Stopping the Clock in Scotland
The garden terrace at GlenEagles, perfect for breakfast I love the term the folks across the pond use for vacations: holidays, or “hols” for short. It’s perfectly descriptive, suggesting a sense of celebration and release. Another evocative term they use is “break,” as in the kids are on school break. It suggests a break from [...]
Finding a Cure for Back Pain at Rancho La Puerta
I went to Rancho La Puerta, the legendary wellness retreat and spa in Tecate, Mexico, to whip myself into shape and get healthy and centered. Certainly those goals seemed ambitious enough for one week. What happened instead was quite unexpected; I discovered a series of classes and activities that allowed me to focus on alleviating [...]
Yosemite’s Tenaya Lodge Unveils New Wellness Spa
A garden gate lures at Tenaya Lodge Like many Californians, I love Yosemite but don’t visit very often, scared away by the hordes of tourists who can turn the valley floor into a giant big parking lot, albeit one with spectacular views. But there’s an easy way to enjoy Yosemite while at the same time [...]
Best Healthy Aging Advice Ever from Rancho La Puerta
One of inspiring aging-related messages at Rancho La Puerta I haven’t had a lot of examples of healthy aging in my personal life; sadly, both of my parents died at relatively young ages. So I find myself constantly on the watch for role models to learn from; I’m hungry for the example of others as [...]
Rancho La Puerta: A Wellness Retreat Ahead of Its Time
Sunrise on Mount Kuchumaa This week I have a chance to visit a place I’ve been hearing about all my life. Legendary Esalen, the Big Sur retreat that everyone raved about while I was growing up in the crazy ’70s? Nope, not Esalen — Esalen was modeled on this place. It’s Rancho La Puerta, founded [...]
Re-Fresh for Fall at a San Francisco Wellness Spa
Shirodhara = stress relief September brings excitement, yes, but along with that brave-new-start feeling comes a wallop of stress. It’s easy to feel like there’s just way, way too much to do and not enough time, money, energy, and attention to get it all done. When you feel you’re about to lose it — or [...]
Borinquen: A Hot Springs That’s Truly Volcanic
I’m having a surreal moment. I’m standing, covered head to feet in slick, graphite-colored volcanic mud, when suddenly the deep guttural honk of a howler monkey reverberates almost directly overhead. I walk gingerly up the slatted wooden walkway that traverses the boiling hot river, craning my neck for a glimpse of the monkeys and at [...]
The Sound of Inner Silence in the Costa Rican Cloud Forest
Since arriving at El Silencio Lodge, an über-private nature retreat in Costa Rica’s high volcanic mountains, I’ve been contemplating the meaning of silence. Because silence, at least here in the jungle during the early days of the rainy season, is anything but quiet. Let’s start with the cicadas, which sound like buzz saws about ten [...]
Treating Yourself to the Treasures of Tribal Arizona
Imagine having a Native American healing based on traditions so secret and private that a panel of tribal elders had to approve the course of treatment ahead of time. That’s the lure of the Aji Spa at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass, the only luxury resort in the U.S. located on an Indian reservation and [...]
Top 5 Spa Trends: Las Vegas Shows the Way to Relaxation
I just returned from Las Vegas, where the over-the-top new CityCenter development boasts not one, not two, but three elegant new spas, each in the character of the hotel that houses it. The quest for distinction goes deeper than style, though; each of these spas also offers innovative new treatment rooms that borrow from the wellness [...]
