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Scandinavian Traveler Creative Experiences

If you’re looking for a more creative yoga experience, book yourself a spot at Sagrada Yoga in California. Here, you can go on a yoga and wine retreat or combine a writing course with yoga while the “Calm, Resilient and Wild” course promises to unlock the secrets of the nervous system. Naturally, there are more traditional yoga and meditation retreats—all deeply rooted in the West Coast lifestyle.

CN Traveler The Best Yoga Retreats in The US and Canada

From a mountainside getaway in Montana to a hot spring resort in Arizona, there is something in North America for every skill level.

Set on 45 acres between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Sagrada Wellness offers all-inclusive yoga retreats that immerse guests in the beauty of California’s Central Coast. The eco-conscious sanctuary was founded and designed by architect Scott Currie and his wife, Eva Inglizian, an acupuncturist. The duo has been leading yoga retreats for nearly 20 years, and their wellness center near San Luis Obispo encapsulates their passions for design, holistic health, and nature. Accommodations range from private rooms with expansive patios overlooking the Santa Margarita Mountains to two-bedroom cottages with additional features like full kitchens and outdoor patios with fireplaces. Between yoga classes, indulge in homemade meals that use the seasonal bounty, take a dip in the saltwater pool or hot tub, or unwind with a glass of wine. With Highway 1 right at the Sagrada’s doorstep, it’s ideal for those looking to pair their California yoga retreat with a scenic road trip.

805 Living 20 Ways to Kick Off the New Year

Up Your Emotional Self-Awareness

Do racing thoughts and past hurts prevent you from accessing deep emotions? Reserve a space at the Calm, Resilient, and Wild Retreat at Sagrada Wellness in San Luis Obispo from October 17 to 20. Alice Kerby, a clinical doctor in physical and trauma therapy is on hand to teach you how to unlock the secrets of your nervous system. Using the practices of yoga, qigong, meditation, and animal imagery, you’ll learn to relax, rewind, and release stress and anguish.

Health Relax + Recharge

Ready for a getaway? We’ve got you covered with destinations designed to improve your overall wellness without blowing your budget, from restorative resorts to yoga retreats and spas that wow. It’s time to get your bags packed.

Sagrada Wellness Santa Margarita, California

This Central Coast center pairs yoga with other activities in its themed retreats, such as Pilates, wine, writing, hiking, or even live music. Free time is built into every schedule, leaving you plenty of opportunity to take a soak in the hot tub or sign up for an acupuncture treatment.

805 Living The Wellness Issue Take Your Vacation to the Mat

“Yoga” means union, so get in the spirit of the discipline and unite with like-minded down doggers at a retreat, where the intent is manifested by communal spirit and escaping the day-today bring. Sagrada Wellness (sagradawellness.com) in Santa Margarita offers themed retreats such as Yoga & Wine, Yoga & Pilates, Empowered Singlehood Yoga, and Yoga Hiking, all taught by accredited experts. Retreats include all meals, accommodations, and a designated activity program.

Visit California 8 Jump-Start Fitness Vacations featuring Sagrada Wellness

So maybe your New Year’s resolution to cut out sugar and run five miles a day didn’t quite pan out. Now is your second chance to jump-start the year: But this time, perhaps you can better match your goals with your preferred form of exercise, whether that’s an immersion experience, golf-based fitness, or trekking across the countryside. These eight fitness vacations, listed from north to south, offer a chance to detox, toughen up, and unwind in beautiful destinations across California.

Wine Country Trekking

Bay Area wine country

Great for: A challenging trek—followed by wine

In 2006, Greg and Mary Guerrazzi were trekking from village to village in Switzerland when they thought, “We have to do this in America.” They returned to the States and, with Mary’s sister, started Wine Country Trekking, the only inn-to-inn hiking company in the U.S., which allows guests to stroll, trek, or run their way through the hills of Marin County to the vineyards of Sonoma. Trip options range from three to 10 days, with the most popular trek being the 10-day San Francisco to Sonoma route, which also includes one morning of kayaking and a private, catered dinner. You’ll receive detailed trail maps and a packed lunch for your daily self-guided hikes; when you arrive at your evening destination, your bags will be waiting for you.

