Nestled in the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains, Jackson County offers an appealing selection of resources for all your holistic healing desires.

Holistic healing focuses on all parts of an individual's needs integrating mind, body and soul. Choosing to live a more balanced lifestyle couldn't be easier as Jackson County's progressive and preventative services are just a touch away whether it's a yoga class, soothing massage, or herbal cleanse.

Ydo Yumart, owner of Moonlight Spa and Retreat, is a licensed massage and bodywork therapist who loves what she does. "It's my passion," Yumart said.

Yumart is a Cuban native who lived in Miami for 20 years until she was drawn to Jackson County.

"When we came here six years ago, I fell in love with the area," Yumart said. "And now my intention is to help others."

Moonlight Spa and Retreat offers customized treatments implementing specific techniques to address a client's needs.

Services and treatments offered range from body care, massages, reflexology, skin care and more.

The spa's integrative natural approach to health includes a holistic center for healing touch, which is a compassionate energy therapy that supports the body's natural healing process.

Yumart is trained in Craniosacral Therapy, which implements a light-touch with hands that enhances the body's natural healing capabilities. She is also qualified in myofascial release, a highly specialized stretching technique used to treat patients with a variety of soft tissue problems.

"My heart is centered around the highest good of our clients," Yumart said.

While Moonlight Spa and Retreat offers an infrared sauna, whirlpool, steam bath and labyrinth, it's the dynamic balance between its natural environment and professional services that create optimal rejuvenation and relaxation.

Uniting body, mind and soul at Sylva Yoga is what yoga instructor Tracy Chapple is all about.

In her late 30s, a doctor told her she was "shrinking" and was instructed to seek hormone replacement therapy.

"I thought to myself there's got to be a better way so I started doing yoga and it works," Chapple said.

Chapple has been practicing the alignment oriented Iyengar yoga technique for 12 years which can incorporate yoga props such as belts and blocks.

Teaching this technique for 10 years in downtown Sylva, Chapple is confident Iyengar yoga is great for beginners as well as experienced students as it aims to unite the body, mind and spirit for health and well-being.

She describes her instructor style as "gentle" and "humorous," and strives to continue building a yoga community that provides positive changes whether that involves bringing cans of food to class for worthy causes or doing community work.

Chapple teaches psychology at Southwestern Community College as well as an average of three yoga classes a week and offers private lessons and in-house presentations.

While yoga is extremely good for building strength and flexibility, its benefits with stress management, meditation and deep breathing address a person's physical and psychological health, according to Chapple.

"I started noticing that yoga made me so much calmer with greater equanimity, peace, and open-heartedness. So the biggest benefits began to be psychological, emotional, and spiritual," Chapple said. "It's really been the best thing I've done for myself." 

Your Herbalist, also known as David Cirka, believes that most of today's health problems are directly connected to what a person eats.

His health food store, Your Herbalist, is based in natural healing and while Cirka believes "every illness has an herb," he stands firm that his store "is place to come if you are looking to get well."

"We want every person to be totally healthy, happy and productive and that's why we've been doing this for 20 years," Cirka said.

Cirka feels knowledge is the key to people learning how to take care of themselves and uses a three-step process to help people live better.

"The first step to natural healing is to make a conscious decision that you want to get and stay well regardless of what you have to do to accomplish this goal" Cirka said.

The second step involves obtaining a "cleanse kit" to cleanse the body and a list of behavior adaptation suggestions from Your Herbalist.

Cleansing releases stored toxins and waste materials from the body relieving stress on organs as well as other bodily systems.

Cirka believes most people see and feel a difference in about a week and suggests a person do this twice a year.

The third step is to schedule an appointment with Cirka during the cleansing process where he will ask questions pertaining to a persons needs based on age, gender and behavioral patterns. At the client's request, this information may be used to create a personalized herbal formulas to supply them with their daily supplemental needs.

"There's no such thing as a magic pill,' Cirka said. "To have great health, happiness and productivity, you need to work at it everyday. People can take back control of their lives."

Discovering the holistic healing services amidst the Great Smoky Mountains can awaken your ambitions mind, body and soul. There's no better place to seek a well-balanced life than Jackson County where a variety of progressive and preventative expertise's offer answers to living better, being healthier while striving for wholeness.