Things to Do in Macon

Jordana Adler, a licensed massage therapist certified by the Pilates Method Alliance, fosters wellness as much as fitness at her boutique Discipline Pilates studio. Drawing on her thorough knowledge of myoskeletal alignment and other facets of health, she can target chronic pains in private sessions or work with larger assemblies.

Her studio’s group classes strengthen participants with diverse Pilates modalities, from standing routines that promote alignment to jump intervals, which employ the reformer machine for a joint-friendly cardio workout. Postworkout, patrons can detangle muscles under the percussive Thumper massage device, which combines the precision of a machine with the comfort of a machine that has learned to bake cookies.

When the neon curlicues above its marquee first lit up in 1916, the Capitol Theatre promised Macon residents the finest movie-going experience available, with cozy leather seats and a gold-fiber screen. After shutting down in 1976, the theater languished for 30 years, suffering from water damage and neglect until renovation began in 2003, restoring the space to its former glory. Brass-banisters encircle the wrap-around balconies above the venue’s open floor, dotted with cabaret-style tables and seats occupied by frugal 1920s ghosts still trying to get their 15-cents worth from their original admission.    

Nestled amid the scenic Georgian countryside, Three Angel Farm invites students of all experience levels to settle into the saddles of seasoned, reliable training horses. Skilled instructors draw on their experiences working with special-needs children in therapeutic riding settings as they carefully match mount and pupil, limiting class sizes to around five in order to give each saddle-filler adequate attention. Above all else, the farm’s equestrians prioritize communication and emotional bonding between rider and horse to help them develop strong relationships and respect for one another despite their differing tastes in footwear.

With a PhD in nursing from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, registered nurse Carol Dean Baker understands that wellness involves more than getting a physical every year. That’s why, in addition to her nursing practice, she helms PureBalance, a yoga studio dedicated to building a health-oriented community.

The studio’s eclectic offerings range from Vinyasa sessions in an 85-degree room to basic Hatha classes focusing on breath work and meditation. Flexibility-enhancing sessions emphasize deep, slow stretches of major muscle groups, and condensed classes pack a full course’s punch into just 45 minutes without resorting to cheap time savers such as eliminating the exhalation portion of each breath.

Perry Country Club’s par 71 course sends golfers across 6,465 yards of bermuda-grass fairways sculpted through the towering pines. A vanguard of brand-new 2012 E-Z-Go golf carts slaloms across the emerald landscape, hastening the 18-hole odyssey as passengers take in views of native flowers and seek out treasure troves of divot tools buried in strategically placed sand traps. Rippling waterways dot the relatively flat course, adding to the verdant scenery as they wait to snatch the life force of errant drives or ill-struck approaches. Clubbers can prepare for their pin-hunting walkabout with a stint at the onsite driving range, and club members may cool off weary bodies or hot-tempered 9-irons during a postround dip in the club's outdoor pool.

Spotlight Theatres Eisenhower 6 screens enrapture audiences with first-run movies. In each movie house, digital sounds and visual projections of fresh Hollywood films alight inner emotions of audiences resting in plush, high-backed stadium seats—each outfitted with a coin-operated mustache comb—or thrown directly into the action through 3-D technology. As eyes and ears relish motion-picture pursuits, soda, candy, and bounties of salty, crunchy popcorn emerge from the concession stand to occupy chatty mouths or catapult towards the screen to feed the hungry actors.