Tucked away in a horseshoe-shaped canyon surrounded by giant red rocks. Mii Amo (which means journey in a Native American language) is set on 70 acres of private land surrounded by endless protected park. Known for its vortices (energy fields) Sedona attracts top alternative therapy practitioners. So, if you like seeing a psychic every year, or perhaps have a numerologist on speed dial, or are going through a serious life change then this place is for you. Actually, even if you’re a New Age sceptic, the hikes are so stunning, the treatments so nurturing and the food so deceptively nutritious and tasty that you’ll still want to visit. There’s a state of the art gym, bike trails, swimming pool, in short plenty to do. Or you can just read a book by the fire.

My interest in Mii Amo was first peaked when I heard that Melissa Biggs, founder of  Indagare, has visited this spot almost every January since she launched her successful premiere travel company in 2007.  So about six months ago I signed up for Indagare’s Insider Trip to Mii Amo in January, 2023. As D-Day approached, a Mii Amo coordinator sent me the menu of spa options. While Mii Amo has plenty of conventional treatments, – straightforward massages, facials, wraps – it was the more out there ones that caught my eye. Chakra Balancing, Soul Consciousness, Past Life Regression, Reiki Healing, Hypnosis. When in Sedona …

A few days before my flight to Phoenix, I got another email. This time listing the 40-odd women who had signed up for the trip. I scanned the list and didn’t know a soul. Dread replaced excitement. There was more news. Our guest speaker Elizabeth Lesser, one of Oprah’s favourite spiritual thinkers and the author of several books as well as the founder of the Omega Institute in upstate New York, had gotten sick at the last minute and couldn’t come. A last minute alternative was found. Plus snow was forecast in Sedona. And of course, it was the warmest January in New York on record. So much for escaping the snow.

There were a few more hiccups when I checked in. Mii Amo had literally opened after a two year renovation the day we arrived. And not everything was as it should be. People were grumbling about that and about Lesser not coming. I heard one disgruntled guest say,

It’s like signing up for Elvis and getting John Denver.”

But even with these setbacks, Mii Amo’s unique setting, warm, talented staff and fabulous cuisine, plus the group dynamic made it a great trip. While I was nervous about going solo, I soon relaxed. At dinner the first night I sat across from a gorgeous woman who told me she had co-founded a huge tech VC.

Jesus, I thought, that’s not really my conversational forte.

But it never came up again or if it did, it wasn’t to boast but to discuss the struggles of juggling a career with being a single mother. The women who attended this trip weren’t there to discuss their own so-called achievements or their children’s/husband’s achievements. They were there to talk about the stuff that really mattered, the struggles we all face in this up and down thing called life.   People let their guard down at the daily group sessions and beyond, speaking honestly about their fears, stresses, hopes and challenges.   Some came to heal from a trauma, others wanted to set intentions for the year ahead. Everyone’s story was unique.  Generally, people were active in the morning and then attended talks and had treatments in the afternoon.  Meals were fun with my new buddies. We tooled around in sweats or bathrobes. This was no fashion show. By day four when it was time to go home, I felt fully refreshed and focused.

In Elizabeth Lesser’s excellent book, Broken Open,

she writes about when she spoke at a conference full of scientists and tried to get them to really talk to one another about what mattered to them. One conference attendee  had been so inspired by Lesser’s ability to get the group to open up that she later wrote a poem and sent it to Lesser who published it in her book:

When They Revolutionize The Cocktail Party? By Marilyn Sandberg

“Hello, what are you afraid of?”

Death

Me too

When you hear a Mahler symphony?

No, when I wake up in the night.

Me too

Nice Meeting you

Same here

The same honesty happened on this trip. Pretences dissolved, strangers smiled, new friendships were forged in a matter of days because of the trusting, open nature of the group.

I think Mii Amo makes an ideal girl’s trip, whether its with 40 or 4.

Every morning before my hike I walked over to the dimly lit Crystal Grotto for a sacred ritual led by a healer named Kim.