Yoga & Pilates Retreat, Sagrada Wellness

Santa Margarita       

Great for: Mind and body rejuvenation 

If your resolutions typically include the words “balance” or “stress,” consider the Yoga & Pilates Retreat on the Central Coast, where the focus is a combination of fitness gains and a renewed sense of self. Your day at this shared-living-space resort will start with a guided meditation walk followed by a wholesome breakfast before your first yoga session. Guests have the freedom to choose how they spend their afternoon—hiking or reading in a hammock are options—before the second yoga or Pilates class. Want to watch the sunset with a glass of wine? Feel free to indulge. And don’t miss the opportunity to stargaze from the ranch’s hot tub.

The Ranch 4.0

Westlake Village

Great for: A weekend push with a little flexibility

You’ll get eight hours of exercise, organic meals, and daily spa treatments—but with a few lifestyle indulgences, like free reign to use the Wi-Fi. Accommodations for R4.0 are at the elegant Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, where you’ll find an equal spa-to-sweat ratio. Group yoga and weight sessions are included, as are cooking demonstrations, body fat tests, and, happily, a planned afternoon nap.

The Ashram

Calabasas

Great for: A celebrity-worthy transformation

Oprah, Jane Fonda, and Amber Valletta are on the list of celebrities who have retreated to the Santa Monica Mountains to experience a transformative week at The Ashram. The program was one of the first of its kind more than 40 years ago, and today, the week of strenuous hikes, two-a-day yoga sessions, garden-to-table meals, and evening educational programs continue to push guests beyond their limits. During your weeklong stay, be prepared to wake up before sunrise, hike at least nine miles a day, and survive on fewer calories than you’re probably used to.

The Ranch Malibu

Malibu

Great for: A strict, off-the-grid immersion

Need a full detox from all of your bad habits? The regimented, no-options week at The Ranch Malibu will strip away what you don’t need (coffee, alcohol, Internet, meat) and amp up what you do (nature, hiking, yoga, vegetables), to focus your weight-loss efforts. (This is the stricter version of sister program R4.0.) You and a maximum of 17 other guests will stay in minimalist-yet-luxury cottages on the secluded property, and participate in long hikes, core work, and weight training, all fueled by organic, vegetarian meals. Your hard work will be rewarded every afternoon with a private massage, included in your stay.

The Biggest Loser Resort at JW Marriott Desert Springs

Palm Desert

Great for: A reality-show-style butt-kicking

You won’t be weighed on national television or sent home during your stay at The Biggest Loser Resort, but you’ll definitely be whipped into shape.The comprehensive program is not just about last-chance workouts, either—it also focuses on teaching you how to grocery-shop smarter and manage your stress. Meals are prepared by resort chefs and total around 1,500 calories per day (although you might score extra snacks, based on individual assessment), and yes, you’ll be encouraged to give up coffee, soda, and alcohol while you’re there. The main program lasts one week, but you can book for multiple weeks.

Cal-a-Vie Health Spa

Vista

Great for: A personalized fitness program 

Sitting on 500 private acres covered with citrus groves, lavender fields, and vine-covered hills, the Cal-a-Vie resort in San Diego County feels “truly like being in the South of France, without the jet lag,” says Gary McGiboney, the resort’s vice president of operations. When you arrive, you’ll meet with a staff member to discuss your goals, determine your customized meals (down to specific portions), and choose the mutliple workout sessions and spa treatments you’ll try daily. There are over 160 exercise classes to pick from, whether you’re after gentle exercise (candle-lit yoga), strength (Upper Body Blast), cardio conditioning (Piloxing), or just something new, such as a spin session in the pool.

