Come for the stretch, stay for the nirvana. At yoga centers and spiritual retreats throughout New York, you can tone up, calm down, and renew what's within.
Fitness classes at the
New Age Health Spa range from belly dancing to yoga, while the
Omega Institute in Rhinebeck offers workshops on healthy cuisine, meditation and kayaking. Summers in the
Adirondacks, you can ride the Cloudsplitter gondola to the top of
Little Whiteface for yoga lessons amid the high peaks.
If you prefer a more luxurious experience while finding your inner peace, try a Qigong class at the Spa at the
Mohonk Mountain House. Practice your mantra in the heated outdoor mineral pool. As an anonymous yogi once said, Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
Real soul searchers find themselves in the company of monks and nuns. At Mount Tremper, the
Zen Mountain Monastery has weekend meditation programs.
You can hike as well as reflect on a retreat to
Graymoor (the Appalachian Trail runs through the property) or the
Rosa Mystica House. Tibetan prayer flags will lead you up the mountain to retreats at the
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery in
Woodstock, where courses include Tibetan culture.