 She instructed us to walk barefoot around this circular space with its earthen floor and domed ceiling,  a pedestal of petrified wood and quartz crystal in the center. She told us to decide instinctively where to sit based on where we thought we were on our life’s journey.  Then Kim would approach each of us individually, ask us to stand with our eyes closed  and she’d waft some burning sage around us.

Let these red rocks cradle, nurture and ground you.”

Then we’d meditate for a bit. It’s easy to be cynical. But it’s much more rewarding to smell the sage, wiggle your toes in the sand and set your intentions for the day.

February, 2023

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“If 55 and over,” the label reads, “do not put directly against the skin.”

I toss caution to the wind and put the heat pad directly onto my 55+ back. If you don’t hear from me in a month, call my super.

Stretch and I like a musician called Miguel, a bit Marvin Gaye mixed with Prince. So, like normal people we buy tickets to go see him perform. My kids react like we are taking a gap year back packing around South America.

Julia, did you know Mommy and Stretch are going to a Miguel concert and their tickets are in the mosh pit so they can dance…

Julia: Hahahahahahaha

OMG

They’re gonna freak out.

Ignore. That’s my new mantra. Not just my kids but the Miguel security guard. Everyone in front of us in the line was flashing their IDs. I didn’t think it was so hilarious that I was too.

M’am, you can put that way,” chuckled the guard.

Clearly, he had not glanced down to see my age-defying, hip ensemble – black leather trousers, Duro black and yellow top and black sneakers (no socks).

I am just not so sure about this ageing thing. It sneaks up on me when I am innocently just going about my business. When did people start calling me M’am?  Or CVS get so mean? “All Levels Yoga” sounds pretty tame, doesn’t it? It is so NOT, all levels or tame. If it were, I wouldn’t have stopped mid-class, mid-pose (along with not-so-bendy Stretch) to assume Resting Buddha pose. Meanwhile, the remainder of the class blissfully contorted themselves into positions that frankly, looked unsafe and a bit show-off-y.

The above is a roundabout way of explaining why I fell in love with Rancho la Puerta (RLP), a health spa in Baja California, Mexico that made me feel remarkably more youthful after just a week. I found my people. First night I went to a talk on how diet can prevent dementia. The next day it was time to get down and dirty with some Zumba Funk. No one laughed at me, which is not to say I didn’t laugh a lot throughout the week.

Manuel, the beloved Puerto Rican fitness instructor, gave it to us straight:

Listen my friends at this age you are never going to have a six pack. Just get over it. Train for function. Train for health. Not ego.

Manuel with my friends Ann and Nancy below.

Touted as a “camp for adults” RLP is anything but fancy. To be honest, I was slightly dreading going. The rooms are basic with no wi-fi, internet, or TV and only the patchiest of cell service.

Around the ranch mobile phone calls and internet are only allowed in certain designated lounges. Alcohol isn’t exactly forbidden, but it might as well be. My friend Nancy, a regular along with her sister Ann and friend Andrea, told me what she really loves are the 7am hikes. I’m a creature comfort gal. None of this was singing comfort to my well-tuned ears.

But I liked the idea of a girls’ trip and exiting New York in February for Tecate, Mexico did sound appealing.

What I re-learned at RLP is how much fun camp is. By forcing people to disconnect, you actually reconnect to yourself and everybody else at the ranch as no one is buried in their devices.  I met lots of interesting people, loved the boulder-filled hikes at dawn on Mt Kuchumaa which borders the 4,000-acre ranch,

and got pleasantly lost on the ranch’s myriad of meandering garden-filled paths. I Hula-Hooped, Trampolined, and  did some sound-healing. Below are Mark and Denise L of Paradise (yes, that is their name), their company The Resonance Code.

I fed a few hens.

I even played Bingo. I almost won the Biggest Loser prize, but narrowly lost that. That takes real talent.  Every night I’d read a few pages of my book (no scanning Instagram option) until I fell into a deep, contented sleep.

