From longevity programs based on epigenetics and whole body health management to community-driven fitness programs, San Diego remains at the forefront when it comes to health and wellness.
Malas in Bloom’s Tammy Fodrey creates unique, handmade jewelry that emits positive vibes.
The Guru to Follow
Malas In Bloom
Tammy Fodrey, the guru behind Malas In Bloom, is a yogi, meditation teacher and garland goddess who makes San Diego’s chicest malas. The jewelry line, imbued with intention to help guide meditation and manifest positivity is handmade with crystals, seeds, stones, pearls and wood. Fodrey often releases new malas with design elements in sync with lunar phases, such as the dark moon wristlet, or with entering a new zodiac sign, like the red hematoid quartz Alchemist mala, designed to activate transformation in tandem with Aries’ new moon. Her malas sell out so quickly on her website that she started teaching workshops from which guests come away with custom strands, having learned to harness their intuition and creativity. Combining meditation, healing arts and movement, Fodrey also hosts goddess awakening retreats throughout the year.
The Exclusive Wellness Retreat
Come Alive Luxury Retreat
Bespoke wellness is the name of the game at the Come Alive Luxury Retreat. This invite-only three-day getaway, dubbed the “master reset” by founder Tracy Duhs, is a total immersion experience in integrative therapies performed by a team of wellness experts. Guests are individually assessed and treated with cutting-edge therapies, so you might find yourself stimulating your mitochondria with a BioCharger as you relax; detoxing and enhancing cellular communication with ionic mud while lying on an infrared mat of amethyst crystals; or addressing limiting belief systems in your subconscious with neural entrainment. This is not your average wellness retreat—it’s so much more.
The Longevity Program
Wellness Collective
Rancho Valencia is a Spanish-tiled, greenery-graced oasis. The spa excels in bespoke holistic therapies and well-being workshops and retreats based on the advanced science of epigenetics, all through its Wellness Collective program. Master-level therapists, educated in the biochemical components of spas, offer unique healing modalities like connective tissue massage, thalassotherapy and manual lymph drainage. They adeptly customize treatments based on a client’s personal lifestyle profile and body constitution. With a goal of initiating sustainable lifestyle changes, the Wellness Collective’s enlightening lecture series presents topics like preventing cognitive impairment, treating sports injuries or breaking up with sugar, providing tools to impact daily health and longevity.
The Wellness Team
Place360
For 14 years, Tracy Whynot’s Place360 has been a pioneer in Del Mar. A team of diverse and dynamic practitioners collaborate on whole body health management at the wellness retreat. Whether you are seeking stress relief with therapeutic massage; athletic muscle relief through cupping; a fertility boost from acupuncture; digestion aid from Chinese herbs; nutritional and fitness coaching; body alignment and allergy testing through functional medicine; or long-term skincare for youthful radiance, you can find it here. Whynot’s luxury resort background means thoughtful touches like silky linens, ambient lighting, custom teas and modern eclectic design, which complement the East-meets-West therapies.
The Holistic Trainer
Scott Baker
Gemini Fit, a boutique-y Solana Beach private gym, is infused with the heart and soul of expert trainer and owner Scott Baker, who has created a cohesive culture of commitment and community. Beyond his shredding, music-thumping, Tabata-style circuit training classes and one-on-one sessions, he’s drummed up the Gemini Fit Society Series, featuring healthy cooking classes, West Coast swing dance lessons, evening wine socials at Carruth Cellars, Stairs & Smoothies Sunday workouts, member-curated pop-up shops and ongoing challenges like the Love Your Body Transformation. Baker is the bomb when it comes to shepherding and sculpting his clients into the best versions of themselves.
The Preventive Health Care
Health Nucleus by Human Longevity
For anyone wanting to truly take the reins when it comes to longevity, wellness and prevention, a trip to Health Nucleus (HN) powered by Human Longevity is in order. This La Jolla-based clinical research and discovery center, the world’s first to combine whole genome sequencing with clinical imaging and artificial intelligence, delivers the ultimate picture of health. (This new standard of health platform is also being made available at locations in California; Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Naples, Fla.) Comprehending one’s DNA, risk factors and present-state issues affords opportunity for early action and proactive prevention. While this forward-thinking, hi-tech approach to health optimization comes with a hefty price tag (HN CORE assessment from $5,500, platinum full-day experience from $19,000), this is undoubtedly the future of heath care.
