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| Wellness Travel |
Mindful Spa
Shari Mycek
02/02/2004
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To most of the world, Miraval Life in Balance, located near Tucson, is a luxurious, pampering spa, heralded on-air by devotee Oprah Winfrey and lauded by top travel magazines as a premiere vacation destination. But to a growing number of people who are in treatment for or recovering from cancer, Miraval is a medical respite.
 | It is no accident
that Miraval’s
Life in Balance Spa
found its home
in the Sonoran Desert. The desert setting
possesses a
timeless quality that perfectly complements the Life in
Balance program. |
"The philosophy of Miraval is about ‘mindfulness‚’ bringing awareness and acceptance to our moment-to-moment experience," says Lana Holstein, M.D., managing director of Medical Programs at Miraval and herself a cancer survivor. "Having cancer really mirrors with that. Cancer provides us with this exquisite lens through which we look at our lives, how we spend our time, where we focus our energy, and what we want to change. In some ways, we should all have this lens. It allows us to see what matters."
Miraval’s unlikely foray into cancer care began formally four years ago when Robert Brooks, M.D., a nationally known oncologist based in Tucson, recognized the need to explore an aspect of cancer care not being addressed in oncologists’ offices. Attracted by Miraval’s remote Sonoran Desert location, luxurious casitas with gas fireplaces, private patios, lush linens, and the spa’s innovative mind-body offerings, Brooks initiated a retreat for cancer patients and survivors. Today, the retreat is held annually in December and features five days of educational lectures; one-on-one consultations with nurses, therapists and nutritionists; specialty spa treatments that include a "chest facial" (massage, mask and exfoliation) developed by a Miraval esthetician for women who have lost their breasts to cancer; and the chance for participants to learn more about themselves through outdoor challenges such as the spa’s Equine Experience, in which participants interact with horses, even cleaning their hooves.
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