My mornings at Ranch La Puerta begin with a long sunrise hike to the top of Mount Kuchuuma

 

 

 

Ready to press the reboot button on your life? Kick off 2015 and a healthy new year at Rancho La Puerta in Tecate Mexico. Fifteen years ago I discovered this ultimate destination fitness resort and spa — it changed my life and I have since returned ten different times. “The Ranch” is not a spa for women wafting around in white puffy robes to the sound of wind chimes. Better yet, this is a retreat for super-active people who want to dive into a very intense week of wellness, mind, and body as well as enjoy indulgences including: a four-star organic chef, a spa sanctuary incorporating aromatic, medicinal herbs and healing plants, 32 acres of manicured gardens, and charming Mexican Casitas to nest in after a full day of transformative activities.

 

 

 

With at least five different fitness and wellness options offered every hour, it is impossible to get “bored with your workout” at Rancho La Puerta.

 

 

 

The Villa Sol Studio Suites are my favorite room configuration with views of the mountains.

 

 

 

Scents of sage, rosemary, honeysuckle, and lavender carry you along the walkways.

 

 

 

To celebrate my exciting new gig as a contributing editor at UltraTravel magazine, I chronicled my most recent trip to the Ranch, which has become my fail-safe mechanism for fast, healthy, and FUN weight loss when I have hit a bump in the road to staying in shape, or just need an overall wellness redux. There really isn’t a “perfect” time to visit because the weather at the Ranch is typically a wonderfully mild Mediterranean climate. Brief winters are followed by a long, gentle spring, and summers begin warm and end hot with days that are usually in the upper 80s thanks to the ocean, paired with very low humidity which makes the desert air feel cool and dry. Personally, my favorite months to visit are October and March.

 

 

 

My gorgeous new hiking buddy Brooke Kanter strikes a yoga pose at sunrise. Coincidentally, Brooke was at the Ranch with my friend Jodi Guber Brufsky, who launched and designs Beyond Yoga.

 

 

 

The Ranch’s diet, which is lacto-ovo vegetarian, includes a seafood “catch of the day” five to six times a week for dinner, and several times for lunch. A vegetarian alternative entree is always offered for those who don’t eat fish or shellfish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Founded in 1940, by spa pioneers Edmond and Deborah Szekely, Rancho La Puerta draws guests to its glorious 3,000 private acres of gardens, mountains and meadows in Baja California, Mexico. An admitted spa fanatic, I find their fitness program unmatched – with a staff of over 20 full time instructors, and a choice of five different classes offered EVERY hour on the hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. My days begin with an early morning hike ascending Mount Kuchumaa [over 25 miles of trails offered], followed by a varied schedule of classes all day, including: Pilates, yoga, Feldenkrais, Qi Gong, T’ai Chi, dance, circuit training, strength training, water sports, spinning, meditation, tennis, and more. Sound exhausting? It is…..but in the BEST way!

 

 

 

 

Their are four different pools to dip in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you need a break to recharge, escape to one of three tranquil health and beauty spa centers where you can be pampered back to a blissful state, float back to your cozy Casita where your crackling fireplace has already been lit for you, and map out your schedule for the following day. My Travel Tip: For quicker muscle recovery, book a deep tissue massage every night before bedtime — which is actually at 8 p.m. for me while at the Ranch. Knocking out for nine solid hours a night helps me climb back up the mountain in the morning.

 

 

The sun-filled yoga studios are nestled alongside a vineyard.

 

 

 

Watsu Therapist Sebastian Skinner

 

 

HERE ARE MY TOP THREE RANCHO LA PUERTO REQUIREMENTS FOR FIRST TIME VISITORS:

 

1. Watsu Aquatic Therapy with Sebastian Skinner [above]:

Watsu is water-based bodywork performed in a 96′ heated pool, which is the temp in a mother’s womb. Receiving the treatment underwater allows the spine to move in ways that are impossible on land, allowing for deep healing, and a totally out of body experience as you glide through the water like a mermaid in the Adonis arms of Sebastian. Not surprising, I happen to notice several women booking follow up treatments during Sebastian’s week :)

2. Body and Mind Workout Programs:

Through meadows, along streamsides, and high up into the boulder-garden foothills of 3,885-foot Mount Kuchuuma, guests can choose from four different levels of the extended hiking program each day. The wellness experts at the Ranch are world class, offering inspired new practices, including: Acupressure, Biofeedback, Manual Lymph Drainage, Sleep Health, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and more. My go-to guru is Jay Dee Cutting III [below], the Ranch Wellness Specialist and meditation teacher who taught me a new mindfulness meditation platform called Cognitive Cardio. The goal of the exercise is to make the brain a more efficient, effective instrument that will last longer, combat cognitive decline and diseases, and help you regain control over your thoughts. Marcus Aurelius says it perfectly: “The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts; therefore, guard accordingly.”

