This Wellness Retreat Will Make Even the Grittiest New Yorker Relax – Harper’s BAZAAR

Every New Yorker, at some point or another, feels the sporadic and urgent need to get the heck out—even if just for a breather. It took a whole 12 years for that to happen to me, and when it did, it took me to Sedona, Arizona.

It almost seems clichéd that my journey at Mii Amo—a wellness resort nestled in the magical Boynton Pass Vortex—was so life-altering, and yet, six months after my retreat, I still find solace in the lessons I learned from my guides and the peace I felt amongst the red rocks.

About Mii Amo

The resort is a collection of cozy villas, each with its own terrace and outdoor couch. At the center of the property is its beating heart, the crystal grotto, where guests are encouraged to begin and end their journeys, first setting their intentions while enveloped in the energy of a large healing crystal, and then reflecting on the lessons they’ll take with them—to avoid, as my boyfriend said, “returning to the rat race.”

Around the grotto is the spa, the soul of Mii Amo, where therapists lead guests through various holistic treatments. These range from the traditional—jojoba body butter wrap, lymphatic facial, deep tissue massage—to the deeply spiritual: sound escape, manifestation massage, labyrinth walk, past life regression, energy clearing, reiki healing, aura photography.

The spa also has a collection of saunas and healing pools, as well as the most beautiful refreshment and rest area, which faces the desert; there, guests can relax in their bathrobes between treatments and lose themselves in the deep, golden reds and earthy greens of the Sedona landscape. Another stunning view can be enjoyed from the outdoor pool—cool blue water hidden between the red mountains.

Lastly, and not to be dismissed, are the Mii Amo restaurant and juice bar. They are included in the premium retreat packages, and many of the fresh ingredients from both come from the resort’s own garden, where guests can also ask to dine, surrounded by plants, below the quiet, starry sky.

If you’re looking for a Hollywood endorsement, wellness It girls Gwyneth Paltrow and Hailey Bieber tend to frequent the property. Oh, what I would do to eat local cabbage in silence next to a glossy-lipped Hailey.

The experiences

I was a bit skeptical, to say the least, when, during my first day at Mii Amo, guides continued to greet me by saying Enjoy your journey, rather than Good afternoon or Hey! But it really is a journey. Most guests, including myself, were there alone, and many of us did not realize until the very end that we did, indeed, go there to heal some part of ourselves.

The first things you are given upon your arrival at the retreat are an eco-friendly water bottle (to refill at the potable water fountains scattered around the property), a handmade seed necklace, a tote bag (that I now take with me to work when I need an extra boost of zen), and a journal. I reread my journal before writing this, and it’s incredible what a few days of deep breathing, healthy eating, and mindful exercise can do for your mental health; and it’s even more incredible how quickly we can forget that. The last words I wrote in that journal were “I’ll take this feeling with me,” and I hope I continue to do so—once I finish eating this Sweetgreen at my desk.

Apart from the massages and facials, Mii Amo offers individual experiences such as desert hikes, fitness classes, and guided meditation sessions for people of all levels. You’ve never meditated a day in your life? No worries, there is no ego here.

I remember doing chakra yoga for the first time and being stunned with disbelief when I actually saw the vibrant orange and purple chakras through my breathing—as if I had taught myself to be cynical, but my inner spirituality hadn’t caught up. Afterward, I ate the most purple roasted sweet potato I’ve ever seen, picked right from Mii Amo’s garden. It was as purple as my head chakra, sahasrara, except it was swimming in warm butter.

That same afternoon, I had a hydrating body wrap, where my therapist Deni scrubbed me, moisturized me with jojoba butter, covered my eyes, and swaddled me with warm blankets—in theory, that is my claustrophobic, anxiety-filled brain’s nightmare, but by that point I was already so at peace that I actually forgot to freak out. I remember Deni asking me how I felt. “I’m good,” I told her.

“You’re good, but I want you to think: Could you be better?” she asked. Now that’s the million-dollar question.

The healers

New Yorkers don’t talk to strangers. Someone on the subway is acting out? Put on your AirPods and look at your phone. Someone says Good morning to you on the street? They must be from out of town. It’s not a great way to be, but it’s survival. All this to say I was way out of my comfort zone when I met my incredibly kind and knowledgeable guides at Mii Amo.

Holly, my deep tissue massage therapist, told me my body has deep stress pains that are building, and that the way to get rid of them is with steady, slow care, not with a brutal massage wand at full power once a week. I told her that sometimes my hands feel warm from anxiety. “Those are healer hands,” she said, “and that energy moving through your body and creating heat? You can choose how to channel it.” Holly told me the story of how she left a life in finance to travel to an ashram in India, and later to Sedona, to become a healer. I told her I cannot imagine being centered enough to meditate and shut the world out for hours on end, like the ashram gurus she learned from. She said—and I’ll never forget—“I can’t either. I meditate the way that works for me. I don’t need to be a Zen master, I just need to have a good life.”

With Manu, my hiking guide, I meditated on the mountains. We started out slow, on the Teacup Path, because my city hiking sneakers were not equipped to handle anything harder, and neither were my city hiking skills. But as we got to know and trust each other, we diverted from the path and made it to Sugarloaf Mountain, where we took our shoes off, found a way to get comfortable on a rock, and listened to the vibrations of the plants. We were at the peak of the Boynton Pass Vortex, a grounding center of balancing energy where everything seems to make sense. “Feel the energy and let it guide your day,” Manu told me. “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s very, very real.”

Is it worth it?

In a word: yes. In more words: You pay for what you get at Mii Amo. The room prices range from $1,200 to $1,500 a night, depending on the dates, and you can choose from a three-night journey to a 10-night journey (or, if you’re an Arizona resident, a two-night journey). The great thing is that all packages are all-inclusive, so certain spa treatments, movements classes, and meals come with your stay—and you can, of course, pay for more experiences.

Depending on where you’re coming from, travel time must be considered. I flew into the Phoenix airport and got a car from the resort to pick me up and drive me the three hours to Sedona. I will say the views along the way were stunning, so it was not a hard journey, but it helped that I was not in a rush. There is also a smaller, very scenic, Sedona airport closer to the property.

All of that said, I would return in a heartbeat.