Alisha Hawrylyszyn Frank focuses on helping individuals through life coaching and energy healing at Fiercely Optimistic.
The Energy Healer
Fiercely Optimistic
“There’s always another option,” says healer Alisha Hawrylyszyn Frank of Fiercely Optimistic, where she concentrates on assisting clients in shifting their lives for the better. With more than 11 years’ experience, she offers life coaching and reiki sessions, each tailored to meet her clients’ individual needs. By providing a compassionate and nonjudgmental environment, Hawrylyszyn Frank works with people to “make a game plan,” access healing tools and put away old habits. As an NYU-certified life coach, she is committed to guiding people to passion. She channels the divine’s energy in order to align the chakras and reset one’s energy flow and understanding. Many clients end up seeing this sought-after healer for life.
The Integrative Wellness Center
Pacific Pearl La Jolla
Combining conventional and natural healing, Pacific Pearl La Jolla provides patients with a road map to peerless health. Receive a medical assessment of lifestyle, including chronic and current issues, from a team of experts led by Dr. Mimi Guarneri. Comprehensive exams include everything from genetic testing to food sensitivity testing. From there, doctors create a bespoke health plan, folding in practices like naturopathic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and conventional medicine. On-site spa rooms include far infrared saunas, IV infusions, medispa with PRP facials and microcurrent, and LED treatments. Ideal for those looking to detox or simply gain a holistic understanding of individual wellness.
The Private Health care for Travelers
Patronus La Jolla
Those consumed by wanderlust don’t have to sacrifice their wellness regime. Patronus La Jolla is a private health management consortium staffed by former White House physicians and NASA flight surgeons. Patronus physicians will customize health plans and medical kits according to clients’ travel plans. Should an issue arise, clients receive 24/7 worldwide telemedicine access, medical concierge services and coordination of medical evacuations. In San Diego, Patronus offers a whole body wellness approach using intelligent medicine targeted to personal needs.
VERVE Studios offers premier upbeat, high-intensity cycling classes.
The Oasis to Sweat & Connect
VERVE Studios
Thirty-one-year-old entrepreneur Lena Rakijian has created the ultimate cycling studio in North County. At the core of VERVE Studios, you’ll find rhythm-based cycling classes with high-intensity interval and upper-body strength training on state-of-the-art Stages Cycling bikes, plus professional lighting and live-concert sound. But Rakijian, who is also a registered dietitian and nutritionist, indoor cycling instructor, yoga teacher, and health and wellness writer, is keen as well on community, offering local brand pop-ups, live-DJ hip-hop music rides, and interactive health and wellness workshops.
The Wellness Apprenticeship
Active Culture Family
Camp under the stars while learning how to harness the healing properties of common herbs like mugwort, sage and calendula, among others. Active Culture Family’s Yaya Erin Rivera Merriman offers a yearlong Green Magic Apprenticeship designed to enable wellness enthusiasts and professionals alike to elevate their knowledge of healing arts. Apprentices learn how plants can improve gut health and strengthen communication skills while working with ancestral foods to improve microbiome health, and also developing a connection with both the spiritual and practical dimensions of the natural world. The program consists of four in-person gatherings at a private homestead at the Cleveland National Forest, as well as monthly online classes.
The In-Demand Healer
Nadia Ramo
San Diego native Nadia Ramo is one of this city’s best-kept secrets—though not for long, as Hollywood has gotten word of her ability to heal, and she’s become more sought after than ever before. But if you do manage to get an appointment, prepare to be impressed. She counts licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, massage therapist, yoga instructor, reiki master and mycology expert among her many qualifications. And one visit is all it takes to fall in love with her endless knowledge, healing touch and boundless compassion. When she is not studying with herbalists in Peru or undertaking a 30-day silent retreat in Maui, you will find her working on her latest project: setting up a nonprofit that will send an organized team of holistic healers to the sites of global catastrophes to heal through art and other traditional therapies.
Photography by: Massage Photo by NKS Imagery/iStock | Alisha Hawrylyszyn Frank photo by hissa igarashi | verve photo by diana sciacca | malas in bloom photo by lovers of love photography
