A wellness resort that values ​​healing

Just 40 minutes outside of San Jose, Costa Rica, when you arrive at The Retreat’s minimalist, pristine luxury lofts, you’ll realize that your “retreat” isn’t all that different from what you’d find at some futuristic wellness resort. It’s easy to assume that there isn’t. In LA. But when you step outside to the spacious balcony atop a crystal mountain overlooking a lush valley, the only movement you see is not from humans, but from creatures in the canopy and sky. I realize that. very A different view of the Pacific Ocean.

Costa Rican nature inspired the design of this property. architectural digestFeng Shui expert David Cho subtly incorporates the five key elements of this ancient Asian philosophy: wood, fire, water, earth, and metal into interiors. The retreat sits on a crystal foundation, which flows into the water that feeds the on-site organic farm and a stream from the tap. That’s why the resort’s founder, Diana Stobo, commissioned her designer Rebecca Norman to create wall hangings throughout the space. It is made of selenite, a white gypsum mineral that is believed to remove obstacles and negative energy. “Crystals evoke everything that needs healing, so there’s no better place than a pile of crystals to create a healing facility,” Stobo told me.

Why focus on healing? The idea for The Retreat came from Stobo’s own healing journey. After Ms. Stobo conceived her son through IVF, she was frustrated with dealing with myriad health problems. She started vomiting blood so she went to the hospital and found out she had a bleeding ulcer. Although she was prescribed medication that she would need to take for the rest of her life, Stobo refused to accept that this was her only solution. After witnessing how her sister’s tumor was reduced from the size of a grapefruit to the size of a kidney bean on an elimination diet, Stobo began researching her anti-inflammatories. Noticing how her own emotional, physical and mental health improved, she dedicated her life to sharing what she had learned with others. Her first book, Get Naked Fast, a cookbook of anti-inflammatory recipes, was a huge hit, led to a national tour with Whole Foods, and has since sold 650,000 copies.

Today, Stobo shares his knowledge of anti-inflammatory eating through his approach to eating at The Retreat. His two restaurants at the resort, Sol Terrace and Gratitude Café, offer a completely anti-inflammatory menu, with 80% of his ingredients sourced from the on-site organic farm. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner (included in all resort packages) are “Chef’s Choice,” or seasonal set menus that change daily. It focuses on plant-based proteins and is served once a day at dinner. Locally and sustainably raised fish, chicken, beef and lamb are typically used. All are dairy and grain free, but may include goat yogurt or cheese. While providing food may seem restrictive to some guests, removing options “frees up the mind and allows people to give us control,” Stobo said.

While not overly prescriptive, The Retreat’s approach to food is an opportunity to learn about anti-inflammatory foods in wellness cooking classes and tea tasting ceremonies, or simply learn about how they each affect your body. By feeling, we aim to provide tools that guests can use at home. Day. Stobo encourages guests to feel free to ask questions and participate, which is why he intentionally made the central kitchen at Sol Terrace an open concept. The founders wanted people to hear, smell and see the staff preparing meals, evoking childhood memories of being at home while their mother cooked in the kitchen. Masu. “I want people to feel safe that they are cared for,” Stobo says.

This home-like atmosphere is pursued throughout the resort, not just in the restaurant. “When someone comes home, we always say, ‘Welcome home,'” Stobo said. The aim is to make The Retreat a nurturing environment where guests can meet themselves as well as others in the community. Lacking the assertive urbane attitude often found in American wellness resorts, the guests here (a surprising 40% of whom are men) usually strike up a conversation with each other and within days… We shared tears over each other’s opinions. Struggling. For women going through lonely transitions in life, such as menopause, The Retreat can provide guests with a place to feel supported and understood.

Stobo, 58, knows how difficult it is to go through menopause, especially in a culture that tends to keep older women in the dark. That’s why she created The Retreat’s newest package, The Big M: Mastering Menopause. The minimum 7-day retreat is designed to provide the physical, emotional, and spiritual guidance women experiencing perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause seek. “Transition is not what we talk about. It’s like adolescence, but in reverse,” says Stobo. Stobo wants to shed the taboos surrounding this stage of her life, and she wants to show women that she is “becoming a new person with wisdom and peace.” There is.

