Bancroft, Ontario, CANADA ~ Nature in all of it’s splendor.
Seek and you shall find…. Canada’s Best Wellness Retreat five-years running from the World Travel Awards. Welcome to Grail Springs Retreat & Spa for Wellbeing. At the very heart of our multi-award-winning sanctuary rests a mission and dedication to personal growth and wellbeing for almost thirty-years.
With a holistic approach to programs, the Grail team supports your quest to nourish the body, relax they mind, and reconnect with self in a place surrounded by the natural world of forest, trails, lake, animals and beauty.
Enjoy healthy plant-based meals, outdoor hot/cold water immersion circuit, daily yoga and meditation, workshops, guided hikes, and evening talks. Our therapeutic spa offers a range of treatments from immune boosting therapies, salt room therapy, energy work, relaxation massage, sound healing to life coaching.
Located in Bancroft, Ontario, an easy 2.5 hour drive from Toronto or Ottawa, the retreat centre is far enough to feel you’ve escaped to another realm. There is no where quite like it in the world.
Fill Your Cup ~ Love Your Life TESTIMONIALS
Grail Springs opened its doors in 1993, a privately owned retreat sanctuary designed by its founder Madeleine Marentette. Located in Bancroft, the Mineral Capital of Canada, the property is close enough for an easy drive from Toronto International Airport, yet far enough to feel you have escaped to another world. With hundreds of acres of pristine forest, walking trails, crystal outcrop, abundant wildlife, meditation gardens and a curative spring-fed lake, individuals are inspired by the stunning natural beauty and are recharged by the potent healing enviroment that supports them. Grail Springs is dedicated to the protection of the environment, for people, animals and the planet.
Fed by hundreds of vigorous springs, the lake is alkaline based which makes it extremely beneficial for detoxifying and purifying the body. Magnetically charged by the ancient granite bedrocks below, these vital ‘alive’ waters are then naturally filtered, kept in its purest form, with no chemicals added. Guests bathe, drink and swim in one of the last remaining purest water sources in the world.
Planet Earth, much like our human body, has a complex subtle energy field; Geomancy is the Ancient applied science of balancing subtle energy fields within architecture and the landscape. Grail Springs sits in the Canadian Rockshield, the oldest exposed rock on the planet. Rich in massive deposits of quartz crystal, retreat guests can hike to the property’s own crystal crop meditation area.
Our sacred labyrinth is designed after the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth in France built in 1201. Some interpretations surrounding the labyrinth is that it represents the solar system, the chakra system or it is a symbol of the soul. In October 2012, we were honored with a visit from Venerable Sonam Rinpoche who cleansed and blessed the land in the centre of the labyrinth with a traditional Buddhist ceremony. People around the world use the labyrinth as a tool for contemplation and healing.
Our family of horses add a special presence here at Grail Springs. Known for their therapeutic effect on the human condition, our gentle beauties have been known to assist and heal many of our guests through simple encounters out at the paddock, or by attending one of our Horse Meditation circles available May to November. Living in harmony with nature, the property is home to deer, loons, geese, blue herons, fox, hare, pheasants and the occasional moose just to name a few.
Originally used for logging and hunting, Grail Springs transformed one-hundred plus acres into a well-groomed trail system where animals and people can flourish together in harmony. Each Monday and Saturday morning retreat guests can join an informative guided nature walk through the forest or take a self-guided hike using a map provided and well-marked trails.
Unique to Grail Springs, visitors can experience special features designed to optimize wellness goals, improve sleep and relaxation, detoxify, lose weight, repair cells and deliver an overall sense of reconnection and wellbeing within oneself.
Make daily use of any of the saunas or outdoor hot and cold therapy immersion tubs to open pores and restore the body’s ability to breathe and eliminate toxins. Exposure to heat will also stimulate production of white blood cells and strengthen the immune system. Tip: Take the 5 second cold plunge and charge up your bio-energy!
Not only is our lake calming and breathtaking against the backdrop of the retreat, the water is used directly in our therapies, baths, steams and cooking. The cleanest water in the world, you can safely drink right from your tap. The water happens to be alkaline, spring-fed and highly active energetically. Grail Springs prides itself on being located on such a rare gift of healing waters, hence its namesake. So fill your cup and drink, drink, drink from Chalice Lake
When some private time is needed for meditation or reflection you can sit with the prayer trees, medicine wheel or walk the sacred labyrinth. Each of these installations offer a healing or teaching to those seeking same. Sit within their sacred centres where some people experience a state of timelessness, peacefulness and resolve. Most find this type of surrender particularly relaxing and sometimes even revelatory.
Amongst the Stones… Grail Springs may be the first wellness retreat in the world to implement a Geomancy Project. This entails specific placement of transducers, special minerals and selected stones by a trained Geomancer, to bring equilibrium to all who walk upon her land and within her walls. Look for large standing stones while you are here, known as peace cairns, an ancient tradition symbolizing an active movement towards peace by lying down of stones (primitive weapons) and turning them into building blocks towards a better future. At some point during your visit, lie down in the volcanic bed and let your body benefit by the electro-magnetic frequency or venture to our hidden Crystal Mound meditation area.
