Floating into Deeper Wellness
With its expansive coastline and inherent connection to the water, it comes as no surprise that hydropathy plays a significant role in many of the wellness offerings emerging in California.
Yoga-infused workouts are all the rage, but a subcurrent happening in California is yoga over the water. With Rubicon Adventures in Sonoma, your yoga mat is a stand-up paddleboard that floats you to a new level of relaxation and wellness. This innovative yoga trend increases your focus, concentration, balance and core strength while connecting you with nature. In Dana Point, Monarch Beach Resort offers both BOGA FIT and BOGA YOGA classes. BOGA FIT combines cardio, strength and agility while working out aboard a mat tethered in the pool. BOGA Yoga uses the same float-board technology but focuses on increasing stability and balance.
Float therapy, otherwise known as sensory deprivation therapy, has been growing in popularity over the past few years. Mot’us in Palm Desert focuses in this therapy and offers a sensory controlled environment where people float in 1,200 pounds of Epsom salts in 200 gallons of water, all kept at 93 degrees.
Pebble Beach is breaking down the barriers to sleep, stress and an overactive mind, with The Flotation Wrap offered at Pebble Beach Resorts. Spa-goers nestle into a dry flotation bed for a restorative wrap as they float freely in heated bliss. Guests can choose from three different wrap options, Swiss Crème Wrap, Cloud Nineteen Wrap or the Espresso Limon Slimming Wrap, to hydrate and relax.
Experiencing the Benefits of Temperature
Anyone who’s tried hot yoga or jumped in a plunge pool knows that extreme temperatures can leave you feeling both relaxed and invigorated. In California you can make the most of your workouts by utilizing fitness offerings like the below, which intensify your workout and revitalize your body using fluctuations in light and temperature.
Don’t have time during the week to work out? Santa Monica has you covered with Bulletproof Labs “human upgrade” facility on Main Street. Dedicated exclusively to biohacking, or tweaking your biology for better performance, this gym offers a variety of sessions under 15 minutes that will leave you feeling stronger and revitalized. The Cryotherapy session, only three minutes long, involves going into a -250°F chamber to increase fat burning, boost your immune system and release endorphins. The REDcharger session exposes your entire body to red (630 nm) and infrared (880 nm) LED light, which promotes muscle recovery, decreases inflammation and boosts mitochondrial function in just a matter of minutes.
Similar experiences are available during Cellular Recovery sessions at the new Upgrade LabsTM at The Beverly Hilton, which is opening in late November 2018 as the first biohacking human upgrade facility in Beverly Hills. Depending on the client's needs, Upgrade Labs offers recovery therapies including Cryotherapy, RedChargers, Breathe EZ, Infrared Sauna, Pulsed Electro Magnetic Field therapy and detoxifying lymphatic massage. The facility also offers programs focusing on physical fitness and cognitive wellness.
Omni gym created innovation out of thin air, providing South Lake Tahoe with the only infrared heated yoga studio. Unlike conventional heat, infrared heating directly heats the object (you) rather than warming the air around you. This allows the heat to settle into the body, allowing relief of joint pain and stress while detoxifying your system. Omni also offers guests a NASA-inspired air purification system, Beyond Guardian Air by Aerus, which combines world-class technologies with innovative design, providing clean, circulated, fresh air to help soothe, calm and relax.
Discovering New Levels of Mindfulness
Mindfulness and awareness are some of the most powerful tools we have, and these exercises offered in California help strengthen them.
In Humboldt County and Mendocino County, Pacific Outfitters offers courses for fitness and the mind where guests learn the skills necessary to create a self-defense mindset, while also working on their fitness goals. In Mount Shasta, The Shasta Yoga Institute offers outstanding meditation courses to help guests with mindfulness, while integrating different meditation tools like metta, mantras, mudras and pranayama.
In Paso Robles, Allegretto Vineyard Resort boasts the world’s first Sonic Labyrinth ‘Sound Circle’. The Sound Circle creates a series of soft, soothing tones created by wind instruments that evolve as one walks through the labyrinth. The experience is designed to provide a tranquil space that can take guests to a new level of relaxation and mindfulness.
For more information about fitness and wellness experiences in California, visit www.visitcalifornia.com.