Article written by Adam Waxman.
The recipe for wellness and longevity is simple, but maintaining all the ingredients can sometimes require a reset, an immersion into an environment that re-motivates and recalibrates our health.
Nowhere is this piece of mind more immediately accessible than in the Caribbean. Here are a few rejuvenating destinations to lift our spirits to a place of ease.
Dominica – The Nature Island
Dominica inspires mind-body renewal with its volcanic springs, lush landscapes and deeply calming connection to nature. Photo courtesy of the Dominica Tourism Authority.
Dominica, the island of nature relishes in its healthy longevity. Its moniker is the “fountain of youth.” The renowned Jungle Bay Dominica resort overlooking the Caribbean Sea attracts wellness enthusiasts for yoga retreats and holistic journeys to physical, mental and spiritual health. Our yoga class is in the region’s largest and most beautifully polished wooden studio. Windows are all open to allow the perfume of the air to waft in with the warm ocean breeze. Our instructor also applies peppermint and ojas oil (native to Dominica), as well as sound to stimulate and relax our senses. She is so intuitive and knows exactly how to guide us to a natural harmony of body, mind and soul.
The tone is set for our Love and Harmony couples massage at the Bamboo Spa with rose pedals and candles, as our therapists knead us like dough with just the right pressure. In our post-massage daze, we don our robes and float to the seating area for tea. To support muscle recovery, detoxification and replenishment, we drink teas made with herbs from Jungle Bay’s herb garden.
The serenity of the forest and the morning dew, with tiny iguanas darting back and forth and the dulcet song of birds calling and responding to each other, enchant our morning walk through the garden, an “edible resort” with over 100 different kinds of fruit trees here, and they’re all organic. This Garden of Eden is as pharmaceutical as it is culinary. Ingredients here go directly to the kitchen and to the spa. It’s a farm-to-table chef’s dream come true. The adjacent Calabash Restaurant offers a panoply of ingredients freshly plucked from source.
One week in Dominica is the antidote for the turmoil of the world. Here, we receive the nourishment to breathe, the time to undercut the overwhelm, the adaptogenic ingredients for romance, wellness and to simply be.
Curaçao – Come Feel it For Yourself
With its bright Dutch-Caribbean architecture and easy island charm, Curaçao offers a wellness experience that feels both uplifting and restorative. Photo courtesy of the Curaçao Tourism Board.
Renowned for its Crayola box of colors, beautiful beaches and its very own distinct bitter orange liqueur, Curaçao is a haven for relaxation and wellness.
The aim of the Curaçao Wellness Association is to become “the island of healing.” With a focus on longevity and sustainability, the association lists wellness-related events from workshops to retreats throughout the year.
Along the stunning postcard-perfect beaches are resorts to pamper every need. Sandals Royal Curaçao is luxury in paradise. Imagine a massage with a paintbrush and Chinese Jasmine followed by the warm flow of melted candle wax tracing your spine. The Red Lane Spa at Sandals offers a veritable buffet of treatments including a lemon verbena body polish; an exotic body-scrub of papaya and pineapple mousse with Dead Sea Salt; massages with lavender, Himalayan salt stones, or rain drops of essential oils.
Inland from the and shoreline, Curaçao is a verdant escape, in the heart of which resides the simple austerity of Ashram Curacao. Located amidst the quiet of nature, relaxation here is inevitable. As a place to study ancient Indian wisdom, here we have the space and time to withdraw ourselves into yoga and meditation, with the aim of easing into self-inquiry and inner silence.
St. Eustatius (Statia) – Rediscover the Golden Rock
Framed by the majestic Quill volcano, St. Eustatius invites visitors to embrace wellness through nature, quiet and fresh island air. Photo courtesy of the Statia Tourism Authority.
Sint Eustatius, nicknamed Statia, is a lush volcanic island hidden just under the radar of mass tourism. Quiet, save for the sweet serenade of hummingbirds, it attracts rainforest hikers and divers eager to explore shipwrecks and coral. At the base of the volcano lies the Golden Rock. As a sustainable lifestyle resort, it’s so far off the grid, it’s almost entirely solar-powered and self-sufficient. Desalinated and purified drinking water showers the 20,000 ft² organic greenhouse that provides fresh produce for the resort’s dining. There, we are invited to pick own herbs and brew a fresh cup of herbal tea or a fresh mint Mojito.
As part of the wellness concept, plein air Sip n Paint experiences allow us to choose our own nook in the garden in which to plant our easel and canvas, drink wine and paint the day. Sunrise and sunset Yoga and Pilates sessions are lifted with the added mystique of the volcano and sea.
The Rock Spa at Golden Rock Resort offers a range of nourishing experiences, like skin replenishment with orange peel and brown sugar scrub, and a rejuvenating black clay wrap from the volcano. Soothing baths include herbs, coconut milk and spices. But the most unique treatment focuses on Tinnitus Relief Therapy. Following in-depth assessment and consultation, a fourteen-day rigorous but relaxing and holistic approach is applied to relieving this distressing condition. The highly advanced laser technique uses light energy to hone in on disrupted and stressed inner ear cells in order to reactivate them and reverse both the tinnitus and subsequent hearing loss.
An oasis of calm, Statia is a world away from the clutter and allows us to rebalance, retune, and rebound.
Article by Adam Waxman. Adam Waxman is a freelance travel and wellness writer, and senior writer for DINE and Destinations magazine.
For over twenty-five years Adam has contributed to various publications in Canada, the U.S. and Japan, including Fodor’s, Lonely Planet, enRoute, Dreamscapes, Nikkei Voice and Hollywood Reporter.
He has been a media liaison for Destination Toronto, Destination Ontario and sole Canadian member of the Japan Advisory Board for inbound tourism to Japan. Adam is also a New York-trained musical theatre actor, and has appeared on film and television, as well as stages from Off-Broadway in New York to the Stratford Festival.
