For every spa enthusiast, there is one place that you long to visit, and for most, it's a weekend at Canyon Ranch.
There are several facilities, however, so choosing one should suit your particular purpose. The original site is based in Arizona, followed by Lenox, Mass., but the newest one, on Miami Beach, is the only Canyon Ranch where you can actually reside in one of the 18 floors of the condominium complex situated next door to the Hotel & Resort, a place where you will surely experience blissful and restorative days.
Arrive, check-in and enjoy lunch outside on the patio, situated parallel to the ocean. Order a tall glass of hibiscous lemonade and nibble on the complimentary ladders of Lavash, an elongated organic cracker with various nutritious seeds attached, like sesame and flax. At 40 calories each, it is easy to chew up all five sticks at the table. The entire dining experience is organic in all ways possible: the view, the aroma of the ocean, the drink -- with pieces of hibiscous giving the glass a rosy hue, and the food, (try a Monte Cristo sandwich, a French toast with turkey and melted swiss cheese). But wait, a complimentary sample of pinto bean salad is delivered to the table, served on a soup spoon. Samples are delicious and a great way to try something healthy and new, such as baked artichoke fries.
Just breathe. That’s what Meditation and Breathing class is all about – for 10 minutes. In a meditation chair on the floor, everyone breaths in "with a budda belly," says the instructor, and exhales peace. In goes calm, out goes peace to the world, observing without reaction or judgment.
Next, a walk oceanside, on a sidewalk built for Canyon Ranch patrons.
To break up the day, a stop by the Salon is in order for a workshop in perfecting your pout, or a new hairstyle. Your choice before experiencing the true shangri-la.
The Canyon Ranch Massage may just be the best massage ever experienced. Try it. Seriously. And if you can request Erica, even better. For such a petite young woman, Erica has been trained to dig deep into knots so tightly wound in stressed neck and shoulders.
When you are escorted out of the treatment area, you'll stop in front of a bowl filled with small stones, to which you are instructed to grab one you are drawn to. There are many iridescent rocks, as well as sodalite, a China blue and white stone associated with the neck and communication.
An hour later, head oceanside for an Ocean Walk at sunset, led by a former Boston Ballet dancer, who keeps the pace workable for 45 minutes of bliss. And then, head to his class, Gyrokinesis, and work your body with breathing and pretzel-like stretching movements that are energy swirling.
Dinner is amazing. The entrance leads you along bamboo wave structures into the formal dining area. Passing the glistening copper column of square, sit and relax during the first course. Suggestions? Try the plantain soup with an accompanying glass of Tasmanian water. The latter is bottled rain water captured from the purest air on earth. Grass-fed beef tenderloin and papardelle hand-cut pasta with pumpkin, pomegranate sauce and macadamia nuts – all in small-size portions make it easy to enjoy without feeling disgustingly full. Dessert? Why yes! How about a warm chocolate cake made with cocoa and vanilla yogurt. You won't overdo your fat allowance for the day, because every food has a caloric, carbohydrate, fat, protein listing. And the specials of the day, like the soup, are announced by caloric content: the soup today is plantain, made with chicken broth and 41 calories.
Bedtime brings the lulling sound of the ocean from your bedroom’s sliding door. With so much breathing and energy work, there's a good chance you'll sleep like royalty.
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