Whole-person care
Wellness Retreat Centers
Sometimes the best step toward wellness is time away to rest, learn, and heal. These lifestyle centers offer personalized, whole-person care — caring for body, mind, and spirit together. Their programs are built on the eight laws of health (NEWSTART): good nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine, temperance, fresh air, rest, and trust in God.
NEWSTART Lifestyle Center
An 11- to 18-day residential program on a wooded Sierra Nevada campus combining physician supervision and lab work with hands-on plant-based cooking classes, hydrotherapy, massage, and guided exercise... aimed at helping guests reduce their reliance on medication for conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Running more than 35 years, with over 15,000 residential graduates.
Official site →Weimar University
A small accredited university on a 450-acre campus offering degree programs in nursing, natural sciences, health, and counseling psychology, with an emphasis on whole-person wellness education. It is the parent institution supporting the adjacent NEWSTART lifestyle program.
An academic institution rather than a stay-in retreat... for a residential program, see NEWSTART Lifestyle Center above.
Official site →Uchee Pines Institute
A rural health-education campus offering a tiered residential lifestyle program... from guests managing an active health condition to those pursuing preventive change... built around vegetarian nutrition, hydrotherapy, massage, and appropriate use of herbs. Longer training courses are also offered for people who want to become lifestyle educators themselves.
Founded in 1970 and still running after more than 50 years, with an on-site farm-to-table restaurant and store.
Official site →Wildwood Lifestyle Center
A 600-acre mountain campus offering a medically supervised Disease Reversal Program for conditions like diabetes and heart disease, a Mental Health & Wellness track combining lifestyle change with emotional support, and a lighter Life Alignment Program for guests wanting a hands-on introduction to healthy living. Shorter single-day and virtual options are also available.
In operation more than 80 years... one of the longest-running centers of its kind.
Official site →Black Hills Health & Education Center
Set in a red-rock canyon near Mount Rushmore, this center runs monthly 10- and 20-day residential programs addressing conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and depression through nutrition education, hands-on cooking classes, and personalized exercise plans. It also operates an accredited massage-therapy training program and a fitness center open to the surrounding community.
Founded in 1979, offering retreat-style programs that pair rest with practical health learning.
Official site →Eden Valley Institute
A 550-acre Rocky Mountain campus offering a 14-day live-in wellness program addressing chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease through health education, personalized consultations, hydrotherapy, massage, and cooking demonstrations. The organization also runs a working farm program and a longer training track for people who want to teach these methods elsewhere.
Blends hands-on wellness with training and outreach; pairs a working farm with the residential program.
Official site →Nedley Depression & Anxiety Recovery Program
A structured 10-day residential program for depression and anxiety combining physician evaluation, lab and genetic testing, individual and group counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, nutrition coaching, and guided exercise. Shorter 8-week community-based versions run at local host sites around the country, and a self-paced online version is also offered.
Focused on whole-person care for the mind as part of overall wellness.
Official site →A Pattern Health Retreat
A small rural lifestyle center offering an 11-day residential session that blends conventional medical oversight with natural, evidence-informed therapies, led by a physician with decades of internal-medicine experience. It emphasizes a personalized, low-key retreat experience rather than a large campus.
Facebook: facebook.com/APatternHealthRetreat
Official site →Red River Outpost
A rural training and outreach center whose 7- to 21-day Wellness Retreat pairs restorative, natural-healing programs with hands-on farm, media, and lifestyle-education training. The retreat is built around a simple four-step process: an inquiry form, a call from a wellness associate, a consultation application, and then securing a spot.
3276 Pecks Creek Rd, Stanton, KY... also home to a working farm and training school.
Official site →Listings are for information; please confirm details on each center's official website.
Many more lifestyle centers serve communities across the United States and around the world — including sites in Mexico, Honduras, Australia, and Chile. If you know of a trustworthy center we should add, we'd love to hear from you.