Santa Fe Chosen as Healthiest City
Another good reason to came and spend some time in Santa Fe. “Organic Style Magazine” has chosen The City Different as the healthiest in the nation.
This is good news if you want to spend a few healthy days on a vacation. It is a great place to come and get healthy if you are ailing and want a healer of any type. It is a great place to learn about healing because some of the best schools for Acupuncture, Massage, Aromatherapy, and Energy Medicines are here. (For more information check out my article on this “The Healing Arts in Santa Fe”
And don’t forget about the healthy mind and spirit things that Santa Fe has to offer!
“Organic Style” Magazine chose the top 125 healthiest cities and ranked them. They were rated on toxins in the environment, car exhaust, industrial plants, and pesticides. The judging was not only what environmental facts were healthy in the area, but also what kinds of healthy mind and spirit options are there in the city as well. You need to have fun and enjoy what the area has to offer to be healthy too.
What was said about Santa Fe was that the pristine desert air was mostly free from agricultural chemicals. Santa Fe County in fact has a very prominent organic farming and ranching community. It can be seen when you visit the Farmer’s Market. There you will see organically fed and raised chicken, beef, lamb as well as organic vegetables, fruits, flowers, honey, oils and soaps.
The light from clear blue skies and dry mountain air brought many an artist and continues to because it allows the beauty of nature to be captured so beautifully on canvas as well as film.
The environment is carefully preserved through strict laws maintaining the architectural style. Ecosystem protecting standards on water uses in homes and businesses are also strictly enforced.
Museums, Art Galleries, Live Theatre, Ballet, and the world famous Santa Fe Opera all contribute to the healthy mind and spirit category. Because Santa Fe has been a Mecca for artists from the earliest native peoples to present day, art is everywhere to be enjoyed.
The mountains and beautiful arroyos, canyons and open spaces offer plenty for hikers, mountain bikers and winter sport enthusiasts. The Rio Grande and tributaries offer river rafting and fly fishing for the wet wildlife lovers.
Santa Fe and the area has a number of spas to indulge in healthy relaxation. They are:
- Bishop’s Lodge- Sha Nah Spa which is steeped deep within the Native American traditions of the Pueblo Tribes, and home of some of the oldest Spanish settlements in America. With these strong traditions, the use of natural healing remedies, herbs, sweat baths and teas is a practice.
- La Posada Resort - Avanyu Spa- Avanyu, a Tewa Native American Indian name for a mythical water serpent, represents the restorative and life-giving power of water. The use of water therapies with the use of nourishing products from the sea and the surrounding regions is a specialty here.
- Inn at Loretto – Spa Terre this new full-service spa rejuvenates the mind, body and soul as east meets southwest with exotic Indonesian and Thai rituals as well as signature indigenous treatments.
- Ten Thousand Waves - Offers the closest thing to an onsen outside of Japan. It’s a Japanese hot spring resort, adobe-style.
- Vista Clara Ranch Vista Clara Ranch is a destination spa. A sense of community is a part of the experience of a vacation at the ranch. The program takes a holistic approach to health in that they address mind, body and spirit and work with guests to assist them to achieve a balanced healthy lifestyle.
- Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs- One of the oldest health resorts in North America, Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs is the only natural hot springs in the world with the remarkable combination of four geothermal mineral waters. Once considered sacred by the ancestors of today’s Tewa tribes, these ancient peoples built their Pueblo overlooking the springs.
- Sunrise Springs At the heart of Sunrise Springs is the Mindful Arts Program. The powerful combination of ancient teachings, the grace and beauty of the tranquil setting, and the desire for transformation
There are other smaller spa service businesses in the area such as The Warm Pool, Santa Fe Massage, and Studio 2000 Mini Day Spa.
With the healthy outdoors, beauty and desire of its inhabitants to keep it that way it is easily understood why Santa Fe has been chosen as the healthiest city overall.
This small town in New Mexico offers so much as a healthy city. It must be visited to be experienced.
Eileen Richardson - from The Santa Fe Site
