*Tai Chi on New Hope Bluff*

Cultivate deep stability, inner clarity, and an uplifted spirit in this immersive tai chi and meditation retreat.

Mindfulness on the Mountain Retreats with Ryan Black and Gordon Peerman

What This Retreat Offers

This immersive Tai Chi and meditation retreat invites participants into a contemplative journey through the body's energetic architecture — beginning with the root, refining movement through the waist, and culminating in gentle two-person practices that awaken connection and elevate the spirit. Designed for sincere beginners and continuing practitioners alike, the retreat weaves precise skill development with seated meditation throughout each day. You will learn not only how to move, but how to inhabit your movement — rooted below, open above, and unified within. Through guided instruction, mindful repetition, and quiet sitting, you will leave with a felt understanding of structure, softness, and presence — grounded in the earth, yet rising toward heaven.

Skills and concepts explored include:

Establishing a stable, relaxed root through stance training and foundational Tai Chi principles
Lifting out of anxiety and depression through what the Tai Chi masters call "Raising the Spirit"
The role of the waist as the commander of movement — linking lower and upper body with fluid power
Seated meditation practices to quiet the mind and deepen somatic awareness
Gentle two-person drills to cultivate listening energy, sensitivity, and spirited connection
Methods for integrating rooting and raising the spirit into solo practice and daily life

Please note: Participants should be comfortable engaging in respectful, light two-person exercises involving touch during the afternoon session.

Retreat Leadership

The Rev. Gordon Peerman, DMin is an Episcopal priest, psychotherapist, and mindfulness meditation teacher who has led many retreats at St. Mary's Sewanee. Engaged with contemplative practices since 1975, he has taught Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Buddhist-Christian Dialogue at Vanderbilt University. He lives in Nashville.

Ryan Black is Founder and Master Instructor of Nashville Tai Chi and Wellness. A former U.S. Navy diver stationed in Japan, he reached Master-level in Kendo and spent over a decade training in Tai Chi under Grandmaster Yang, Jwing-Ming of YMAA in Boston. He is a trained mindfulness facilitator through Vanderbilt's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine.

Kenneth Robinson is a body-oriented therapist, teacher, poet, musician, and founding member of the kirtan music group Chant Ram. With thirty years in the healing arts and graduate degrees from the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt Divinity School, Kenneth leads participants into open-hearted awareness through the meditation of sound.

Together, Gordon, Ryan, and Kenneth weave movement, meditation, and music into a richly embodied retreat experience.

Who This Retreat Is For

This retreat is especially suited for:

Sincere beginners curious about Tai Chi and contemplative movement
Continuing practitioners wishing to deepen their practice
Anyone navigating anxiety, depression, or a longing for greater inner stability
Those drawn to the integration of body, mind, and spirit
Participants seeking an immersive, embodied spiritual experience

Come prepared to stand firmly, move softly, sit quietly — and discover the pathway from Earth to Heaven within your own body.

Financial Assistance

Scholarships are available for those needing financial assistance. For scholarship inquiries, contact Reservations@stmaryssewanee.org | 931-598-5342

Registration Information

After 72 hours of registration, a $100 cancellation fee applies. There are no refunds within 7 days of the program arrival date.

Scholarships are available. Contact Reservations@stmaryssewanee.org for application.

*A minimum registration is required for retreats to take place. If the program does not meet the minimum registration within 2 weeks of the event, there is the possibility of cancellation. If SMS cancels a retreat for any reason, any registered guest will receive a full refund of all payments