Miraval Austin Travel Guide

For our milestone birthdays a couple of years ago, my girlfriends and I planned a special splurge spa trip to Miraval in Austin, Texas. We were planning to go in April 2020, and I don’t need to explain why our trip didn’t happen as planned. As luck would have it, we ended up rebooking the trip for this past Fall (using a fantastic Cyber Monday promo code from the prior holiday season) and managed to travel during a little COVID lull before Omicron took over.

When we booked this trip, I had no idea just how life-changing it would be. While you could visit a place like Miraval simply to relax, I found the experience so much richer and more meaningful. Like my friends and me, most visit a place like Miraval during a milestone moment or a major life transition. While we were onsite, we saw many fellow burned out professionals wondering about their path forward, several babymooning couples, and many people grieving a major loss or recovering from a trauma or illness. In the third year of this pandemic, we’re all grieving, processing and transitioning so much - I can imagine a visit to Miraval to be medicine for nearly anyone.

Day One

Getting to Miraval is pretty easy. From the airport, we took a 45-minute complementary shuttle to the beautiful grounds. As soon as you arrive, the land feels expansive and farm-like and very peaceful. The buildings look like Joanna Gaines designed them, with that “airy Texas” feel and the grounds overlook beautiful Lake Travis with miles and miles of hill country in every direction. Visiting in October, the weather was a perfect high 70s and we immediately changed into our suits for a little poolside relaxation.

My friends I all really wanted to get the most from our trip, but we each desired a different pace. One friend wanted to cram in nearly every moment with an activity. My other friend wanted to be about half-scheduled. I was somewhere in the middle. My goal was to try new things, have fun, feel silly, laugh, and challenge myself. I wanted to process and simple feel a range of sensations and emotions again, after feeling so wrung out (and frankly numb) by life from the past couple of years. Miraval delivered!

After the pool, I kicked off my experience with a cardio dance class. It was so fun to move my body after the long travel day and laugh at myself stumbling over sassy dance moves. After getting the wiggles out, I highly recommend a luxurious spa treatment on your first evening. It helps set the tone for the trip, recover from the stress of travel, and prepare you for sleep. I chose the Abhyanga ritual, which is rooted in Ayurvedic traditions and is said to restore balance. It is essentially a very therapeutic massage, super-charged with specific oils that support your nervous system and detoxification pathways. The oils smell lovely and the sensation of the being nearly bathed in them was unique and luxurious. This is the kind of treatment that can be hard to find near home and was such a treat.

My friends and I ended the evening with dinner together at the beautiful restaurant, sitting outdoors and enjoying our meal under the mesquite trees, garden lights and the sunset over Lake Travis. The menu is incredibly accommodating for a range of dietary needs (this is a wellness spa, after all). You can even ask for off-menu items and they will do their best to help you find something. The food is utterly delicious and the menu changed each day and each meal. For my specific needs, the food choices were a dream come true. I went to bed that night feeling so lucky to be on this ride.

Day Two

On our first full day, I woke up early, hit the restaurant for a quick breakfast (they have both a grab and go option, as well as a full sit-down and buffet experience). I spent my first day, somewhat accidentally, in a lot of meditative classes - from moving meditation to yin yoga, to manifestation meditation to yoga nidra (yogic sleep). Later in the evening I also took a happy hips course (which in yogic traditions is said to be wear many of us hold our emotional junk). I’m not much of a meditator (10 minutes can be hard for me most days), so hours of meditation in a row was a bit of a mind bender for me. In hindsight, this was an incredible way to start the journey. I was able to clear the junk from my brain, calm my nervous system, and begin to really process some of the things that have been bothering me but I had no spare time to sit and ponder. With two small kids, spotty childcare during the past two years, a high-pressure job and the chaos of the pandemic and global/social issues around us, I have never before spent hours in deep, uninterrupted thought. It felt uncomfortable, but necessary and I’m so glad for the space. I later attended the short Life in Balance course where we articulated our core needs in five key words and talked about prioritizing life for joy and love. It was an incredibly affirming and clarifying day.

Later that afternoon, I spent a wonderful Equine Experience in the horse barn. I am pretty unfamiliar with horses, despite growing up as a bit of a country girl. I have always been a little afraid of them, having heard most of my childhood only about how they could hurt me. The experience gave me the chance to groom a horse, befriend it, clean its feet and ultimately lead it around the corral. Horses being the empaths they are, this was one of many profound lessons during my stay, teaching me much about how I connect and persuade action in difficult situations (or attempt to.)

