Take a "Well-cation" in Loudoun

As seen in Loudoun Now's "Get Out Loudoun" publication.

Wellness and the New Year

The holidays may be over but January 28th is National Plan for Vacation Day.

After months of shopping, wrapping gifts, hanging decorations and preparing family feasts, you’re now being asked to plan all your holidays for 2020 well in advance. Exhausting, no? Here’s a better idea: take a break from all the organizing and rejuvenate with a Loudoun “wellcation."

Where better to start than the modish ARIA MediSpa in Sterling. Opened in 2013 and specializing in technology-driven body shaping, weight loss and anti-aging treatments, it expanded in 2018 to include a 15,000 square foot yoga studio and wellness center – with a ‘hotel’ within it. Guests can recalibrate body, mind and diet during one, three or seven-day stays.

For a quicker (if more peculiar) restorative, head over to OmFLOAT in Ashburn for some watery REST: Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy. Lie on your back in a dark 10-inch deep tank of warm saltwater and float, Dead Sea-style, for 90 minutes. The weightlessness is said to induce an ethereal, meditative state akin to the most peaceful sleep. Bring your swim trunks!

Everyone joins a gym in January, but sleek LifeTime Athletic in Ashburn is a cut above. It has all the fitness options (gym, cardio, Pilates, swimming) but also a nutritional, weight loss and medical element, with teams of experts to advise you. All this, and multiple staff-led sports options for kids.

Yoga is arguably the simplest way to rejuvenate body and mind, and Loudoun has multiple downward dog options. We love Flow Yoga, the chic, intimate Lansdowne space where instructors from other studios show off their moves. For something more holistic, visit Five Stones Healing Arts & Wellness Center in Leesburg, centered around the “Five Stones” of optimal health. You come for the massage, but leave with a life-changing diet or a cure for chronic pain.

Of course, we’re not saying to completely forego all the fun parts of the holidays. Loudoun’s breweries and wineries offer exercise options too. Check out breweries like Twinpanzee for "plank and a pint" and keep an eye out for the dates of Bluemont Vineyard’s “Vineyasa” yoga program.

Who needs a retreat in New Mexico when you can rest & relax on a Loudoun "wellcation"?