Golf FIT, Omni La Costa

Carlsbad

Great for: Improving both your physique and your golf swing

If you want to up your golf game while also shedding some of those lingering 19th-hole pounds, the five-star Omni La Costa Resort and Spa’s Golf FIT program could be your game changer. You can opt for a one-week to one-month stay, which includes morning fitness classes, daily one-on-one lessons with a PGA pro, course time, healthy gourmet meals, blood work assessments, and treatments at La Costa’s world-class spa. The program is meant to be a live-in, intensive experience, says the camp’s managing director, Zach Cutler. “If someone is committed to a lifestyle transformation, there’s no place better in the world to do it,” he says. “We’ve seen miracles happen in even a week.” Plus, the program is not meant to be just a quick hit—you’ll be sent home with 12 weeks of meal and fitness plans to keep the momentum going.

—Jené Shaw

805 Living Give Thanks, Give Back featuring Sagrada Wellness 

Get Your Om On

By Hayley Kirksey

Sagrada Wellness offers all-inclusive yoga retreats in Santa Margarita, California at a boutique mountain sanctuary situated on 45 private acres just outside of San Luis Obispo. Sagrada Wellness is a one-of-a-kind central coast California yoga retreat destination know for its boutque style yoga retreats, delicious cuisine and acupuncture services. 

17 Dream Fitness Vacations

By Collette Stohler

12. For the Pilates and Yoga Devotee

Harness your core strength at the Sagrada Pilates Retreat in San Luis Obispo, California. Just a few hours north of Los Angeles, guests nourish themselves with vegetarian cuisine and take daily classes in Vinyasa flow yoga, Pilates, restorative yoga, and Bollywood dance.

Sagrada Pilates Retreat

Indulge Magazine Volume 1 | Issue 5                                                

Step Into Sagrada  

By Lauren Narayani

Wellness travel is a major tourism trend quickly gaining popularity all over the world, often in the form of destination yoga retreats. For those looking for a getaway where you can truly get away, the Central Coast offers serenity at the perfect destination, our very own Sagrada Wellness.  

Architect Scott Currie and acupuncturist Eva Inglizian harmonized their talents to create Sagrada Wellness, a boutique retreat center that offers a picturesque, primal experience of reward and renewal. Nestled deep within Santa Margarita (off of Pozo Road) on forty five acres of private terrain, there is not a neighbor in site of a single source of noise besides the songs of birds, the call of a hawk and then scent of wild sage.  

Currie, a green architect who earned his MA from SCI-Arc, has been designing spaces for over ten years in places like Venice, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and San Miguel de Allende. He designed their first retreat center in Mexico, crafting adobe cabins that offer guests a complete, authentic experience. Green design at Sagrada Wellness is natural, rustic, fresh and elegant with refined indoor-outdoor living spaces, modern amenities, and native drought resistant cacti and plants. Sagrada Wellness embodies its dedication to the natural world not just in its green spaces, but also in the philosophy of the Sagrada Lifestyle which is mindful and respectful of natural beauty in detail.  

As a licensed L.A.C. Inglizian is an acupuncturist and herbalist who practices onsite at Sagrada Wellness. Inglizian treats guests and local clients experiencing ailments like digestive disorders, stress, emotional trauma, and sciatica. She also provides therapy for pain management and performs treatments like Acu-facial Rejuvenation. Her passion empowers individuals and she finds many ways to inspire others as an informative writer and holistic chef as well as retreat host at Sagrada Wellness.

At Sagrada Wellness, guests experience a full-bodied sense of community with other retreaters. Inglizian prepares delicious, well-balanced and gluten-free menus filled with fresh whole foods at every meal. She brews detoxifying teas and greets guests upon arrival with her Welcome Tonic, a spa water refreshment which consists of organic watermelon and astragalus root. Dining accommodations are simple, elegant, and communal. Yoga classes are workshops, morning group meditations, and hikes are enjoyed throughout the day. Guests easily absorb the benefits of mindful living at Sagrada Wellness, as they receive complete attention and care with all of the thoughtful details that Sagrada offers.

