My trip to Miraval in Tucson, AZ, one of the best destination spas in the country, has me thinking about all the things that are so great about destination spas, also known as health spas. One of the best things is how easy it is to make friends. I met Claire on a hike on the first day of my trip, and we became "spa buddies." We went to some of the same classes, compared notes on massage therapists (I can highly recommend John Graziano), and dined on Chad Luethje's terrific spa cuisine together most nights. A really great destination spa gives you a protected space to think about what is going on in your life, and Claire and I talked openly, even though we had just met each other.

On the last morning we set off in different directions -- she went on a fitness hike and I tried "Zen Boot Camp," (too tough for Oprah but I made it through.) I was set to leave on the 10 AM van to the airport and was sorry I wouldn't get to say goodbye. But Claire came running from her spinning class to see me off. This is a photo someone took of us right before I headed off.

I still hear every day from a man I met at Rancho La Puerta. He emails a pithy sayings like "forgiveness will take a lot of the bumps out of the road of life," and it reminds me of the good time I had. I'm Facebook friends with Ellen Sussman, a writing teacher at The Ranch who recently sold a new novel. I think this social aspect of destination spas is one of the best things about them, and the internet gives us a new way to keep the relationships going.

I'm on the road right now and pressed for time. But I'm still making time for massage -- chair massage. I was in a shopping mall the other day and noticed a place where I could get five minutes of chair massage accupressure for $7. My right hip was causing me pain, so I decided to see what one of the Chinese therapists could do. I was amazed how much relief I got in five minutes of chair massage. It was actually more effective than traditional deep tissue massage, perhaps because the therapist could move the skeletal structure while working with the muscles and energy lines, or meridiens. With tip it was $10 -- the best buy I've had all year.

I work in spas so I'm always interested in the "behind the scenes" aspects -- the kinds of things that a lot of people don't think about. And one of the things that impressed me about Miraval, a destination spa in Tucson, is how they allow individualexperts to create their own special treatments, like Dr. Tim Frank's Spirit Flight.

This is highly unusual. Most spas want to have several people who can do whatever is on the menu of services. Spas don't like to say, "no, you can't have the Spirit Flight on Tuesday because it's Dr. Frank's day off." But management decided that Read more...

I've been thinking about how different people use the destination spa experience since I got back from my trip to Miraval in Tucson. A lot of people still don't know the term "destination spa" - they think it's a spa in a beautiful place, or an overnight spa (called a resort spa).

But a destination spa IS different. It is essentially a health spa that serves healthy spa cuisine and offers lots of exercise classes (which range from kick-ass cardio to yoga and meditation), hiking, wellness lectures, cooking classes, adventure activities and of course, spa treatments.

I tend to do a little bit of everything, so I can report back to you. Still, I tend to gravitate to certain activities that I love, especially hiking (that's me in the beautiful Catalina Mountains behind Miraval.) I love to learn, so I always go to lectures. (In fact, I tend to spend a little too much time in lectures and too little time relaxing.) Read more...