The Menopause Program starts with your body, offering movement classes that focus on strengthening your pelvic floor and core, building bone density, increasing fat metabolism, and calming your mind. “What people don’t realize is that you need more weight, slower, deeper exercise, and as you get older you don’t need it as much,” Stobo says.

Another misconception about menopause that Stobo criticizes is the common approach to eating that assumes women need to reduce their diet to just green juices and salads. “When you go through menopause, you need more protein and fat, but you also need to learn how to tolerate it,” says Stobo. That’s why her package includes wellness cooking classes that teach you how to incorporate plant-based fats and proteins into your diet, as well as the emotional support you need to cope with lifestyle changes.

That emotional support extends to healing deeper emotional wounds. “Past grudges and issues that you’ve been pushing aside come to the surface during menopause,” Stobo says. Through the Tarot She Cards and ‘Self Discovery Workshop’ included in the package, guests are able to cope with the trauma that can surface due to menopause. Similarly, an optional “Heart Wall Clearing” session aims to identify and release suppressed emotions and align with the heart’s current desires. One of our guests, Aviva Sharp, told me that her seven-day stay on the menopause package was coming up and she felt like she was playing a game of connect-the-dots. “I’m thinking of changing her name to ‘Zen,’” she laughed. She said, “If you saw me on the first day, I’m a completely different person now.”

This focus on transformative healing is a fundamental tenet of many of The Retreat’s programs, and not just for women going through menopause. Having studied Ayurveda in India, Stobo fell in love with the ancient practice, and through pranayama breathing classes and consultations with Ayurvedic therapists, he was able to determine which of his three constitutions (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha) he was. I discovered what I embody and incorporated those principles into my retreats. As a result, what foods, exercise, and herbs should you incorporate into your lifestyle?

Ayurvedic-inspired healing begins with a traditional Ayurvedic head, back and face massage, followed by two therapists applying herbal milk and medicated oil to your forehead. However, this is not the only ancient therapy employed here. The list of menus offered at the spa is extensive. Detox and energy healing treatments include an infrared sauna, chromotherapy, Vichy shower, Turkish hammam bathing ritual, vibration training on the Vibra Pro platform, electromagnetic therapy on his Behmel mat, and practicing Zen Shiatsu movements in a heated pool. There are treatments such as Watts Therapy. . There are also Crystal His treatments for all your needs, including calmness, acceptance, self-love, digital detox, and glowing skin. If you simply want to relieve jet lag, choose a Travel Recovery Massage that incorporates Reiki healing. Concentrating on the head, it stimulates the lymphatic system and promotes the removal of toxins.

With so many spa services to choose from, it can be difficult to choose one. So Stobo has carefully selected the most suitable treatments for each package offered at The Retreat. For example, our healing spa treatments for harmony and balance include three massages (one heart-opening deep tissue, one chakra balancing, and one Ayurvedic), a milk bath ritual, a crystal healing body scrub, and a Vichy water therapy. , includes an Ayurvedic facial. While most packages include an impressive number of spa treatments, spa enthusiasts can spend even more time at Vida Mia with the ‘Luxury Spa Healing and Beauty’ package.

Healing at The Retreat is offered not only through meals and the spa, but also through daily classes such as “Sound Bowl Healing.” Here, guests lie on the floor and are guided by an hour-long symphony of sound bowls, ocean drums and Japanese wind chimes, taking them on their own spiritual and emotional journey. Cristina Medeiros, one of the facilitators, encourages guests to allow themselves to feel, because “feeling is healing.” She said, “We have to feel our emotions. If we don’t release our emotions, we can get very sick.”

Christina says she witnessed deep healing even in her first month working at The Retreat. “When you see that we are supporting people and not letting them be vulnerable, that’s where the change happens,” she says. This opinion is echoed by Chef Sergio José López Castro, who currently heads up Via Mia spa restaurant Gratitude Cafe. As he guided me through a tea tasting experience while watching the sunset, he told me that many of his guests open up to him not only because he’s a good listener, but because they want support. . “We had a lot of guests hug us as we said goodbye,” he says. Fifty-eight percent of his guests return to The Retreat, and Stobo says some of them he visits three or four times a year, so it’s a “Hasta Luego” farewell. It should be (see you again).