Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa, Aventura, Florida
“Here, we present the focus as being on health instead of just the pampering aspects of a resort spa,” says Lia Baker, manager of spa services at Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa.
Pritikin’s program includes cooking classes, monitored exercise, medical lectures, controlled caloric intake, stress management education, and nutritional seminars.
“We begin with a physician supervised exercise tolerance test,” says Baker. Based on results, guests are divided into exercise groups. Trainers often cross-confer with spa therapists depending on what they observe, and each guest is provided with printouts of specific exercises to take home.
For more information call (800) 327-4914 or visit www.pritikin.com
The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa, Fairfield, Iowa
Stays at the Raj begin with a consultation with an Ayurvedic doctor, who determines your primary dosha and assesses your health by taking your pulse.
Staff doctor Nancy Alonsdorf, M.D. explains that many health complaints, including fatigue and extra body weight, can often be traced to an excess of environmental toxins stored in the body’s fat tissues and muscles. Treatments at the Raj are designed to eliminate these toxins and restore the body to a state of balance.
Meals at The Raj are vegetarian, and twice daily yoga classes are available. In addition to spa treatments, there are ample trails for walking and hiking, and relaxed evening lectures with health care experts. Book an individual stay, or participate in organized year-round programs designed to address a wide variety of health issues.
For more information call (800) 248-9050 or visit www.theraj.com
Sanivan Holistic Retreat & Spa, Hurleyville, New York
Sanivan Holistic Retreat & Spa offers an intense wellness experience that can include guided fasts. The small, intimate nature – Sanivan currently has three guest suites – offers an especially tranquil vacation. Owner and director Saniye Gungor and partner Ivan Rivas offer organic cotton bedding, an ozone pool, fresh detoxifying juices, and organic foods. Sanivan is also happy to accommodate requests for raw food or other specialty diets.
“Guests are also welcome to help with food preparation,” Gungor says. “They leave here with a new knowledge of the simple, healing power of food.”
Massages, hyperbaric oxygen treatments, rain drop therapy, sound wave therapy, holistic facials, colonics, and internal cleansing are all offered. A short stroll leads directly to the nearby Siddha Yoga & Meditation Ashram. The Sanivan property also includes a large labyrinth, built by Gungor as a labor of love.
For more information call (845) 434-1849 or visit http://sanivan.com
We Care Spa, Desert Hot Springs, California
“This is a place for the rejuvenation of body and mind through the principals of well-being,” says owner and founder Susana Lombardi.
Detoxification is one of the most important components of a stay here, and the spa’s all-juice diet help flush toxins from the body. Colonics are also offered, as well as yoga, meditation, and seminars that address mind-body issues. There are also soothing spa treatments, mud and mineral baths, an infra-red sauna, yoga, astrology, and a meditation labyrinth – plus classes in nutrition and food preparation.
Lombardi, a trained massage therapist, yoga instructor, and breath technician, is deeply tuned into the nuances of personal wellness quests. It was such a quest that led her to establish We Care, and she enjoys constructing individual itineraries that help lead her guests toward their own goals.
“I think people are realizing that if they don’t make some positive changes in their lives that they are in trouble,” she says. “We must take care of ourselves.”
For more information call (800) 888-2523 or visit www.wecarespa.com
Traveling Tips
A little preparation goes a long way toward ensuring a meaningful journey.
Eat lightly several days before your stay. Susana Lombardi, owner and founder of We Care Spa, recommends a light diet for at least three days prior to your visit. Even if your plans do not include restricted caloric intake, this kind of preparation will help you adjust to unfamiliar foods and ingredients.
Prepare yourself emotionally and mentally. Adopting a hopeful, positive outlook will increase the likelihood of success.
That said, be realistic in your goals. A week – or even two weeks – of new classes, healthy foods, and inspiring lectures is a great launch pad for making long-lasting lifestyle changes, but it’s not enough time to lose twenty pounds or become a black belt in martial arts.
Assemble a few items that will help you be comfortable at your destination. Bring along an herbal eye pillow, an eye mask, and favorite CD to help you transition to your new surroundings and lull you to sleep at night.
Pack a great new book, perhaps one that’s set in the part of the world you’ll be traveling to. Reading can be soothing in an unfamiliar place, and a book that shares your geographical setting can provide unexpected insight on the area, enriching your experience.
While you’re at it, toss a sketchpad or journal and a few colored pencils into your suitcase.
Bring a notebook dedicated to the collection of informative flyers, personal notes from the lectures you attend, useful schedules, and copies of recipes – all valuable tools to help you incorporate your spa experience into your life at home.
Be open to new experiences. A spa journey is the perfect time to try something that you may have always longed to do, but have found to be intimidating. I have long held a fear of deep water, and the open ocean kayaking instruction I took while at a spa in St. Lucia helped me overcome that fear. You’ll have the reassurance offered by the presence of a skilled, professional constantly monitoring you and teaching the intricacies of a new sport or activity. For me, the moment that I began paddling my own kayak in the deep blue Caribbean waters was a profoundly empowering experience.
– Debra Bokur
March/April 2005
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