Founded in 1940 by Deborah Szekely and her late husband,

RLP’s essence has not changed in 78 years. Mind, body, spirit all get a reboot here. There is so much to do that I wasn’t bored for a nanosecond, and the healthy food tasted too good to be healthy. You can go back for seconds, even thirds.

I try to give you so much to do that you want to come back. I want to offer something for every person, said Barry Shingle, director of guest relations and programming. Whoever you are, you’re going to find something to do.”

Shingle, who moved to the ranch from Seattle with a degree in Journalism 18 years ago, is clearly very fond of Deborah, and hosts weekly Bingo night with comic flair.

While I exercised in the mornings, I spent many an afternoon researching the slew of fab spa offerings. There is always a talk after dinner. My personal favorite is the weekly Q&A with Deborah, who turns 96 in May.

Deborah is a force; she works out five times a week, keeps a treadmill in her bathroom, is actively engaged in the ranch and civic projects in San Diego and watches her diet – no meat, chicken or cheese. Here are a few of her pearls:

Q: What keeps you so healthy?

A: Friends are very important. Loneliness is a pernicious disease. And you have to decide not to be lonely not when you’re 60 or 70, but when you’re 40 or 50. It’s by doing favors. My mother had a thing about friends. “You cannot give with a closed hand’. The act of giving is the act of receiving.

Q: How do you stay so mentally sharp?

A: Curiosity. I’m really interested in a lot of things. I read a lot. I want to know. There’s so much to learn in life, and I never get bored.

Q: What else would you attribute to living so long?

A: I never thought about living so long. I live in the moment. This morning we had hail. I really enjoyed getting out into the hail. It’s sort of like having an ice cream cone… I don’t fret about the past.

Q: What would you like us all to leave with?

A: I’d really like to see all of you being focused on your own community, on your own people, share what you learn here to help others.

April, 2018

The post Getting Older, Staying Younger – From Miguel to Rancho La Puerta appeared first on Elena Bowes.

Miami is the ideal  long weekend break from my new second home, Manhattan – it’s a direct flight to clear blue skies and sandy feet. The city has great restaurants, throbbing nightlife, eye candy Art Deco buildings

and a whole cool Design District.

So what’s not to like? I suppose the woman in neon gold open-toed platforms, painted black toenails, glued-on lycra leggings, platinum braids and bubblegum lipstick on my dawn flight to Miami  might have something to do with it. Miami attracts all sorts of Americana, the good, the bad and the very tacky. I feel like an uptight alien or just someone who has lived in London too long. My existential crisis goes something like …

Who are these people?

Where are my people?

Do I have any people?

In moments of  panic, I seek counsel from Shomit Mitter who is much broader skilled than his therapist blog label attests. Nothing phases my West London-based guru who has degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge universities. I would recommend Shomit to anyone who has something troubling him (check out his on-line talks). Once I was so stressed out that instead of chanting my mantra, my gmail password kept popping into my head. Shomit’s instruction on how to be both “ruthless and obsessive” when stressed solved my problems quickly.

I emailed Shomit for some advice  on Miami, and here’s what he said.

 Everything has a soul, only sometimes it is very well hidden. The secret is to keep judgement out.

Hmmmm, I think I’d need longer than a four-day weekend to find Miami’s soul. I might be better off following  my boyfriend Stretch’s advice:

Don’t take Miami seriously. Miami is a place to go wild and crazy, throw caution to the wind. That’s what it’s all about. Frozen Margaritas in the afternoon, dancing on tables at night.

I think what Stretch really meant by going “wild and crazy” was what we actually did, namely Uber to the Everglades twenty minutes away, meet a total stranger in a gas station that sells big knives

and is surrounded by bored looking bikers, then have that stranger drive us to the shores of the Everglades where we meet another total stranger – Captain Ray – who then takes us out on his fan boat

for the next several hours to look for alligators. That’s what Stretch meant by going wild and crazy –  Fifty Shades of Green not Grey

Ever since we booked this weekend away, all Stretch could talk about was our Everglades Safari tour.

