Spa for your inside and out: Miraval!
Our three night getaway to Miraval was a magical bubble of time where we were able to tune out the minutae of life and really focus on the big picture and ourselves. Although many may think of a spa as a place to diet and bust your ass working out, we found Miraval to be more of a spiritual and emotional recalibration. Sure, you may absolutely come to Miraval for the healthy cuisine, juice bar, exercise classes, nutrition talks and massages, but you would be so missing out to not go deeper!
And by deeper, may we suggest Wyatt Webb's life changing workshop called, "It's Not About the Horse;" a session with shaman Dr. Tim Frank; astrology with Carolyn Crawford; and the talks on relationships and living your life to the fullest.
Our daily schedule was something like: morning meditation, breakfast buffet (all healthy and delightful offerings that were also very satisfying), Energy Yoga, Vitamin C facial, lunch buffet, session with Wyatt Webb/Dr. Tim Frank/astrology, afternoon snacks and going to a talk on letting go and relationships, shower and dress for dinner (you can go in your robe or yoga clothes, but many guests do dress up a bit which feels lovely), go to dinner which is a seated four course affair by candlelight. Also, unlike several other health spas, Miraval serves alcohol (and caffeine!) should you want it. We love a spa that has a real bar to complement its juice bar. As we believe in balance, we had our green juice in the mornings and a glass of wine at night!
Miraval is set in the sublime Sonoran Desert, a desert which actually has all kinds of plants and flowers that are native just to it. The air is dry and hot and the view of the mountains is awe inspiring and elevating. One of our favorite moments was walking the meandering desert paths that border the property at sunset. Actually, we were so busy taking all of the classes and having sessions that we wish we had had one more day for a little more downtime to wander about on our own, read, and write in our journals. Time to integrate and assimilate all of what we had learned and shed during our brief yet transformational three night visit.
What we love so much about Miraval is their balanced approach, their mantra is, "Life in Balance," after all! And also their approach of empowering their guests to make the best decisions for themselves. If a guest feels like having two desserts at dinner, amen. If she feels like having a bottle of wine at dinner, her choice. Coffee in the morning? No judgement. Simply hit the spa and lie by the pool all day? Fine. If she (or he, there are some men that go!), would like to craft a more balanced program like we did, they orchestrate it beautifully. Basically, everyone who comes can find and get what it is they need. Speaking of mantras, one of our Wild Precious Life mantras is, "You are your own best guide," and Miraval sets an inspired and bountiful stage to reach for the stars and ground into this beautiful earth simultaneously. A perfect stage for an upcoming Wild Precious Life retreat? Stay tuned! xoxo