Rediscovering Self in Sedona
Mii amo in Sedona, Arizona is more than a destination spa, it's a journey.
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There are some places you go to for the superficial relaxation of it all, for the sybaritic massages and facials, which, frankly, you can get at any posh destination spa. A visit to Mii amo in Sedona, Arizona for that purpose – though perfectly acceptable – would be a waste of what this potentially game-changing place has to offer. Mii amo means “journey” in the Native American language. Think of this place as the spa equivalent of a reset button on a PC overloaded with too many open applications; it’s paralyzed and confused about whether to start obeying demands or undoing commands. I was ready to press the reset button on myself. Years of putting everyone and everything else except myself on the priority list left me feeling as though parts of myself – body, mind and soul – that belonged to no one but me were slipping from my grasp. I went to Mii amo to see if I could reclaim them. For most of the two-and-a-half-hour drive to the resort from the airport in Phoenix, the rock formations sculpted by time and nature look vast and far away. But as the carwinds through Boynton Canyon, the red rocks look close enough to walk up to and touch. And in fact, they are.
The surroundings feel intimate, accessible and regally beautiful all at once, with Mii amo sitting like an adobe jewel box cupped in the palm of the canyon’s hands. Although it is open to the guests of Enchantment Resort down the street, the spa is secluded, making it the perfect place to shut out as much of the real world as possible and focus inward before reconnecting with anything.
One thing that does help create that temporal break: Mobile phones generally do not work here, so those addicted to their BlackBerry are out of luck. Besides, mobile phones are not permitted in the public areas of Mii amo, to maintain the serenity of the place.
When I arrive, I am warmly greeted and presented with a beaded and knotted necklace handmade by Indians in an Arizona reservation. I am ushered to my suite, a neutral-hued haven, housed in what looks like a series of two-story adobe apartments.
The spa itself is in a separate building, the modern, unfussy yet welcoming architecture and interior design of which take their cues from the canyon, while eschewing the Southwest decorating cliches. A long corridor serves as the main public artery through which guests navigate to get to their destinations – the treatment rooms and fitness rooms on the right, the Crystal Grotto and indoor and outdoor pools on the left, the café at the very end.
Mischievous winds blow through the canyon when I sit down at the quiet café for what will be the first of many memorable spa meals during my four-day visit. I watch the dust devils swirling outside the panoramic window and can’t help but be amused by the metaphor playing out before me. At some point, I realize, I can take my time to savor each forkful because there is no one and nothing to hurry or interrupt me.
A few times, the gracious staff and Chris Bird, the newly ensconced general manager, gently impress upon me that each guest sets the pace for his or her journey and that it pays to tune in to oneself. Bird adds that there’s flexibility to do what feels right at the moment, and that the spa does everything it can to accommodate that evolving personal trip, including changing treatments and treatment times.
They weren’t kidding.
The first of my six treatments is a 90-minute Anasazi Ubtan, which fuses Ayurvedic practices (ubtan is an exfoliating and nourishing treatment) with Native American botanical ingredients. My massage therapist asks me to smell and choose from one of three vials of essential oils, each representing a dosha – a set of physical and mental characteristics. She massages with the oil, intuitively finding places that harbor stress without my having to say a word. She covers me with an herbal paste that includes indigenous chaparral, wraps me like a burrito with thick towels, then massages my face. I shower to remove the paste and she finishes the treatment by applying a spice and orange-scented lotion. I’m ready for bed, but not before indulging in the chocolate dessert, which Bird recommended that I preorder to be brought to my room. I shouldn’t be eating this late, but hey, it’s my journey.
The next morning, I begin my day with a visit to the Crystal Grotto, the circular sanctuary of the building in which guests and employees alike enter to think and meditate about the intention for the day. I write my intention on a piece of paper and place it in guest, no matter the emotional state, is willing to surrender the inner self.
On my last morning, I head back to my room after breakfast to finish packing and look out my front door. In the distance, a rainbow-hued hot-air balloon rises against a gray sky. I could not have been given a more fitting metaphor of a farewell. For as I leave, I feel so much lighter, much of the psychic heaviness when I arrived now gone. I know that I have to come back to earth, but when I touch the ground, it’s a fresh beginning.
Getting There
Fly Horizon Air from LAX to Flagstaff or take a private charter from John Wayne Airport to Sedona. Mii amo offers complimentary pickup from and drop-off to the Flagstaff and Sedona airports.
Mii amo
525 Boynton Canyon Road, Sedona, Arizona, (888) 749-2137; miiamo.com
Three-, four- and seven-night all-inclusive packages start at $2,505 for single occupancy from June through August.