Day Three

On the second day, I focused on trying new things - from a crystal bowl chakra meditation, to a live spin class (I had never done one in-person, only Peloton at home), a yin reiki session, cardio drumming (so fun!) and a session with a medium.

The Chakra meditation with crystal bowls was an incredible way to begin the day. The bowls are beautiful (eight in total), made of white quartz and ranging in sizes and heights about the size of a small drum. The instructor sits amongst the bowls and “plays” them with a fabric-ended wand, the same as someone might “play” a wine glass with a fingertip. Each bowl has a specific tone, linked to a specific chakra. Just like the chants in traditional yoga practices, the lower toned bowls are linked with the base of the spine and the higher tones with the neck, head and third eye. The sounds are very soothing and I found meditating with these tones to be much easier than silence. The vibrations were like white or perhaps pink noise and I could truly feel energetic movement in my spine.

From there, I tried some fun new exercises, like cardio drumming. It’s done with large plastic drumsticks on a stabilized exercise ball. It’s a fantastic way to get out some aggression and anger while also not being too serious. The drumming was much more effort than it looks - pounding your arms and jumping around had me huffing and puffing and I loved every minute of it.

Later, I enjoyed my Alchemic Soul Integration session with renowned spiritual medium, Alice. In this session, Alice asked me only a few key details about my name, my birthday and my goals for the session. I laid flat on my back on a massage table, fully clothed, and she did some mild hands-on connecting with key points along my body, from my feet and ankles to my hip bones to my back, neck and head. The touch was very light, but energetic, and was very comforting. At each point, Alice would share with me the aspects of my life and tensions that I was holding in my body at certain points. She explained how the pain in my right hip came to be (in an emotional trauma sense), and even shared a specific date I could expect it to start feeling better. I’ve never before been to any sort of medium and Alice’s detailing of my life, physical pain points and specifics about my experiences were extraordinary. For one, I shared almost nothing with her and booked the appointment the same day. I didn’t tell her anything about how my body felt or my overall health conditions. I certainly didn’t share anything about my childhood or family of origin, nor the fact that I had an upcoming appointment with an osteopath to see about the pain in my right hip. Fast forward a few weeks with a spoiler alert: the date that Alice shared with me was the exact day of my osteopath appointment where I learned I have congenital defect in my leg and pretty much instantaneously found pain relief with some simple steps.

I ended the day at the spa for a facial and went directly to dinner in my bathrobe, eating dinner under the stars, laughing into the night with wonderful friends. It was glorious and felt indulgent in the best of ways. I hit the pillow that night with fresh insights.

Day Four

On my last full day, I wanted to really feel grounded and “in my body.” I go through so much of my life on a schedule, running from place to place or meeting to meeting without pausing to really feel my body throughout the day. (I know I’m not alone as many of my fellow office workers discuss waiting or forgetting to pee…a topic for another day!) For my last day, I started with a morning guided nature walk through the property and learned all about the local plant-life and native history of the land. It was amazing to do this mindful journey through the land, connecting with nature and fresh air. Next, I joined my friend on the infamous Hill Country Challenge Course. I have only done a challenge course once before and this was next-level. For starters, the platforms for this course are a bit higher than the others I had done, and I am not one to love heights. It begins with a climb up a forty-foot cargo net and continues through a walk across a log balance beam to a series of disjointed and unstable floating platforms, to a final platform where you zipline plunge off the end toward the ground in a free fall. It was equal parts challenging (physically and mentally) and exhilarating. I REALLY didn’t want to teeter off the final platform, but I closed my eyes and braced for that horrible feeling in my stomach. When it was done, we all shared our observations as a group and I noted how my self-talk in challenging times can be unhelpful. This is a lesson I have carried with me forward into real life moments.

Later that day, I went back to the spa for some bodywork. I began with craniosacrial work, which I have had before, but never to such a deep degree. One of the things I loved about the Miraval experience was how concentrated the treatments could be - and how the positive effects began to stack and accumulate over the course of a few days - much more than you could ever achieve in day to day life doing a treatment every once in a while. If you’ve never had craniosacral work, it is absolutely game changing, albeit subtle. For this type of treatment, I laid fully clothed, face-down on a massage table while the practitioner put hands very gently onto trigger points along my body. The principle of craniosacral work is that by gently manipulating the fluids around the nerves and spinal cord, nerves can become more balanced and the energetic flow will find its natural rhythm. I have found significant improvement in physical symptoms and pain with this kind of work and loved experiencing this on top of all the other wonderful treatments I was able to do during my stay.

