Four restorative retreats for mind and spirit

Widening horizons, the wild-west way

Ranchlands is the pioneering Wyoming-based company that made for-profit ranching with a heaping side of land conservation cool. That its several properties are in some of the American West’s most majestic landscapes only adds to the appeal for the aspiring cowpoke. It has just announced a new series of immersive experiences for 2025 in northern Wyoming, at Paintrock Canyon Ranch. Spread across 80,000 acres at the foot of the Bighorns, Paintrock will host five-day stays throughout the year with writers, painters, poets and even a wine expert.

In June, for instance, “The Horse as Art” will see Julie Ferris, whose equine portrait commissions are sought after across the US, leading oil-on-canvas sessions; and Yale PhD and professor of western literature Bonney MacDonald will explore, through the eyes and words of women writers, the history of America’s “Equality State”. The learning takes place amid Paintrock’s quintessential frontier scenery; there’s trout fishing, guided walking and as many hours in the saddle as a cowpoke can handle. You’ll sleep under canvas, with serapes lining the wild grass beneath your bed.

Surfing with soul in the land of the fjords

“Flow state”: the mental position of being totally immersed in a chosen activity, body and mind moving unconsciously and effortlessly together. To some it comes naturally; for the rest of us there are increasingly sophisticated techniques and programmes to help us achieve it. And apparently surfing is one of them. It’s one of the primary tools deployed at Resurface retreats, whose 2025 programmes range across Europe and Morocco. Founder Josh Dickson’s Resurface Method – surfing, psychoeducation, cognitive therapy – is incorporated into every retreat, whether ultra-bespoke one-to-one programmes or the brand new Peak Performance, which includes NSDR (that’s Non-Sleep Deep Rest to you and me) and takes place in Norway this August. Calibrated for CEOs and entrepreneurs, it will combine the above therapy with the waves at the country’s Stadlandet peninsula, which are some of north Europe’s best.

Salty healing for women only

The Salt Sisterhood was founded in 2018 by Lauren Biddulph, who now runs it alongside her partner Patrick Anthony. Cornwall-based yogis and surfers, they identified a space where the effects of stretching and wild swimming could intersect. Seven years later, their six-day, Cornwall- and Algarve-based retreats for women only can sell out months in advance. In the Algarve, guests sleep in a simple but comfortable four-bedroom villa with extensive gardens; in Cornwall, a country house on 50 acres of woodland, with a private cove and beach.

The days begin and/or end with yoga, and the in-between hours are occupied by long sea swims (a new beach or cove each day, with transport furnished by the ground staff). There are occasional beach walks and mindfulness practices (or beach snoozes – Biddulph believes that just being sea-proximate has positive mind-body effects), and all the meals are family-style and vegetarian. Not so much about the bells, whistles and fancy amenities as it is the thoughtfully created experiences and simple but generous comforts.

Setting intentions (and rolling fresh pasta)

Spiritual wellness is often about letting go (destructive thought patterns/past traumas/tension in your shoulders) or acquiescing (to a massage therapist/medical professional/“natural” breath rhythm). At her Alba retreats in southern Tuscany, trained life-coach Claudia Guinness shifts the perspective: achieving balance, purpose and joy is about doing the proactive work ourselves.

Over a long weekend at her family’s Arniano farmhouse, she helps clients home in on what they want – to do, to be, to have – in concrete terms, via group guided-coaching sessions and creative exercises. Then it’s about identifying practical ways to align your daily life with your aspirations and setting concrete goals. Tech-free periods are experimented with, and their results on mental clarity about those new intentions are examined. In and among the work sessions are yoga, guided walks in the countryside and a cooking lesson culminating in a group dinner.

@mariashollenbarger