Mountain Trek at the Ranch | Kirkland Shave and the MT team

• Fitness and weight loss program based on daily hiking, led by expert guides from Canada’s Mountain Trek destination spa staff. Full days, including special gourmet meals and snacks prepared under the guidance of Mountain Trek’s nutritionist.
• This small group program is separate from the regular Ranch fitness program, but in all other ways it’s the classic Ranch experience. Mountain Trek participants stay in accommodations just like our regular Ranch guests and have equal access to all the fun and features of the Ranch facilities.
• Reservations must be made through our Mountain Trek partners: call 1-800-661-5161 and/or go to their site at www.mountaintrek.com for more details. You can also email them at info@mountaintrek.com.

The famed Mountain Trek hiking and weight-loss program is an intimate, personalized week that’s limited to a small group of guests. Normally this program takes place at the Mountain Trek destination spa location in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada, but in sessions each fall and winter, the Ranch welcomes groups of up to 16 Mountain Trek hikers per week. The guides lead guests on days of exploring the beautiful meadows and woodlands, highlands, streams and creeks of the Ranch.

Small groups mean each person hikes at their best personal pace, supported by the group guide. Morning yoga and evening fitness classes round out a full fitness experience that leaves each guest feeling lighter, clearer and ultimately rejuvenated and well-rested. Informative lectures about stress, sleep health, nutrition and lifestyle will kickstart a new way of living, with guaranteed fat loss and muscle gain.

Each evening, Mountain Trek guests can choose from the full range of Rancho La Puerta fitness and health activities, including cardio, dance, pilates, water aerobics, tai chi, NIA, stretch, posture, core, weight training – and much more -- all taught by the Ranch’s top-of-their-game instructors in beautifully appointed gyms and studios. The Ranch also has three health centers that offer massage and other body treatments, hot tubs, steam rooms and saunas plus “inner self” classes (meditation, chanting) as well as a variety of evening lectures and presentations, all open to Mountain Trek guests. At Rancho La Puerta you have both a separate, intimate Mountain Trek experience guided by Mountain Trek staff and a chance to sample the extraordinary variety of the Ranch.

http://www.mountaintrek.com/

http://www.mountaintrek.com/rancho-la-puerta/

Culinary Experiences at La Cocina Que Canta | Visiting Teacher Deborah Schneider

Deborah Schneider is co-author of the James Beard-nominated “Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta,” co-authored with Ranch founder Deborah Szekely. She is also the author of “¡Baja! Cooking on the Edge,” a celebration of the food and wine country of the northern Baja region; “Williams-Sonoma’s Essentials of Latin Cooking,” and her latest,  “Amor y Tacos,” which celebrates fresh Mexican food and margaritas. 

Deborah is Executive Chef/partner in SOL Cocina Newport Beach, overlooking Newport Marina. SOL was chosen one of Orange Country’s Best Restaurants of 2010 by Orange Coast Magazine. SOL Cocina’s open-kitchen menu is noted for fresh, high-quality Mexican food, ideas gleaned from her Baja experiences and writings. SOL Scottsdale opened in 2011.

Deborah has cooked professionally since 1980, and is an ACF Certified Executive Chef. Her cooking style is informed by her frequent travels in Baja California, her obsessive reading of anything culinary, and an early grounding in classic French technique. Deborah is currently loving every minute of teaching at La Cocina Que Canta, in the middle of a beautiful garden that is every chef’s dream. Her informal hands-on classes are high-energy and fun for everyone, regardless of skill level.

Deborah was a specialty magazine editor (with diverse clients such as the Canadian Opera Company and Toronto Blue Jays) when she got the travel bug and took off to Europe with a cute boyfriend and a motorcycle, both long gone.  Travels through Spain, France, North Africa, Italy and Greece led finally to her first paid (sort of) cooking job, working on large private yachts in the Greek Islands. She arrived in San Diego in 1983 and talked her way into her first restaurant position with Piret’s Restaurant, quickly working her way up to Executive Chef positions with La Gran Tapa (southern California’s first tapas bar,) Dobson’s Restaurant (a longtime Zagat favorite,) and the tony Grant Grill, where she was the first woman to hold the Executive Chef position in an establishment that prohibited women customers for many years. When she joined the four-star Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines in 1998, Deborah became Hilton Hotel’s first-ever female Executive Chef , a position she held until 2004, when she joined Kimpton Hotels to open the Hotel Solamar and Jsix Restaurant in San Diego’s fashionable Gaslamp District. From 2006 through 2008 Deborah oversaw food services for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Meet, serving 5000 guests daily during the race meet in 7 restaurants with over 200 employees. She has catered events for as many as 10,000 guests; but 16 in La Cocina is much, much better. Deborah married a San Diego surfer and is the mother of 2 teenagers, both of whom can cook.

Deborah offers three hands-on culinary experiences, 3.5 hours each, during which you will enjoy preparing your own meal along with fellow cooks. These activities take place at La Cocina Que Canta. You also will have the opportunity to harvest produce you use from our organic garden, Tres Estrellas. Transportation will be provided.

For more information and registration, please click here.