Next, I followed the craniosacral work with my first-ever Thai Massage. What an experience! The room was huge with a giant king bed-sized cushion on the floor and colorful silks hanging from the ceiling. I was instructed to lie on my back (fully clothed) in the middle of the cushion and relax while the therapist pulled and stretched and massaged my tissues. The release in my low back was maybe the most profound in my life. Though it felt a little awkward at first, handing your body over to a stranger in this new way, I settled in quickly and really enjoyed the treatment. It was a little like partner yoga on steroids and I can’t wait to do it again!

Instead of happy hour, my friends and I decided to try a country dancing class after the spa. Not only was this a fun way to move our bodies in a new way, but it was also hilarious and had us in giggling fits throughout the class. If you visit Miraval, I highly recommend taking some dance classes or anything that might make you feel silly. You’ll never see these humans again and you can be completely free to move and laugh at yourself in a way that’s often hard to do in your home community.

From country dancing we went to aerial yoga, which is done with the aid of long silk loops hung from the ceiling. The bright and airy barn had maybe a dozen lilac silks that we each used to hold our bodies and suspend in different shapes. In some poses, the silks could make the effort more challenging (such as putting your feet in the silks for a plank pose) or in many cases, would reduce the effort or tension of a pose. The class ends with a little cocoon moment, wrapping yourself up entirely and swinging gently for a few minutes of savasana rest.

Later that night we enjoyed our dinner and made our way to a Ring of Light ritual. At Miraval Austin, you will come upon a very special building called Solidago. I was able to take just a couple of classes in this space and I would highly recommend finding as many ways as you can to be in this building. During the Ring of Light, we essentially held a traditional fire ceremony with a small group. We began by journaling and capturing things we would like to leave behind or let go of on a paper. We then lowered a circular candle chandelier from the ceiling to standing height and lit our papers on fire and watched them burn. We then buried those ashes outdoors to complete the cycle. I have only taken part in one fire ceremony before (a much more elaborate event), but I very much appreciated the straightforward, yet beautiful experience this one offered. The notion of capturing what is not serving us and quite literally burning it offers a meaningful symbolism in our day to day lives. I personally love the ritual of taking troubling thoughts or experiences from my inner self, putting them onto paper and ridding myself of them in a physical way. Not to mention how beautiful it was to do this together in such a gorgeous space. This ceremony was a truly profound way to conclude my final night at Miraval and to put an end-cap of many of the things I had been processing throughout the stay.

Going Home

Miraval does a very nice job of helping you capture insights throughout your journey, perhaps none better than the letter you write to yourself upon departure. It’s well worth it to take a moment to write yourself a letter as you pack to go home. The front desk will send it to you three months later as a wonderful reminder of your experience and learning when you are well back into the swing of everyday life.

PRO TIPS:

Make reservations ahead of time - for meals, treatments and courses. Classes do fill up and the restaurant outdoor space fills up at lunch and especially dinnertime. Chances are, you won’t have a long break for your morning and lunchtime meals, so plan ahead!

Attend solo or with the “right” people to get the most out of the trip - My two close girlfriends were the perfect travel buddies, both close enough to share our personal journeys and revelations with one another, but not so close (like a relative or spouse) that they had a high personal stake in what I was uncovering.

The Room - I booked the least expensive room and would happily do it again. I spent very little time there and my bed was absolutely heavenly.

Journal & Materials - Miraval will provide you with a bag and a water bottle, but you should absolutely bring any journal materials that will be helpful to you - from astrological charts to journaling notes or vision boards. I bought a special journal at the store and captured many insights during the stay that I am still referencing a year later. I like having this special journal to reference, apart from my daily notes. Don’t forget a pen!

The Costs - While the accommodations will give you some sticker shock (at least it did for me), I was actually pleasantly surprised by the value of the spa credits (thank you cyber monday promo code!), the included programming and the incredible food included in the package. When you consider the cost of a typical resort, including the nightly fee, spa services, meals out, resort fees and more - I promise this spa is right on the mark and because it is priced as “all inclusive,” everything about the trip feels abundant...like you can do or have almost anything you want without worrying about being nickel and dimed.

Extend the Journey - If you are traveling any distance by car or air, plan your travel time to extend the experience. Maybe you have a spiritual book you’ve been meaning to read (such as The 7 Laws of Success)? Download the ebook or audiobook ahead of time and make a point to stay in the zone on your way home. This might also be a good moment to capture final notes, write a letter to yourself (or someone else), make tangible plans for follow-through on your new insights or more. The beauty of this experience is about what you do next with it…