Seabourn To Offer Spa & Wellness Programs With Integrative Medicine Pioneer Dr. Andrew Weil

Noted for its innovative onboard programming, luxury cruise line Seabourn has created a fleet-wide mindful living program offering guests a holistic spa and wellness experience that integrates physical, social, environmental, and spiritual well-being. The new Spa and Wellness with Dr. Andrew Weil program will be the first-ever of its kind at sea. The new program will be led by the newly established position, The Wellness Guide. The Guide, will be a certified yoga and meditation practitioner who will inspire and educate all guests through various complimentary classes and gatherings throughout the voyage. Guests who choose to participate in this new program will have a cruise experience that is further enhanced by a holistic mind and body perspective.

"This new wellness program will offer our guests an experience they simply won't find anywhere else in the industry," said Richard Meadows, president of Seabourn. "By partnering with Dr. Weil, a pioneer in integrative medicine, we will deliver an even greater degree of mind and body programs that ensure you can break away, relax and rejuvenate while you travel with us. We're eager to share the full slate of offerings as a part of Seabourn Encore's inaugural sailing as another component of the Extraordinary Worlds of Seabourn."

The program is scheduled to kick off with Dr. Weil sailing on Seabourn Encore's inaugural cruise in January 2017. The program will be rolled out throughout the entire Seabourn fleet in 2017, including Seabourn Ovation in spring of 2018. Dr. Weil will sail on a different Seabourn ship each year where he will deliver a 60-minute lecture for guests and will also offer smaller informal group discussions. A separate team of wellness experts will also make regular visits to spa facilities throughout the Seabourn fleet.

Central to the program is the daily practice of meditation and yoga through a selection of complimentary sessions. Guests can experience Mindful Meditation, which will introduce positive affirmations and mantras they can reflect on throughout the day. There will also be daily restorative yoga classes which will continue to focus upon the mantra and positive affirmations. Yoga classes will be varied, offering guests the ability to choose classes that focus on various physical issues, such as yoga to heal back and joint pain, headaches and body alignment, as well as yoga to enhance creativity, mental focus and happiness. Classes will focus on mind, body and spirit over a period of seven days, and will change daily with a new theme.

Integral to the wellness program are enriching complimentary Mind and Body seminars designed to educate guests on philosophies and practices that are aligned with the program's mission. Each presentation will aim to empower guests with ideas and practices that enhance well-being and increase the awareness of connection between mind, body, environment and wellness. Seminars are created by Dr. Weil and Steiner's Wellness professionals, many of which will be based upon Dr. Weil's teachings, and will explore the fields of the healing arts.

On board seminars include:

• Spontaneous Happiness & Spontaneous Healing: adapted from Dr. Andrew Weil's best-selling books.
• Anti-inflammatory foods: adapted from Dr. Andrew Weil's nutritional guidance.
• Healthy Aging: adapted from Dr. Andrew Weil's research in this area.
• Introduction to Mindful Meditation: learn what happens to the body and mind during meditation.

Individualized one-on-one wellness sessions on select topics will also be available for a fee.

The launch of the Mind and Body Wellness Program with Dr. Andrew Weil deepens the already wellness-focused Seabourn spa program that offers a wide range of body massages, facials, fitness and beauty treatments. Lending itself to the program is the powerfully aromatic Thai Poultice massages that use the traditionally prepared steamed herbs of Camphor, Kaffir Lime, Prai, Turmeric and Lemon Grass in muslin poultices to melt away stress and tension, or nourishing desecrated Coconut that nurtures the body with soothing fats and lipids. Guests will also find Deeper than Deep Hot Stone Massage, Bamboo Massage and Freestyle Massage to engage their minds and bodies.

Seabourn Encore Pool Deck Image Courtesy Seabourn