Posts Tagged ‘fitness’

Choosing A Wellness Retreat For Your Vacation

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Working every day through the year can be quite a drag. So, when it is vacation time make sure you consider a wellness retreat. Not only will you be relaxed and pampered, but you will also likely leave much healthier. A wellness retreat is the perfect vacation for anyone stressed out from day to day life and needs a break from it all.

The term health spa used to apply pretty well to a place where you could go get pampered and enjoy some of the benefits of a healthy regimen. Then, fat farms came into the picture and turned our ideas of a health spa to boot camp for fat people where the diets are restrictive and dull and the exercise routines are punishing. Now, a health spa is more likely to be found in the pricey part of town and it’s a place to get a facial and your nails done. This leaves us with the term wellness retreat when we are talking accommodations that will spoil you and add a healthy routine to your stay.

Wellness retreats are popular all over the world.

Many would rank the Canyon Ranch in Miami Beach, FL as one of the best wellness retreats available. This resort sits ocean-side and includes a 70,000 square foot spa in the middle of very extravagant accommodations. At Canyon Ranch you can have massages, facials, thermal water suites, rock climbing, indoor fitness, and more.

You might pick another wellness retreat for your vacation, like Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort and Spa in Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia. Located in a gorgeous Australian National Park, you can experience nature walks for therapy and spa treatment based on Aboriginal rituals. You can have your own out-of-body experience perched upon this cliff-top overlook where indulgence surpasses the corporeal.

If you prefer to stay in North America, you might choose Alive Health Resort, for your wellness retreat. Located in Kelowna, British Colombia, Alive Health Resort has a rustic charm that’s hard to deny. It’s cradled in the forests of the Monashee Mountains, with breath taking views and plenty of hiking and outdoor exercise for the back-to-nature type. Once you’ve had your wellness retreat experience here, it will be difficult to return to the bustle and strife of the real world.

If you want to travel to a wellness retreat whose therapies include that of slowing down the aging process, you will be headed to the wine country of Bordeaux, France to Les Sources de Caudelie. You can experience massages and wraps that utilize, of all things, grape extracts. These therapies are said to enhance blood flow by strengthening blood vessels. A similar treatment is available from the inside out, as you are also encouraged to take part in the resort’s wine tasting parties every week.

The resorts listed above are just some of the renowned wellness retreats available. Most of these can get quite expensive. However, there are wellness retreats that can fit most budgets. Make sure you shop around and find that one retreat that is perfect for you and your wallet.

Sean Pratch is a accomplished poker player and designer ofcasino poker chips. Sean has aided with the design of hundreds of chips for games held around the globe. View a free gallery ofpoker chip sets

Animals at a Nature Camp

Friday, October 9th, 2009

At a Summer Camp with Animals Kids find out about animals at summer camp, if you choose a camp that includes animals in the programs they offer. Science camps offer sophisticated learning programs, but there are summer camps that include animals as a part of more playful programs.

Connecting with animals in a natural setting can put a child at the beginning of a lifelong sense of relationship with nature. A deep respect for nature as an adult often starts with experience as a camper.

Swift Nature Camp best known as a Science Camp has pond aquarium that offers a unique way to see the world from the perspective of another animal: pond life from a frogs point of view. This Wisconsin camp also maintains a live animal collection they call Natures Neighbors. Campers can bring their own small animals to camp with them where the animals can live in the camps Nature Center and be available to all the children

Children at Swift Nature Camp have the opportunity to understand our environment from hands-on learning experiences. These include field trips to a fish hatchery, to watch goose banding projects and butterfly counts, and even a close encounter with a live wild owl.

Swift Nature Camp has a voluntary four-level program that rewards campers with a special patch of merit, and the categories include recognition of special skills with animals in categories like insects, pet care, bird watching, and horseback riding. Campers can choose just the right mix of play and learning to suit individual preference and need.

The summer camp you choose should facilitate a blend of play and challenge that is free of the stress of the school environment. The presence of animals in a natural environment can open the door to discovery, adding depth to the fun of going to a traditional summer camp.

To accomodate that range with a voluntary merit program that includes experience with animals. A camper’s interaction with animals can be refined into skills involving horseback riding, insects, pet care and bird watching. These opportunities never come at the expense of fun!

The joy of discovering nature is the joy of discovering the world we live in. Living in a natural environment with access to animals is a perfect invitation for expansive play. Camp is a place where children can learn about animals as a participant rather than just receiving information. Camp is more fun and less stressful than school, and the world becomes the classroom.

You can learn more about selecting a wonderful summer camp by visiting Summer Camp Advice Find a Summer Camp

About the Author: