The Spanish island known for its hard-partying ways is calling to another kind of pleasure-seeker. And this one is lured by the sound of the gong, rather than DJ beats. Ruby Warrington, the New York–based astrologer and author of Material Girl, Mystical World: The Now Age Guide to a High-Vibe Life, traveled to the sun-drenched island several times a year when she was based in London. “Ibiza has this kind of party reputation, but that really only happens in the high summer, by which I mean end of May through September,” says Warrington. “But the rest of the time, it’s just a beautiful, rural idyll. The party scene has morphed into people going to get feel-good vibes from a healing perspective.”
Indeed, healing retreats are thriving in Ibiza. Trish Whelan is an Irish expat who founded Soul Adventures in 2013. Based out of Whelan’s mountaintop estate, the retreats focus on Kundalini yoga and other healing modalities such as meditation, Reiki, and gong relaxation. “Ibiza is a tiny island, with a population of about 350,000,” says Whelan. “Last summer, we had 7 million visitors. They don’t all come for the DJs; they come for the energy.”
And how does that energy feel, exactly? That depends. “It’s just a palpable buzz that gives everybody whatever they need, whether that’s relaxation or more energy,” Whelan says. She notes that Es Vedrà, a mysterious rock island off the western coast of Ibiza, is known as the third most magnetic place in the world. “When you couple Kundalini yoga with that energetic field, you can have a deep transformation,” she says.
But it’s not just yoga poses that are helping island visitors bust through blocks. Whelan says that “radical light-workers” from all over the world—healers who offer everything from water massage to crystal Reiki to chakra balancing—feel “a call” to come to Ibiza. Some 50 healers tend to the groups at Ibiza Retreats, a popular escape for Europeans and Londoners. In an increasingly chaotic time, retreat leaders Larah Davis and Susie Howell see a growing need for what the experience offers. “It’s hard to describe, but people often talk about a sense of well-being here, even as they arrive and take their first steps off the plane,” Howell says. “We find many people are seeking a sense of belonging again—of reconnection to themselves.”
Ibiza Retreats focuses on female empowerment, digital detox, and healthy doses of silence among the island’s wealth of natural beauty. “For a place with such a high proportion of sunshine, it’s an incredibly green and verdant island,” says Warrington. Along with beaches and coves, there are fragrant pine forests, boughs of almond blossoms, and a profusion of wildflowers in the spring. “The landscape is so inviting,” says Warrington.
And, it’s fertile. “Living in Ibiza allows you to be in harmony with the seasons,” Howell says. “You can eat from tree or ground to plate, so the diet is much more seasonal and local produce is of an incredibly high standard. It’s definitely a hub of clean eating.” And, drinking: “Everything is organic,” Warrington affirms. “You can hardly go out and get a regular cappuccino because it’s all plant milk.”
Whelan names citrus fruits, almonds, strawberries, watermelons, figs, olives, and organic wine as locally grown ingredients on her day-to-day menus. “We live such a high-vibration life on the island; we don’t want to have food that’s traveled weeks to get here,” she suggests. “Food loses energy and vibrations during transport.” Even before drinking water that’s from a mile-away source, Whelan works with healers to “reprogram” that water with crystals.
Lest you think that high-vibe talk is unique to Ibiza’s Kundalini gurus, think again. Whelan shares what happened when a phone repairman stopped by her house recently. When she got to chatting about a problem she was having, the repairman said: “ ‘Well, of course you’re going to have issues—there are too many crystals in this room,’ ” Whelan says, laughing. “That doesn’t happen in London.”
Though Ibiza’s healing culture is becoming ever more pronounced, that doesn’t mean its hedonistic tendencies have been sacrificed. “For millennia, Ibiza has been this land of healing and magic,” Whelan says. “Dancing on the tables is also healing. People come here to celebrate life, really.”
But, be warned: Some visitors never leave. “Ibiza attracts people who are invested in living a life that feels really good,” Warrington notes. “In the 1950s and ’60s, it was a real haven for hippy communities. And there still are nudist beaches where you’ll find ancient hippies, still living that dream.”