Are you stressed? Is there tension in your shoulders? Has work been too demanding? Are you investing too much of your time into your family without finding time for self-care? There’s a reason why so many people flock to Sedona. It’s a land where majestic red rock canyons call on you like a hypnotic rhythm lost in ancient chants—all meant to clear your mind when you discover your own “YOUtopia.” Before you visit the area, the city encourages you to take the Sedona Cares pledge to be mindful during your travels. The pledge includes respecting nature and leaving nothing behind during your hikes.
Meditate All Day
Sedona is world-famous for its four vortexes. The locations are considered sacred and are reputed to have magical healing powers when you meditate at them. Visitors have reported feeling intense cosmic forces followed by self-awakening during meditation and leave the vortexes a changed person. The easiest one to access is the Airport Mesa Vortex in the heart of the city. You walk up to the top and are surrounded by a panoramic view of the canyon at every angle, and the area is large enough for you to find a quiet place without feeling crowded. While relaxing on the top of the mesa, you can take in fresh air, beautiful views and the sound of birds nearby.
For a more secluded solace with a touch of history, you’ll appreciate Honanki Ruins in the Coconino National Forest. There, you’ll find ancient petroglyphs and rock art dating back thousands of years. You can attempt to decipher what the ancient natives were saying about the land and take in their wisdom. The Boynton Canyon Vortex, is an easily accessible destination that’s lesser known and is further away from the city’s center. Take your self-care to the next level and visit all four vortexes.
Say Spa
Sedona has a multitude of resorts that are more than just an overnight stay. Many resorts offer a luxury spa, reiki sessions, yoga classes or group hike packages—all great for you to detach from your everyday routine and discover yourself.
When staying in Sedona, you should also find a mindful resort where its overall accommodation is catered to your well-being. Luckily, Sedona makes that easy for you. While the majority of resorts in Sedona have self-care packages, here are a few to check out. For a great boutique property where you can clear your mind, consider Sky Rock Inn, a minimalist-meets-bohemian destination that instantly puts your mind at peace when you walk in. The inn has spacious windows overlooking the canyons, and its interior echoes the sentiment that is Sedona—navy blue to represent its starry sky and hand-painted dreamcatcher murals as a nod to its indigenous people.
If you prefer an establishment with walkability , check out Amara Resort and Spa, where relaxation is a requirement for guests. The resort has a spacious outdoor patio with a front-row view of the red rocks and is surrounded by luxury amenities such as outdoor fire pits and comfy lounge chairs. The spa offers first-class services like its signature Rain Dance Massages with lavender, rosemary and sage oils, hot stone massages, detox wrap, High Desert Sugar Scrub and more. The Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock is another fantastic hotel where you can be pampered like royalty. Its eforea Spa is world-renowned with treatments like anti-aging facials, exfoliation wraps, and other methods like Sound Healing and Chakra Balancing.
If you’re looking to visit a place that isn’t inside a hotel, visit the best of the best, Sedona’s New Day Spa that has won awards and rave reviews by multiple media outlets. It’s a private retreat where the staff use only locally sourced organic products. While there, get treatments in gardens with sweeping views of the rocks, in the hot tub or by the fountains. In addition to the soothing massages and facials, the retreat offers manicures and waxing. There are also services catered to men featuring treatments like Essence Aroma Massages, foot reflexology, and Hiker’s Leg Massage. If you’ve been dealing with chronic pain, headaches and tiredness, try the well-known treatment Myofascial Release Approach, grandfathered by John F. Barnes, a Sedona-based physical therapist that taught 75,000 professionals his unique massaging methods. You can go directly to his spa, Therapy on the Rocks, to receive his treatment and unwind by the whirlpool afterward.
Soul Food
The benefit of staying at one of Sedona’s mindful resorts is that you’ll have access to its healthy, organic restaurants within steps. The award-winning Elote Cafe uses ingredients seasonally harvested and locally sourced. L’Auberge de Sedona, a hotel, where in addition to its top-rated spa, boasts fine dining right next to Oak Creek. You can listen to the babbling brook, breathe in the fresh air and enjoy a healthy meal like pan-seared Alaskan halibut or slowly roasted lamb loin. Vegetarians and vegans, there’s plenty of dining options for you as well. Check out ChocolaTree Organic Oasis, an idyllic place that takes pride in its menu that maintains clean air, pure water and their own garden. The restaurant does everything to be mindful of what it serves, such as 100% organic, vibrant foods, gluten free and entirely homemade.
Enlightening Retreats and Healing Treatments
Sometimes we need guidance to find our own YOUtopia, and that’s when meditation retreats come in handy. Sedona Meditation Center hosts retreats implementing the Tao principle where the wellbeing of each of us is deeply connected to the wellbeing of all living things. The retreat includes package deals where you’ll receive accommodations and a series of meditation classes and chakra healing exercises. Instructors will work with you through the healing process to help you find your true voice. Various classes include Gut Detox, Breathing Meditation, Vibrations and Brain Education.
Another great alternative is Sedona Mago Retreat Center whose mission is to “Love Humanity, Love the Earth.” Located on private land, the center offers a full package of accommodation, dining and meditative classes. The staff’s goal is for visitors to learn a method of fueling the body with different kinds of energy. In-between classes, guests will help themselves to the retreat’s dining center that caters to vegans, gluten-free, soy-free and dairy-free individuals.
Those who enjoy trying out-of-the-box—even mystic—healing treatments will find the Sedona Metaphysical Spiritual Association an incredible resource. Personal enrichment can be found by its practitioners of sound vibration, reiki, chakra balancing, homeopathy, frequency healing, aura cleansing and Qiqong. Aside from unique treatments, its members also conduct a myriad of interesting tours, retreats and readings. For those interested in the latter, the area’s psychic mediums provide psychic readings, spiritual hypnosis, past-life regression and intuitive development among many other niche offerings.
Don’t forget the real reason why Sedona earned its rightful title of a place where people come to heal. The incredible, jaw-dropping nature alone is therapy for many. Spend your days hiking the Coconino National Forest, climbing up one of the vortexes, going on a spiritual walking tour led by a native and watching the sun kiss the red canyons before the sky turns into glitter. And if you’re traveling on a budget, you can skip the meditation retreats and enjoy the natural playground. Whatever you find within yourself during your visit, you’ll have this precious land to thank.
