Serenity Now

In this golden age of wellness, resort titans miraval and canyon ranch are battling for a share of your inner peace

- Sara Clemence

Jasper is ignoring me.

I’m standing in the center of a riding ring with a whip in one outstretched hand, trying to tell a horse what to do from 20 feet away. The whip will never touch him: The point is to use a sort of telepathy with Jasper, to signal with my body language that he gallop, walk, or turn around. But instead of heeding my silent commands, the horse prances about the perimeter like a kid past his bedtime. “Make a wall of energy behind him,” urges my instructor, Jenna. I aim the whip as if it’s a magic wand, trying to channel my intentions through it but cursing under my breath.

It’s not your average day at the spa—but then again, this isn’t your average spa. I’m at Miraval Austin, which opened in February, the first full-scale addition to one of the world’s best-known wellness resorts. Yoga, indoor cycling, massages, and scrubs are all on the menu, but mind-body programs like the one I’m battling through are at the heart of Miraval’s identity. The twohour equine exercise, Common Ground ($75 for a session), is billed as a way to identify communication blocks and “develop new paths to self- recognition and healthy relationships.” Swing and a Prayer, in which you strap into a harness and drop 35 feet like a human pendulum, is about release—a sort of Cirque du Soleil with psychic benefits.

In other words, Miraval is not just a place to chill, get your blackheads excavated, and drop a few pounds. It’s also a destination for reflection and growth. Yet in recent years, for the brand itself— and its most direct competitor, Canyon Ranch—a path toward growth has been elusive. Until now.