Meanwhile, I pretended it wasn’t happening. I even slept well the night before- that’s how good I am at pretending. Seeing alligators up close and personal has never been on my bucket list.

He’s got some serious teeth on him, says Captain Ray about Psycho Jack below.  I did not ask how Psycho Jack got his name. Funny, neither did Stretch nor his 15-year old son or teen friend.

Alligators can eat anything they can swallow whole. (this was supposed to comfort us/me) Now if that was a crocodile, we’d be in a whole heap of trouble.

A bit further on Captain Ray jumps into these alligator-infested waters to take  a photo of us.

My exact thoughts at the time:

Is he totally crazy? What happens if  Captain Ray gets snapped up? Where exactly are we? Stretch, do you know how to drive this boat? Does my cell phone work?

As usual, no one else on the boat seemed troubled. Or they’re all good pretenders, like me. I’m happy to report that Captain Ray did not get eaten. He jumped back on the boat, took us to another remote spot and then pulled out a knife. I wish I were kidding. He then started to trim some ‘sawgrass’ for us.

This here sawgrass, Captain Ray explained, the Indians loved it. They’d eat it like a Snickers bar. Here, try a bite. Stretch nibbles obediently

But this grass is real strong too. Its ridges are like a saw. The Indians, they’d use it to kill people.

At this point, it would be fair to say I wasn’t sure about Captain Ray.

But then he put his blade away and we went on a very pleasant boat ride home –  Home! Four letters I love. One thing I will give the Everglades is they are beautiful, vast and peaceful (if you can overlook what lies beneath).

The Everglades provide a welcome break from crowded South Beach.  It’s the largest subtropical wilderness in the US, a slow moving marshy river up to 60 miles wide, 100 miles long, flowing into Florida Bay.

Captain Ray may have scared me a tad at first, but once I realised he wasn’t going to kill me, I liked him a lot more and would recommend him and his tours.

Have lunch at century-old  Joe’s Stone Crab to complete the Floridian water-creature theme.

As soon as we got back to the 1 Hotel South Beach  I had a deep tissue massage at the zen Haybarn Spa, its first foray outside the UK,

to wash away any remnants of post-traumatic alligator disorder.

I like the 1 Hotel – its chic, eco-friendly (sublime wood surfaces throughout) and has an expansive fun roof terrace bar and a gorgeous pool.

My only quibbles – I was born with a silver quibble in my mouth – the hotel is too crowded (7am to reserve lounge chairs during peak times) and you need a PhD to work the elevators. But in my Goldilock‘s test of Miami hotels – the Edition too shiny white, Soho House too scene-y and claustrophobic, the 1 Hotel wins hands down.

Next on my wishlist is the Setai, which I have heard has good service and is the most serene of the South Beach bunch. The new Faena is super OTT opulent and exclusive. not to mention expensive. But if price were no barrier (Wouldn’t that be fun!) then the Faena would be fine, if only I could follow my daughter Kate’s advice;

Every time you see red imagine that it’s white.

and in the words of Shomit,  keep the judgement out.

March, 2017

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Read my postcard in Indagare about this Italian jewel. And if you’re a Christo fan, don’t miss the Bulgarian born artist’s Floating Piers installation from June 18- July 3rd. Take a road trip after Art Basel and walk on water. A mere  70,000 square meters of shimmering yellow fabric will pave the way across Lake Iseo, a few minutes drive from the lovely l’Albereta.

May, 2016

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But the zen Haybarn spa always leaves me feeling pretty ommmmmm.

And the Farmshop is the ideal place to stock up on some organic delicacies ..

Or possibly a post-yoga bottle of Daylesford’s delish Leoube Rose?

Summer sorted.

August, 2014

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