Tour's Player Of The Year Describes Canyon Ranch Experience
By Vicky Hurst
Article Courtesy of Duramed FUTURES Tour
"Huhmmm ... huhmmmmmm...huhmmmmmmm."
I could already feel the tension leaving my body. "Huhmmmmmm." The more I chanted, the more I felt all the worry and stress and expectations leaving me. I knew that the next four days at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts, would be exactly what I needed after eight grueling months of straight competition on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.
Canyon Ranch is more than just a spa. It is a healthy vacation that offers organic meals, outdoor activities and daily mind, body and soul-cleansing classes.
The first class I attended was the Kirtran Sacred Chant class. I was the first one to arrive and was eagerly greeted by the three instructors dressed in exotic native clothing. They encouraged me to sit right up front to get the full experience of the class. The instructor started by informing us that the chant comes from India and is used to get in touch with water, air, earth and sun.
We began with a few warm-up exercises that consisted of quiet humming. Then we went on to the chanting, which was in the Hindu language. Although I was a little embarrassed about chanting so loudly in front of total strangers, I ended up really getting into it. I was surprised to find how relaxing the class ended up being.
To relieve stress and tension, Canyon Ranch offers so many different and exotic classes, like the Kirtran Sacred Chant. I also participated in West African drumming, which was so much fun! That week, I took several art classes that encourage creativity, including watercolor painting and portrait drawing, where I drew my favorite actor, James Dean. I also did two other classes: "Coloring Outside the Lines" and "Expressing My Creative Self."
For some more physical activity, I did hiking, kayaking and mountain biking. In these classes, I was the only participant with the instructor, so I was really able to learn quickly. To relax, I took yoga and stretching classes. I also was able to get several different massages, including a hot stone massage and the signature Canyon Ranch Massage. I'm used to getting physical therapy massages, which are mostly painful, so getting a completely relaxing massage was very nice.
In addition, Canyon Ranch offers all delicious organic meals. Those who are careful about their diet do not have to worry about eating unhealthy foods here. However, they do offer delicious chocolate chip cookies at the front desk and I managed to go several times a day to get one… I guess it is not surprising that I became most acquainted with the host at the front desk during my stay there!
Canyon Ranch was so much more than what I expected it to be. For the first time in a long time, I did not think about golf or worry about anything. It was the most relaxing four days I have ever had.
As one of the top-five money winners on the 2008 Duramed FUTURES Tour, Vicky Hurst was awarded an all-inclusive stay at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Mass. Hurst, 18, of Melbourne, Fla., was this year's Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. She won five tournaments, posted nine top-10 finishes in 13 events, led the Tour in scoring with an average of 70.28, and as the top-ranked player on the Duramed FUTURES Tour's 2008 money list, she became the Tour's all-time single-season money winner with official earnings of $93,107. Hurst will be a rookie on the 2009 LPGA Tour.
Topics: Player Blog, Hurst, Vicky
