¡Hola a todos! I'd like to take today, Cinco de Mayo, to highlight my favorite resorts in Mexico - beloved not only for their wellness offerings but also for their innate spirituality. The country, known for its warm weather and excellent gastronomy, is the perfect destination for those looking to escape from reality and heal their bodies and souls. ⁠

The Beijing Winter Olympics kicks off today February 4th and runs through until the 20th. I always love watching the Olympics. The achievements are so inspiring! What’s your favorite winter athletic event or endeavor? I love cross-country skiing. I once did a run in the woods of Vermont under a full moon which was just magical and one of the awe-inspiring moments of my life. And of course, I love to watch ice-skating and ice-dancing during the Olympics! So, in pursuit of our own athletic endeavors – whether that’s training for a triathlon or finally learning the proper backstroke form – we’ve gathered a few hotels where you can channel your own inner Olympian.

Let’s face it - ALL travel is now luxury travel. And we all have different comfort levels of risk based on our life experiences. Interstate travel restrictions inject complex logistical hurdles. Some states have quarantines. Others restrictions. And they change week to week… well, really — things have been changing day to day! Safety concerns have many of us thinking twice - legitimately so - about spending time with our more vulnerable loved ones. Or making ourselves vulnerable by gathering in large groups.

Travel will be different after 2020. People are calling it the new normal. That’s a misnomer. It’s the next normal; it’s an evolution of the way we travel as well a re-evaluation of why we travel. One thing is for sure, for the foreseeable future, the pandemic will continue to complicate travel.

There’s a lot of talk in the travel industry about “revenge travel” - travel that is bucket-list, no-expense-spared, take-that-pandemic type of adventures. But there is another way to respond to what we’ve all been through, this surreal, collective trauma. That’s to tailor a profoundly personal and refreshing trip that will help you recover the bits of yourself that feel lost.

The crisp air also brings the beginning of the season of Vata, in Ayurvedic medicine. Vata is the energy of movement and air that brings qualities of light, air, cold, hardness, and brittleness that can affect both our bodies and our minds. Life may start all over again in the fall, but the fall also brings special challenges.

Canyon Ranch is a leader in the wellness travel sector and always has been.

Mel and Enid Zuckerman and Jerry Cohen founded Canyon Ranch in 1979 in Tucson, Arizona. They were originally inspired to start a health resort after Mel Zuckerman experienced his own success with improving his health when he stepped outside of his life. Following the financial success of the Tucson location, the Lenox resort opened in 1989.

For me, the fall is always a time to pick up a book. So as we celebrate Labor Day, this 21 for 2021 Series post offers a list of books through which you can promote wellness and boost your health from your own home, now and until we can travel safely. 

A decade ago, wellness travel meant a hotel with a spa. And while we all love the massage therapists, smoothie-bar mixologists, and trainers who transform trips into spells of bliss, wellness travel is now so much more. We craft experiences that are deeper and more meaningful. And integration after the fact is key.

Whether you prefer city sophistication or rustic bliss, here’s where to soak up some major TLC.

While DIY meditation and at-home manicures can do in a pinch, many travelers are craving the kind of transformational, full-body experiences only found at the best spas: seaweed mud wraps to reduce quarantine inflammation, Nordic hydrotherapy baths to cleanse and reinvigorate weary bodies, and massages relaxing enough to let your mind wander but deep enough to relieve pent-up tension.

As part of Premier Wellness Travel's "21 for 2021 Blog Series," we strive to help our clients improve themselves not only through wellness travel but also through domestic lifestyle changes. If you're not maintaining your health at home, you may not be well enough to travel when we can again.

It all began when…I was working hard in my dream job as an attorney at PBS Headquarters. Meanwhile, at night I studied for a masters in creative writing at Johns Hopkin. And I was biking over 10 miles back and forth to work, rowing in the Potomac, and training to run my first 10K. And I’d purchased a house and was looking for a partner to build a life & family with. Life was humming along, just like I expected it to. I had ambitious plans. But then, something broke inside my body.