SPA LIFE

A Visit To Two Desert Resorts

Warm weather is the perfect time for a wellness tune-up. After the recent ups and downs, earthquakes, eclipses and other all-involving stressors, an escape with a focus on oneself is the prescription, a chance for personal spring-summer cleaning.

I feel the cleansing spirit best when I’m in a desert-like setting. There’s something magical about open spaces --healthful living with a dose of spirituality mixed with physical activity -- that makes everything seem all right.

Here are two of my favorite spa and wellness escapes. They let me step back, reflect, and re-center, just what I need to face the world.  

MARVELOUS MIRAVAL
I operate at hyper-speed when I’m in my Manhattan space, but when I hit the desert, my RPMs cycle down to something more akin to a snake, albeit a snake that likes to dance, turn upside down in aerial yoga, or do a circuit in a well-equipped gym.

An easy drive from Tucson and Phoenix airports, Miraval in Tucson is the ideal desert escape. Set in the Santa Catalina Mountains and Sonoran Desert, the wellness resort promotes mindfulness and self-reflection. For more than 25 years, Miraval has encouraged “life in balance,” teaching guests to “consciously explore the connection between body, mind and spirit” as a way of life.

Before your visit, a Miraval consultant calls you to review the workshop and lecture schedule for the week and help you select spa treatments and classes to meet your self-care goals. A session with a dietician can be arranged to refine your nutrition program. If you prefer private consultations, tennis lessons, or time on the pickleball court, those can be booked ahead of time, too. All is planned with an eye on having a mindful and personalized stay and setting achievable intentions.

To further effect a state of mindfulness without distractions, almost everything is included in the price of your Miraval stay from accommodations to meals, gratuities, and activities. A resort credit encourages you to reach beyond your comfort zone and select self-improvement treatments. I took the spa therapists’ advice and booked Näga, an exclusive Miraval mix of dynamic stretching using suspended silks, Thai massage, and yoga-like moves. Another Miraval specialty, Tula incorporates Gua-sha techniques to relieve tension and open energy channels. Both were perfect codas to days of activity.

The only extras are specialized programs like “healthy gut, healthy you” or “past life regression,” one-on-one appointments, and alcoholic beverages at dinner (yes, they do serve them!). If Miraval’s famous Equine Experience is offered during your visit, that’s extra, too, but a very worthwhile extra to teach you about caring and communion.

Challenge leads me to a place of self-discovery and wellness. I learned that I loved cardio drumming, an aerobics and rhythm program that’s as much about coordination as it is about focus. The “abs and glutes” classes literally kicked my butt and I started to feel healthier as each day passed. In between, Miraval’s aquatic center offered BOGA Fit balance training or simple downtime to read a book among the beautiful desert flowers. Two owls provided endless entertainment for those of us sitting by the spa pool.

Attractive casita and villa accommodations motivate relaxation and energy renewal. Some are adjacent to the labyrinth and hiking trails, affording spiritual and physical immersion in the desert environment. Other hikes trek deeper in the mountains and require a drive off-property. Are you afraid of snakes or cacti? Are your knees sensitive to inclines and rocky terrain? Knowledgeable guides will assist you in selecting hikes most suitable to your fitness level and challenge tolerance.

Meals are a nutritious (and delicious) mix of plant-based and non-vegetarian choices. Miraval’s servers advised me about dishes best aligned with healthy eating and my particular dietary concerns. I sampled black sesame somen noodles, a vegan and dairy-free dish, and an unusual lox tostada done up Southwestern style with avocado spread and Pico de Gallo. Nutritious and energy-restoring snacks like kombucha, hummus and guacamole were available throughout the day. You can also book the in-kitchen “Just Cook for Me” dinner for an additional price and watch while the chef prepares your bespoke meal. If cooking is your passion, there are culinary classes designed to help improve your eating habits.

HOME ON THE RANCH
Family-owned Rancho la Puerta has just entered its 85th year under the guidance of 102-year-old founder Deborah Szekely. With an unwavering motto of “siempre mejor,” Szekely and her team inspire “wellness in mind, body and spirit.” Located in the Baja California, Mexico town of Tecate, “The Ranch,” as Rancho la Puerta is affectionately called, is a popular spot for returning guests, many of whom have visited an astonishing thirty or more times.

No cars are needed, and shuttles leave early in the morning from San Diego to travel to Mexico. Many guests arrive in California a day or two before heading to the desert and mountains to adjust to the time difference. I started my visit with a brief stay at the Hotel Del Coronado, a historic resort on the Pacific Ocean. Inhaling the positive ions from beach yoga and oceanside walks put me in a slowed-down frame of mind, ready to approach my wellness experience South of the Border. 

Tecate is one of Mexico’s designated pueblo mágicos, and there’s a feeling of magic in the air that extends to Rancho la Puerta. Like Miraval, Rancho is a place to retrench, reset, and absorb the magic of wellness. The blend of woodlands and desert motivates personal reflection. And, like Miraval, there are no televisions to distract or disturb in guests’ well-appointed casitas.

A daily schedule of classes and hikes incorporates fitness, meditation, healthful dining, and learning. The lineup included dance, Pilates or yoga, weight training, and focused physical training, such as shoulder release and flexibility. Paths and trails wind throughout the preserve past fitness buildings, dining areas, a geodesic spirituality dome, spas, and even a coffee bar where you can enjoy a glass of wine—a good thing because alcoholic beverages are not served at meals. Spa treatments urge you to unwind in often unconventional ways. An early-week pressure-point massage was intuitive and somewhat uncomfortable but designed to set your wellness program in motion.

Meals at Rancho are vegetarian but not vegan. Dietary restrictions are noted, and you’re given an identifying stanchion to put on your tray or table. Breakfast and lunch are buffet-style; if something you’d like isn’t on the day’s menu, you can request it. My favorites were plates of sliced Mexican avocados and Rancho’s special peanut butter. Dinner is served at your table with two entrée choices. Can’t decide between vegetarian and seafood? Choose both, as I generally did, having shrimp with ajillo sauce plated with a chile relleno, for example. The Ranch’s culinary center, La Cocina Que Canta, offers hands-on classes with guest chefs to fine-tune eating and cooking habits.

Rancho pushed me beyond my comfort zone in many ways, in a good way. I can’t say that I’m the most spiritual person, although I’m a dedicated yogini. But the spirituality component at the Ranch is a significant one. I joined in a singing circle, a mindfulness-oriented classical music presentation, and a Feldenkrais session, each moving me a little further towards acceptance and relaxation. WATSU, a water-based therapy, was a perfect prelude to the massages offered at the spa. For even more challenge, you can brave being fully submerged as you’re moved gracefully through the water to effect physiological and psychological benefits. Nose clips are provided.  

The Alpha Dog in me had a range of physical challenges as well. Daily hikes got me up and about well before sunrise, one hike finishing with a fabulous breakfast at the Ranch’s farm where a presentation of organic ingredients was as much part of the experience as dining in the middle of the gardens. I also tested my endurance limits on a private guided hike, which took me to Alex’s Oak, a memorial to the owners’ son with a dramatic view of the US-Mexico border.