Although you don’t need a passport to get there, a trip to Sedona, Ariz., may feel like a foreign experience. There aren’t many places in the country that claim to be built on a vortex – an area where electromagnetic lines intersect to enhance linear energy flow. Although Sedona is enveloped by them, the city has four main vortex sites, which are havens for spiritual meditation and finding balance – Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, Airport Mesa and Boynton Canyon.
The native American population, including members of the Hopi, Navajo and Yavapai tribes, consider Sedona sacred ground and recognized the power and energy of the vortexes long before Page Bryant, a local medium, named them in the 1980s. Once detected, a vortex is said to have an upward flow which boosts the expansion of one’s spiritual energy or an inward flow which enhances spiritual introspection. It is said that the life within a vortex is amplified; everything that grows in its radius is more beautiful and robust.
People from worlds away come to sit among the giant red rocks that look like they’re on fire during the sunset. The landscape feels magical with nothing but rust colored land and towering mountains that look like they’ve been built out of sand. Walt Disney was so taken by the site line in Sedona as he sat on a ledge overlooking Thunder Mountain that it inspired him to design his popular train-like roller coaster. So much energy, creativity and spiritual balance is centered here that even the local government doesn’t want development to compete with the perfection of nature’s surroundings. Strict ordinances and style books forbid retail and restaurants from building higher than two stories or deviating from the acceptable earth-tone colors for signs or paint.
If you’re not in Sedona to find spiritual fulfillment, it is still a beautiful place to replenish your energy, even if you don’t believe in sitting in energy fields.
Take a Pink Jeep Tour
The Pink Jeeps pop out against the red mountainside. This off-road adventure tour has thrilled visitors for more than 50 years taking up to seven passengers in a souped-up Jeep up and down the steep terrain. Definitely not designed for babies (although they do provide car seats for infants, I wouldn’t recommend it) or anyone with health issues, we opted for the Broken Arrow tour which took us in the heart of Sedona’s outback. During a thrilling ride of bumping and bouncing over steep hillsides into canyons, we learned the history of this great land from our knowledgeable adventure guide who managed to get us back in one piece despite driving down a dried out waterfall as a shortcut. Tamer, scenic options are available – pinkjeeptourssedona.com
Get a Spa Treatment
This city is a magnet for those who study the art of mindfulness and massage therapy. The resort spas are over-the-top exquisite – The Enchantment Resort being the most decadent and aesthetically pleasing. Boutique spas downtown, however, can restore and relax just as nicely. We chose Sedona’s New Day Spa which offered some desert nature body treatments with local flair such as the Turquoise Sage Mountain Arnica or Cedarwood Citrus Wild Chaparral. A traditional sweat lodge steam experience is also on the spa list. Come early to dunk yourself in the outdoor hot tub and sit around the table fire while you sip healing stone infused water and learn about your spirit animal.
Have a Fabulous Meal
If all this New Age living isn’t your cup of tea, try a modern dinner. Honestly, the restaurants in Sedona are top-notch – up there with what I know to be the best of the best. The experience at L’Auberge might most accurately be described as ethereal. In dining on the banks of Oak Creek, listening to water rushing by, you might feel like you’re in your very own Thomas Kincaid painting. The fairytale backdrop sets the scene for the rustic dishes, beautifully presented and garnished with elements of nature for dramatic effect (think moss and tiny twigs surrounding a smoky mushroom and onion soup bowl). The spectacular views from Che Ah Chi restaurant at Enchantment Resort go unmatched. The name comes from what Apaches call Boynton Canyon which is said to have prehistoric ruins, sacred spaces and healing waters. Get there a few hours before dark and grab a drink on the expansive patio. When the sun hits the rocks, the deep reds, oranges and yellows glow around you like a warm fire and you instantly feel at peace. That’s Sedona – energetic, breathtaking, spiritual – a place that’s good for your mind, body and soul.
Krisha Chachra served eight years on the Blacksburg Town Council and has written for NRV Magazine for a decade. She is a member of The Mama Movement and a proud mom to a curious toddler. Krisha is a community advocate and connector and runs an event production organization that hosts Up on the Roof. Krisha has reported and hosted shows for public radio and television and has freelanced for USA Weekend Magazine, the Honolulu Advertiser and the Alexandria Gazette among others. Her book about returning to Blacksburg, Homecoming Journals, may be found online or in local bookstores.
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