POST-STAMPEDE DETOX
Rejuvenate your body and mind with these three relaxing escapes
It’s time to dust off your Stampede partying self and rejuvenate your over-beveraged body and fuzzy mind from the past week and a half’s transgressions.
Chowing down on pulled pork, pancakes, corn dogs and minidoughnuts feels so right at the time, as does sipping Caesars or vodka and OJ just hours after sunrise. Eventually, it’s time to recover from the excess.
If you’re hell-bent on crushing every yahoo moment out of Stampede, you’ll eventually pay the price. When it’s done and over, you might be, too.
You can get back on your game with some healthful habits and rejuvenating landscapes that’ll make you feel whole again. Be grateful you’ve got another 350odd days to recover till next time.
WEST COAST CHILL AT NITA LAKE LODGE, WHISTLER, B. C.
Standing on the balcony of my hotel room overlooking pretty Nita Lake, I can smell the cedar trees all around and sense that unmistakable whiff of moist West Coast air. I make a date with myself to go for a run on the winding forested trails, which take you right into Whistler Village — 10 minutes away by car. I also make a date with the yellow kayak lying on the dock for an early morning paddle the next day.
In my first half-hour at Nita Lake Lodge, I’m already starting to feel like new; it’s just one of those places where you feel like you’re far away and know you’re going to leave in a mellow state. Once you’re here, the bonus is you really don’t have to leave; everything you need to help you unwind is on the premises — a short walk or shuttle away.
First, I’m off to the lodge’s spa for the Kundalini massage. This treatment is an ideal antidote to the leg abuse of 10 days in cowboy boots. The focus is on the lower back and sacrum, the seven chakras ( your energy centres), and also includes a glorious foot massage. (The spa also offers a Canada 150 treatment menu that includes body treatments like a maple sugar body scrub or a pacific pine deep tissue massage.)
Over the next 48 hours, I run on the trails in the morning mist, paddle the glacier-fed lake, head around the corner to Loka yoga studio for a Yin yoga session, followed by picking up an energy bar and latte at Fix Cafe.
I linger over breakfast and dinner at the lakeside Aura restaurant, sampling its Canada 150 chef’s menu with flavours from nearly every province, like the delicious Nova Scotia lobster appy and pork tenderloin from Fraser Valley B.C. My evening ends with a Canada 150 cocktail — called True Patriot Love — in the newly renovated Cure Lounge, with two-sided fireplaces, cosy chairs and, yes, a view of the lake.
If you go, half the fun of getting to Nita Lake Lodge is the gorgeous drive from Vancouver Airport with Pacific Coach Lines, up the meandering Sea to Sky Highway. Take the bus — with Wi-Fi — so you can sit back and take in the mountain and ocean views. The lodge offers many health and wellness packages, great for girlfriend getaways, honeymoons or just because you need a health-filled holiday.
FOREST BATHING AT SCANDINAVE SPA ( WHISTLER)
Surrounded by a forest, we walk from steaming hot pool to hot pool like monks who’ve taken a vow of silence. (There are frigid pools, too, but you will be forgiven for skipping one here and there). We are literally forest bathing, the Japanese term known as shinrin-yoku — essentially slowing down to breathe in nature’s oxygen. Here at the Scandinave Spa in Whistler
( just up the road from Nita Lake Lodge), this detoxifying delight is known as hydrotherapy, a tradition the Finns have used for hundreds of years.
People come from all over the world to enjoy the ancient practice of alternating dips into hot (around 36 C) and cold (15 C) pools, a restorative tension-releasing regimen, which many athletes swear by. The hot water dilates blood vessels, decreasing blood pressure, while the shockingly cold pools stimulate blood flow, releasing endorphins and toxins, giving you a bit of a heady feeling. You then follow up resting for 10 minutes, which can be done in a hammock or comfy chaise lounge in one of the solariums or outdoors in front of a crackling fire. In between pool hopping, you can take in steam baths, too.
There are no phones allowed (no Wi-Fi) — ergo no annoying selfies. The experience is dreamy and calming. The bistro has a delicious — and fittingly healthy — Buddha Bowl salad, best enjoyed on the outdoor patio while you’re wrapped in your robe and taking in the mountain views.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of a Scandinave Spa experience (there are four in Canada, including the one in Whistler), put it on your healthy have-to list.
TREAT YOURSELF TO A RETREAT AT AZURIDGE
Who hasn’t thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have my very own health and wellness team,” when you feel yourself falling off the rails after two too many beef on buns and beer.
Evolve Retreat Co., a new collaborative health and wealth company in Calgary, offers three- and six-day retreats that set people on the path toward a healthful lifestyle. The retreats are held at the luxuriously modern Azuridge Estate Hotel (and other destinations), southwest of Calgary in the rolling, treed hills of Priddis.
Evolve Retreats brings together a detox dream team that includes a family physician, a sleep expert, yoga instructors, a nutritionist, a clean-cooking chef, a massage therapist, a fitness coach and outdoor adventure experts who lead hikes in the nearby mountains.
My one-day sample of the retreat at the Azuridge Estate Hotel presented a jam-packed agenda and a stay at the gorgeous inn, known for its butler service and rooms that look out over the treetops toward the foothills and mountains.
The day began with a rigorous boot-camp style workout with Tommy Europe, former CFL player and Evolve’s celebrity fitness coach. While my legs were still tingling from all those squats, we were off on a fourhour hike in nearby Kananaskis Country (one of two hikes on offer). Back at the hotel, Aussie celebrity chef, the cheeky Alan Wichert, led a delicious and educational cooking demo, whipping up healthy smoothies and sushi made with quinoa, while nutrition consultant Yvette Styner doled out healthy eating tips. Dinner was a deliciously light three-course affair in a cosy dining room, followed by an eye-opening talk on strategies for sleeping better and a yoga nidra session (to help lull you to sleep).
The retreat is the concept of Calgary family physician Ingemaud Gerber and retreat coordinator Tina Green, who are passionate about helping people take their health into their own hands with a little help from some experts.