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I didn’t realize how depleted I was until I got still enough to feel it.

That happened in the Sonoran Desert, in a town literally called Carefree, Arizona, which I didn’t even clock until I was already there and starting to understand it. I mean, being carefree in Carefree is pretty symbolic if you ask me.

CIVANA Wellness Resort & Spa sits just outside of Scottsdale, and I’ll be honest, it had been showing up on my social media timelines for a while before I finally made the trip. Black women specifically had found this place and were not gatekeeping it, which I always appreciate about us. So I came in with expectations. 

And as I walked in, I immediately thought, “the TikTok girlies were not lying.” I hadn’t been on the property five minutes before I understood the hype. There were Black women everywhere. On solo trips, girls weekends, and a whole range of ages, all of them looking like they had specifically come here to do something for themselves. I felt myself exhale a little just taking it in. 

They gave me my itinerary at check-in and I was already mentally reorganizing it before the conversation was over to see how much more I could pack into my schedule. The wellness classes are complimentary, and well, in the words of Denzel, “I’m leaving here with something.” Meaning, I wanted to take in as much as I could, with the time I had on property.

Let’s just say… the desert humbled that out of me pretty quickly though. There’s something about being in that much open space with that much quiet just recalibrates you, and you want to just enjoy it, rather than trying to >Seed is the casual daytime spot, a cafe and market where you handle breakfast and lunch with mostly plant-based options, smoothies, grain bowls, grab-and-go things that are satisfying without being heavy. Terras is the dinner restaurant and it’s a completely different experience, a proper sit-down spot with a menu built around seasonal local ingredients, farm-to-table produce, grass-fed meats and sustainable seafood. After a full day of movement you want a real meal and Terras is that.

The spa deserved its own day honestly. At 22,000 square feet with 24 treatment rooms, it’s a full destination within the resort. I got a deep tissue massage and by the time I got on that table my body had already been through aerial yoga, aerial stretch, pilates, pickleball, running and the gym, so the timing of it was everything. When it was done, I took advantage of the rest of the spa amenities, like the sauna and pool, before spending the rest of that evening doing nothing in particular (except sneaking in a bit of Love Is Blind, while laying in bed and ordering room service). Can anyone describe a more perfect day?

A lot of us are running on empty and have been for long enough that it just feels normal now. CIVANA is for that person. The programming is flexible enough that two people can have completely different trips and both leave feeling like they got what they needed. Though I was solo, I began brainstorming my next visit, because I’d raved about my experience to both my mom and my bestie.

I left feeling rested in a way I genuinely had not felt in a long time. I didn’t realize how much I needed that until I got home and jumped back into the normal. The grind was still there waiting for me, as it always is. But I came back actually ready for it.

The post This Arizona Wellness Resort Might Be The Reset Your Burned-Out Soul Needs appeared first on Essence.

Author: Kimberly Wilson

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