Spa Weekends Have Found a Crucial New Attraction in Mahjong

It’s important to have a plan, but also to stay flexible. You can’t control the hand you’re dealt, but with a little strategic thinking, you can improve it. Whatever you do, don’t be a bully.

As it goes in life, so it goes in mahjong. I discovered this in March at a Mahjong and Mindfulness retreat at Perkins House, a 100-year-old French-style stone mansion on a farm in New York’s Hudson Valley. The itinerary for the weekend included gentle yoga, sound baths, ecstatic dancing and meditation, all intended to fortify our bodies and minds for the main event.

Mahjong, a ...