The Miami Retreat: 12 April to 17 April 2012
On the flight back to New York from Miami, I realized they had to pry me out of the spa, steam room and sauna at The Standard that morning. I was so reluctant to leave. I could move in. Seriously. That week (and it was just about a whole week because I extended my stay twice) was SUBLIME.
Retreat is a good word. A way too long overdue vacation, I had joined a select group of fellow yogis from New York and San Francisco with our teacher and friend, Sherman Morris, as our guide on a path to yoga bliss. While we had a small bit of structure in daily yoga classes, there was ample time and opportunity to enjoy the accommodations, the grounds and the spa. My journey to Miami began many months before when I wandered into Sherman's class and quickly realized THIS is what I have been looking for: a contemporary Ashtanga-based yoga practice with respect for The Lineage; a moving, breathing meditation in a room warm enough (but not fainting hot) to keep the muscles pliable; a consistent discipline that is varied enough to be fresh without being rigid. The Retreat's yoga room was a comfortable sanctuary and the spa provided the mats and towels. The civilized 9:30am morning classes were consistent with Sherman's regular classes; a lead class where each individual works at their own level and receives Sherman's adjustments to go deeper. The before dinner evening workshops had different themes: one on presses and the other on inversions; it was great to have the time and space to break down these more complex poses. While the classes were just for our group, Sherman opened up one of them to other guests of The Standard and it was nice to have a different energy in the room.
The Standard is an old-fashioned place with a post-modern twist. Straight out of the Miami Beach page of another era. Actually, the sign out front still says: The Lido Hotel. On Belle Island, right on the Biscayne Bay, the water is so beautiful and surprisingly clear, I wanted to jump right in. The Standard is like a small European boutique hotel that could be anywhere - on an island somewhere, in the Mediterranean perhaps along the coast of the Ligurian Sea. Yet, the chic Lincoln Road is an easy 10 - 12 minute walk over the causeway and the full activity of South Beach just beyond.
My room was quiet and intimate, very cabana-like with linen hanging everywhere and I had a small outdoor terrace with a bathtub and small table and chairs. Once I figured out how to turn off the A/C and open the windows and then switch on the ceiling fan I slept very peacefully.
The spa is an otherworldly experience. The steam room, sauna and various showers of hot and cold water with differing pressures were all good. I liked the body scrub and salts that are fragrant with lemongrass. However, the pièce de résistance, for me, was the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Sensual and Satisfying) treatment. First a soothing 60 minute massage and then a 30 minute Hamam scrub lying on hot stones with warm water poured all over. Fabulous ! It is with the same therapist, so the treatment was seamless in undoing the life stress I brought with me and any knotted muscles from my yoga practice. I had two, always nice to be K.I.S.S.'d twice.
We ate well. The cuisine was all fresh, tasty and nicely prepared and presented. I especially liked the tuna tarter with a green salad served by the Grill on the deck; the blueberry pancakes one morning for breakfast were to die for and my daily double espresso was perfect. Sometimes the service was a little slow or maybe they were just trying to get us to relax and let go.
The deck out back is truly lovely. Nice deck chairs, facing the water or facing the pool and plenty of towels available. An infinity pool - the water stays level with the surrounding deck and there is music underwater; it is salt water (saline not sea water), with a gradual sloping entrance from zero to about seven feet deep. The water is a bit warm for lap swimming but I did anyway and it was wonderful. In the deep end I was eye level with the Bay which creates a feeling of being suspended. The deck area has a hydro-healing theme; there is a Roman Waterfall with forceful hot water and an arctic dunking pool that is frigid. One night after our yoga workshop, followed by happy hour at the Grill, it felt really good to let the hot water of the Roman Waterfall pound on my shoulders and run down my back, quickly jump in the arctic pool, then swim in the infinity pool and then get back in the Roman Water Waterfall. Repeat. There were frozen margaritas involved (strawberry for me, no salt). The warm water enveloping and that cold water bracing - the combination is very alluring.
Being at The Standard with Sherman was an awesome way to combine a search for inner peace with a touch of hedonism and, just maybe, begin to find better personal balance on the mat and in life. read more