When thinking of vacations, many of us think of relaxing on a beach, foreign city excursions or going away to far off exotic locations. A couple of years ago we decided to mix it up and went to Kenya to a wellness and fitness retreat called Wildfitness for seven days. This was the first time I ever experienced a truly "active" vacation. There were seven guests and two phenomenal instructors. It was truly an international group at all fitness levels. We immediately connected and had the time of our lives. We were in beautiful surroundings and were given the opportunity to push our limits from a fitness perspective, learn about simple movement and how good it is for us just to move properly. We used nature and our surroundings as our gym. From climbing trees to lifting boulders to swimming in the sea...we did it all. We were always rewarded with a delicious healthy meal without all of the preservatives and processed "junk" we need to stay away from. It was a week without alcohol or caffeine. Guess what...we all survived without it and felt GREAT!
We had such a wonderful experience at Wildfitness that we decided to try another wellness and fitness retreat in Malibu called The Ranch Malibu located in the Santa Monica Mountains. It is truly spectacular. We went for seven days and I can honestly tell you I never felt so good in my life after a vacation as I did after my experience at The Ranch. Each day at The Ranch began with a morning stretch, followed by a healthy breakfast (all meals were organic plant based....DELICIOUS) and an incredible hike. The hikes varied in difficulty and miles, but were extremely doable for everyone no matter what your fitness or hiking experience was. After a delicious and healthy lunch you had time to relax followed by three hours of low impact strength conditioning and restorative yoga classes. Dinner was usually at 7:00pm and lights out at 8:30pm. It may sound a bit early for bedtime, but believe me you were ready for it. The most wonderful thing about The Ranch is that you must totally unplug from the outside world. If you must stay connected you're asked to limit any usage to your private room that I believe now is equipped with wifi. The both times I was there we could only get wifi at certain spots in the main lounge and as soon as you left the grounds to drive to your hiking destination. However, this may sound impossible to do, but I highly recommend trying to stay unplugged. It truly is the best type of detox. In addition to all of this we learned a bit about nutrition. As a result of both my experiences at The Ranch, I have eliminated all processed food, soda and some forms of dairy from my diet and added a ton of greens to every meal! I'm planning my third visit as I write this!
I've also tried Rancho La Puerta in Mexico. This was another wonderful experience of healthy eating and full of fitness and mindfulness activities. It wasn't as structured as my experiences at Wildfitness or The Ranch, so if you want a bit more leeway this may be the place for you.
So, when planning your next vacation..think about a wellness/fitness retreat. There are so many now that I am sure you will find one that suits your needs.