Refresh Your Body and Mind in Serene Sedona
Whether your vacation goal is restoration or perspiration, this central Arizona town, with its vibrant yoga scene and trail-laced wilderness, will reboot your system.
Photographs by Brian Guido
Illustrations by Matt Chinworth
THIS DESERT TOWN MAY BE SMALL — just over 10,000 residents — but Sedona is home to a varied band of yogis and healers, as well as hikers and bikers who view the surrounding 1.8 million acres of spectacular natural land as one big, wild playground. Cool yet temperate temperatures and fewer visitors this time of year mean you’ll have miles of breathtaking sandstone landscape mostly to yourself, and low-season prices make it almost inexcusable not to bliss out at one of the area’s many spas.
“This is a place where you can feel your spirit expand, and you are free to talk about it without worrying about sounding like a weirdo!” — Michele Mattix, Airbnb superhost
To relax
Chill out with balancing yoga sessions and holistic spa treatments. Sedona is often called a cathedral without walls — some say the overwhelming natural beauty inspires you to think that there are higher powers at play in the universe. And many believe those red-rock spires emit healing energies. Embracing mysticism is all part of the experience here. “If you come to Sedona and don’t bring home a crystal, did you really visit?” jokes Christina Wooten, a local certified psychic medium and Reiki master teacher.
Ease into expanding your consciousness with a class at the McLean Meditation Institute, where trained mindfulness teachers will guide you in quieting your work-addled brain. If you want to stretch your body as well as your mind, yoga is a way of life here. “Most residents have a sincere spiritual practice, and that’s put us on the map as a yoga destination,” says Heather Shereé Titus, co-creator of the Sedona Yoga Festival. There’s a full lineup at her studio, Aumbase Sedona, or try an outdoor hatha class atop the rusty earth of Airport Mesa Vortex, with its sweeping vista of Cathedral and Cathedral Bell Rocks.
If your idea of nirvana is a day of pampering, Sedona’s got that, too. The area’s abundance of indie spas and passionate therapists means you can skip the stuffy, overpriced resort scene. Massage therapist Ken Reader used to work at corporate resorts, which felt micromanaged and impersonal. “I rarely met any locals, and they didn’t want us to recommend products beyond what was on the shelf,” he says. Three years ago, he joined Namti, a day spa with a down-to-earth, welcoming vibe, which you instantly feel upon entering the plant-filled space or stepping outside to recoup in a lounger after a hot-stone session or chakra reading. The myriad offerings — from Ayurveda therapies and facials to acupuncture and manicures — make Namti a favorite of locals looking to string together a customized day of wellness. “We don’t do cookie-cutter massages,” says Reader.
So what’s the deal with the vortexes?
In 1979, American psychic Page Bryant had a vision about specific zones of powerful energy that she called “vortexes.” Soon, enlightenment seekers worldwide began traveling to these unmarked points around Sedona’s rock formations to tap into higher consciousness. “They are environments that facilitate prayer, meditation, mind-body healing, and creative thinking,” says Pete A. Sanders Jr., who leads vortex tours and is considered by many to be a foremost expert on the topic. Woo-woo or not, the scenery around these four spots is certainly otherworldly.
To re-energize
Work up a sweat on thrilling mountain bike trails and nature hikes. The Sedona area is laced with a web of more than 300 trails. “The way our town is connected to the trail system is unparalleled,” says Matt McFee, founder of Hermosa Tours, which operates out of Over the Edge bike shop. “Here, you can ride or hike straight out your door.”
Thanks to excellent year-round weather, well-designed trails, and a pro-cyclist attitude, Sedona has become a top destination for mountain biking, on par with Moab, Utah, says Nico Lane, a salesman at Absolute Bikes. “Black diamond” terrain like Slim Shady and HiLine is on the bucket lists of hard-core riders, but McFee points to newer, technical trails that are still a bit of a secret. He suggests making a ten-mile loop of Scorpion, Pyramid, Ride, Sketch, Old Coast, and Skywalker trails, where you’ll go over ancient lava beds and basalt rock, do steep descents, and catch a view of Courthouse Butte. Novices can get in on the action, too. Lane recommends the 3.6-mile out-and-back Bell Rock Pathway. Wide, groomed, and shadowed by the dramatic cliffs of the Mogollon Rim, it winds through a landscape of juniper, manzanita, and cacti, delivering a dazzling glimpse of Bell Rock.
If you prefer to take in the sage-scented mesas at a slower pace, lace up your boots and swing by the Hike House to pick up free trail maps and consult with hiking concierges to guide you through the Mars-like landscape. Those up for a calf-burner should try the five-mile Sterling Pass Trail, says store manager Derek Bond. “You climb 1,000 feet over a mountain pass surrounded by beige-, red-, and ivory-striped Coconino cliffs, then descend into a canyon shaded by ponderosa and pine,” he says. A prime photo op can be found via a path at the base that leads to an overlook of Vultee Arch, a 40-foot-high sandstone bridge stretching across Sterling Canyon. Fay’s Canyon trail offers a more mellow, low-elevation trek that promises solitary wilderness. “With red-rock walls soaring 70 to 120 feet high all around you,” says Bond, “you don’t have to believe in the metaphysical to feel the energy there.”
Where locals go to refuel
Breakfast: The town’s yogis, including Heather Shereé Titus, co-creator of the Sedona Yoga Festival, often stop by Local Juicery post-class for cold-pressed juices, smoothies, and açai bowls.
Lunch: Many of the ingredients at vegan-friendly ChocolaTree Organic Eatery come from the backyard garden, where you should snag a table. Christina Wooten, a Sedona medium, says the people-watching here is as big a draw as the sweet potato enchilada.
Dinner: Craving meat? You can’t beat the steaks, grilled on an Argentinian parrilla, at upscale Latin American spot Mariposa. “The terrace, with its panoramic views, is the best place to catch the sunset,” says Rich Donnelly, who owns a second home in Sedona.
About the author: Jen Murphy is a freelance journalist based in Boulder, Colorado. She writes the weekly “What’s Your Workout” column for the Wall Street Journal and regularly contributes to publications including Outside, Town & Country, the Houston Chronicle, Men’s Journal, Departures, and Food & Wine. An avid yogi, she is the author of The Yoga (Man)ual.