During free time on retreats at Sagrada like the Weekend Warrior retreat, holiday retreats, and other cleanse/detox retreats, guests commonly book acupuncture treatments, swim in the natural spring pool, soak in the hot tub, venture on a hike, or rest in a hammock under an old tree. Enjoying these pleasures is a guest's "digital detox," as Currie coins, relaxation from noise-pollution and outside stress.  

Please visit SagradaWellness.com or call (805) 550-7636 to book a retreat, acupuncture treatment, vacation rental, or to inquire about sustainable green architecture.  

 Free People BLDG 25 Blog

Diary of a Wellness Retreat in Five Parts.

Part One // Part Two // Part Three // Part Four // Part Five  

By Julia Keim  

Yoga Journal June 2012
Bright Flavors / On retreat, food is fresh, simple and surprisingly sumptuous. Why not try it at home?

By Charity Ferreira

People go on a retreat to open to something new in both body and mind,” says Hugo Roberto Gutierrez Marron, the chef at Haramara, a yoga retreat center near Sayulita, Mexico, known for its fresh, inventive natural cuisine. “The food they eat should caress their senses, elevate their mind, and feed their body and spirit.”

Wouldn’t it be amazing if every meal you ate infused you with such a feeling of well being? Great retreat-center cooking isn’t about complicated recipes or spending hours in the kitchen. At Sagrada Wellness, a retreat center near San Luis Obispo, California, chef-owner Eva Inglizian prepares rustic family-style meals that celebrate seasonal produce and whole grains: a layered “fried rice” with brown rice, eggs, ginger, crisp carrots, snap peas, and fennel; kale leaves sautéed with sesame oil, garlic, and sesame seeds; roasted fresh poblano chilies filled with local goat cheese. “People are so moved by the beauty and the freshness of the food,” Inglizian says. “When they see how simple it is, they get re-inspired to cook for themselves. Which is why people come on a yoga retreat in general-to reconnect, get re inspired, and then take a little bit of that back home with them.”

Watermelon and lime agua fresca
Makes 2 to 2 ½ cups

On hot summer days, Eva Inglizian of Sagrada Wellness in San Luis Obispo, California, blends this sweet, refreshing drink and freezes it until it’s slightly slushy. You can substitute other ripe fruit, such as strawberries or other kinds of melon, for the watermelon.

4 cups cubed, seeded ripe watermelon
¾ cup water
Juice of half a lime
Agave syrup

Place the watermelon in a blender and puree until smooth. Add the water and lime juice and taste, adding agave and more lime juice if desired.

San Francisco October 2012
Make that sun salutations in San Luis Obispo

By Michelle Hamilton

The scenic drive through the Central Coast’s Santa Margarita Valley sure beats a cramped flight to Goa. Set on a 45-acre historic ranch with endless views of the golden hills is Sagrada Wellness, a year-old yoga retreat center for beginners and contortionists alike. With a spring-fed pond and trails leading to shared Adirondack chairs, fresh veggie-centric food, life here falls into an easy rhythm. Wake with the sun for coffee and a meditative walk through the woods, followed by a simple breakfast of, say, steel-cut oats prepared by architect-owner Scott Currie, who designed and runs the place along with his acupuncturist wife, Eva Inglizian. Meditative and vinyasa-style yoga classes are offered twice daily (10 am, and 4pm). And in between, you’re free to hike, or head a few miles down the road to sip wine at Ancient Peaks winery-after all, this is the southern Paso Robles appellation. Due to high demand (there were 25 people on a recent waiting list) Sagrada is closed for expansion this fall, but it will reopen in December to flaunt its new 800-square-foot yoga studio with a cork floor, 20-foot ceilings, and three sliding glass doors opening onto the oak trees and beyond. FROM $795 FOR THREE NIGHTS; SAGRADAWELLNESS.COM