Gentle Yoga | Veera Sanjana, M.S., M.S.W

Veera Sanjana approaches her yoga practice with gratitude, reverence and love. Veera is a certified Hatha Yoga teacher and her teaching style is best described as 'meditation in motion'. Veera's unique yoga teaching style stresses a strong fluid practice with emphasis on mind, body and breath connections to direct our attention inwards. She sets a rhythm that allows her students to explore their own inner world.

Veera was born in India and was schooled in the ancient yoga traditions from a very early age. Veera is able to bring alive the essence of ancient wisdom teachings for modern seekers, in a way that allows students to connect deeply with their own authentic power and spirit.

In her classes, she skillfully weaves together the teachings and time tested practices of Hatha Yoga, Ayurveda and Vipassana Meditation to create a dynamic and integrated practice, that help us lead healthy, happy and effective lives. Each class is unique, based on a theme related to body, mind and spirit.

Under the guidance and grace of her teachers, Veera has taught many types of yoga, including gentle yoga, prenatal, postnatal, restorative, yin yoga, yoga for kids, yoga for seniors and therapeutic yoga. Veera's passion and visionary presentations grow out of her extensive experience as a instructor of Yoga, Meditation, Compassionate Touch, Ayurvedic Healing, Eastern Dance Therapy, Herbs and Nutrition. From her home base in California, she enjoys teaching classes, seminars, writing for magazines. She travels often and offers workshops and retreats that integrate meditation, yoga wisdom, ayurveda and spiritual life-skills.

What is Inside Shines Out: Poetry | Myra Klahr

Myra Klahr, professional writer and winner of the Dylan Thomas Poetry Prize, founded and was the Executive Director of Poets in Public Service, Inc. Her work has been published in literary magazines and her book, The Waiting Room was published by the University of New Brunswick, Canada. Myra inspires her students to reach inside themselves to find the raw material to make a poem. Over the 15 years that she has conducted these programs at the Ranch, guests have been surprised at their ability to write wonderful poems quite easily. Amaze yourself with your ability to let “what is inside shine out.”

Love Cycles | Linda Carroll, M.S.

Love Cycles with author and therapist Linda Carroll.

SESSION ONE. Relationships are explored as a series of stages through which we travel – from romantic bliss to rude awakening to disillusionment and sometimes despair until, finally and ideally, a resting place where love has grown deeper, richer and more settled. Each of the journeys described is based on a synthesis of the current literature on marriage, intimacy, biology, and poetry through the ages. This very popular short talk invites people in all stages of relationship, from single to those in a long-time commitment, to enjoy a witty, informative and fascinating exploration of love's path.

SESSION TWO. The Stages Defined. Decoding Love's Potion; Wisdom and Folly; How to Select an Appropriate Partner. The Inevitable Power Struggle; The Never Ending Loop; Learning the Counter-Instinctive Move; Finding Wholeness in a Difficult Relationship, on your Own or with Another.

SESSION THREE: Linda Carroll offers a surprise session which will sizzle with interest describing sexuality through the stages, covering issues of intimacy, passion and lagging libidos, as well as differences in desire. Linda will use anonymous questions and choose topics from her many years of experience as a "Hot Monogamy" therapist to create a lively and informative dialogue

Linda Carroll has been a practicing therapist for 30 years, specializing in couples. In the nineties, she and her veterinarian husband, Tim Barraud, began to teach a couples' course based on the Imago process of Harville Hendrix, the PAIRS training of Dr. Lori Gordon, and their own insights, study and practices. They continue to offer retreats and seminars all over the world, and Linda is currently at work on a book project, Love's Cycles, based on this work. In 2006, her memoir, "Her Mother's Daughter," was published by Doubleday, and in 2008 Conari Press published "Remember Who You Are."

Connecting People to Places | Susan J. Smith

Connecting people to places is Susan J. Smith's goal, whether it be on her travel blog, (DesignDestinations.org) through her photographs or when she talks with friends over a cup of coffee around the kitchen table. Join her at the Ranch when she shares what she has learned on many trips to Paris and a recent marvelous experience in India.

Her talks will include:

Why is Paris such a big deal? What is so special about the city millions visit every year and why would you want to go there? Focusing on these questions, Susan will share the rich cultural history, subtle nuances and glittering glamour of this glorious City of Light.

Ok, you're going to Paris, now what? This talk will include ten very specific and practical suggestions and hot tips for making the most of a visit to the Paris. If you don't have a trip scheduled, you may want to plan one to the city that oozes history, art and charm.

The glories of India--a country of contrasts. Experience the sights, colors, mysteries and magic of the Northern India through Susan's eyes. Topics will include the religious experience in Varanasi........the Taj Mahal and why is it so magical...... the palaces of Rajasthan. Go on an exploration of the exotic temples of Khajuraho and explore the annual Pushkar Camel Festival.

Susan J. Smith, a mother, grandmother, wife and frequent traveler will take you away to foreign places this week while at Rancho La Puerta. Her background includes 30 years of newspaper writing in Fashion and Home Design, lots of community involvement and a passion for seeing the world.

In recent years she has reinvented herself as a travel blogger (DesignDestinations.org), using her writing and photography skills while she travels as much as possible.