* [For more information on JayDee’s Cognitive Cardio, please go to: http://www.cuttingedgesalesperformance.com/]

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO HIKE RIGHT? THESE EASY TIPS FROM RANCHO LA PUERTA TRAINER JAYDEE CUTTING [above] KEEP ME INJURY FREE & ABLE TO CLIMB OVER 50 MILES OF MOUNTAIN IN ONE WEEK:

HIKING UPHILL

1. Posture Is Paramount: The tendency is to lean into the hill, rounding spine, closing up the airways, stressing the low back – Yes, you should lean forward to counterbalance the incline but remain in a neutral spine. Hike with picture perfect posture [the old book on your head trick: train your peripheral vision so you are looking down but keeping the head up]. Be your own Posture Police!

2. Baby Steps: Don’t stop until you get to the top. Instead, just shorten your steps. It’s like biking up a steep grade – you use a very high gear [short steps] and you never stop because it takes so much energy to get started.

3. Stay In Control Of Your Breath: As soon as your body starts to breath short and shallow, say “no way, Jose” we’re breathing deep and long. This technique will add to your endurance by delivering needed oxygen to your hard-working muscles.

HIKING DOWNHILL

1. Widen your stance, and walk like your pregnant – heel hits first.

2. Get a sensation of “sitting” into the hill. FEEL your hamstrings, quads and glutes control your descent. Bonus: This stance is easier on the joints, offers great muscle utilization, and thus, burns more calories than letting the momentum take over and allowing your poor knees/hips/back to be pounded.

3. If you start to feel fatigue in certain leg muscles [calves, hamstrings, quads, hip flexors] stop and take a quick stretch or water break. This will prevent cramping and goes a long way to combat muscle soreness – so you can do it all over again tomorrow :)

 

 

 

The magical view from the top of Mt. Kuchuuma at 6:45 am.

 

 

 

The organic vegetable gardens at La Cocina Que Canta

 

 

 

3. Healthy Cooking Class with Chef Denise Roa at La Cocina Que Canta:

The Ranch’s state of the art kitchen [La Cocina Que Canta] is situated in the middle of their rolling organic gardens. After a mild, meandering hike out to the beautiful Ranch gardens, grab a straw basket, pull your vegetables straight from the ground, and learn how to prepare easy, delicious farm to table recipes to take home with you. My favorite dish at the Ranch is the Seafood Paella with Quinoa. See the full recipe further below:

 

 

 

Seafood Paella with locally caught scallops, clams, and shrimp.

 

 

 

RANCHO LA PUERTA SEAFOOD PAELLA RECIPE:

Serves 6 – you need a large pan that can go in the oven 12″wide x 3″ deep

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp Spanish saffron threads
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 poblano chiles, (stems & seeds removed, 1/4 inch diced)
• 10 cloves garlic (peeled & minced)
• 1 cup small diced fennel
• 1/2 white onion (peeled, 1/4 inch diced)
• 1 leek, (white part only, 1/2 inch pieces)
• 2 cups long-grain brown rice
• 3 roma tomatoes (1/4 inch diced)
• 1 cup white wine
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 6 large shrimp (peeled & deveined)
• 6 large clams and mussels
• 1 red bell pepper (roasted, peeled and julienned)
• 1/2 tsp Spanish paprika
• 1/2 cup Spanish olives

 

Instructions:

* Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

* Soak the saffron in hot water for 30 minutes. In a 12-inch ovenproof saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the poblano chiles until soft, stirring often, about 1 minute.

* Add the onion, leek and garlic, and cook stirring for 2 minutes. At this time you can also add any other vegetable for sauteing. Stir in the rice, then the tomatoes, and cook for 1 minute more. Add white wine.

* Add the saffron liquid and the stock and salt, and stir gently but thoroughly to combine.

* Bring the Paella almost to a boil; shake the pan gently, but do not stir.

* Add the shrimp, clams, and mussels and cook for 1 minute. Add roasted peppers and olives and cover.

* Move the Paella to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the seafood with paprika and return to the oven for 10 minutes more, or until the seafood is just cooked. Remove from the oven and scatter peas over the top. Let it rest for 15 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

 

The grand Spanish Colonial dining hall at Rancho La Puerta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the neatest things about a week at Rancho La Puerta is that you will have a totally satisfying vacation no matter who you bring, even if you decide to travel alone, which I have preferred to do several times. Other years I have rocked the Ranch with my sister, dad, friends, boyfriends — it doesn’t matter. Every time I walk out the stained glass Rancho La Puerta doors, I am looking forward to my next return…

 

* For more information visit: www.rancholapuerta.com, and to read the new gorgeous issue of UltraTravel magazine with my first feature in it, please click HERE.