LGTBQIA+ community, encouraging his clients to step in to their own power and truth.
“It brings me great joy share my heart and hopefully be a catalyst of growth and inspiration, no matter where you are on your journey, I'll make you feel less alone in your efforts to live your best life.”