Grail Springs was established in 1993 by founder Madeleine Marentette as Canada’s premier wellness destination and to provide education and purpose-driven experiences to those looking to improve their lives. Grail Springs takes a holistic approach to total wellbeing, integrating body, mind, and the spiritual aspects of ourselves, supporting ways in which our lives can be more balanced, whole, happy and inspired. Grail’s philosophy is centred on ‘7 Pillars’ to total wellbeing.
These seven keys are the pillars of the Grail Springs philosophy and progams from our bestselling book. The integration of all aspects of self; body, mind, heart and Spirit, represent a holistic, non-clinical approach to wellbeing, a profound process to maintaining optimal health, longevity and happiness.
Know where you are at to know where you are going. It’s important to connect to the physical, mental, emotional and Spiritual aspect of ourselves, and pay attention to those intuitive hits that tell us when something is off. Checking in several times a day can allow us to self-correct and get back to balance, supporting and maintaining harmony within and assuring longevity. This is conscious living.
Wipe the slate clean. Cleanse the body regularly by adopting a seasonal 5-day detox cleanse. Eliminate high acidic foods from your diet and move towards pH balanced meals (more greens). Add weekly detox baths, saunas, hit the gym and get moving. All of these will successfully purge the body of toxins, reduce pain caused by inflammation, assist with weight loss, strengthen the immune system and improve cellular function.
Nourish Body, Heart, Mind & Spirit. Nourish the body with healthy pH balanced food, supplements and alkaline water (add lemon). Once a week take a bath in seaweed salt, Himalyan salt, or Epsom salt. The skin will absorb the much needed minerals provided in these natural resources from the earth. Meditate regulary and always keep dreaming, learning and growing.
Breath is at the centre of life itself. Prana, our ‘life force’, is what draws the breath in. To effectively alkalize the body and induce calm, it is important to take time to breathe deep in our day.
Keep the energy pathways of the body charged. Start each day with movement. Adopt the 6-minute Grail Mantra (see Youtube), yoga, daily walks. This sets our state-of-mind and mood for the day. Movement flushes toxins, pumps the lymphatics, helps us to stay flexible, strong and youthful.
Reconnecting with your inner most being, your body, and with nature, is the starting point to discovering truth, passion, your love for life. The practice of daily meditation raises our awareness and develops our intuition. Connecting mind and heart as one is key to knowing oneself and what we value in life. Change is possible when we remain grounded in our beliefs. It gives us strength to move forward in our life. Our soul is the vehicle for transformation, the mind is the tool that weilds it.
Take steps to support yourself and the healthy choices you make. Enlist those around you who you love and who love you. Ask for their support as you engage in your transformation process. Ensure you surround yourself with people who add to your life, who inspire you, lift you up so you can continue to grow, learn and stay happy, healthy and wise.
You have a ‘frequency’. And your level of frequencey or life vitality can be captured on film nowadays with advanced technology. Grail Springs has this technology.
Practicing meditation is a prerequisite to self-discovery, peace of mind and optimum health. I made it my personal goal years ago to effectively integrate three types of meditation into my hectic life ~ every day.
As the weather becomes colder and we stay indoors more, people often catch colds or other viruses. The cold and flu season can begin as early as October and usually ends sometime in April. While there is no way to cure the common cold or the flu, healthy alkaline eating can help you avoid getting sick.
Thalassotherapy is an ancient healing treatment dating back 5000 years and is based on the natural healing properties of seawater. The word itself was coined in 19th century France from the Greek “thalassa” meaning sea or sea goddess and “therapeia” meaning healing…
The cleansing effect of this 30~minute sole mixture bath equals that of a three-day fast. The toxins are released into the bath water, while the minerals from the sole are absorbed through the skin. This reduces the acidity in our body and gets rid of skin-irritations. Grail Springs only makes the sole mixture twice a month; during the full moon phase and the new moon phase.
Good health is not something you end up with, or a place you get to like an end destination, but rather, it is a continuum. It follows a pattern of ebb and flow, never the same, always changing. Once you visualize this concept you can begin to connect with its guidance intuitively, and manage it daily with ease.
A healthy life depends on the circulation of the lymphatic system. It is our second circulatory system, FOUR TIMES LARGER THAN OUR BLOOD SYSTEM and the UNSUNG HERO OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.
When most people think of setting up an emergency pantry, lots of canned and processed food may come to mind. While this will supply us with food, it may not always be food of the highest quality to meet our nutritional needs. Usually when some emergency strikes our bodies are most under stress, and it is then that they need even more nutritional support.
We are each born with the gift of five senses; sound, touch, smell, taste and sight. We navigate through our early years feeling vulnerable and subject to experiences that do not always feel as delightful as the tastes of a chocolate truffle. But we bite into life and do our best to figure out what (and whom) serves us well and what does not.
Planet Earth, much like our human body, has a complex subtle energy field; Geomancy is the Ancient applied science of balancing subtle energy fields within architecture and the landscape.
I just had experts here at my home yesterday giving me an assessment of my ‘dirty electricity’, and me a personal lesson about the health consequences of microwave radiation…
It might take a while for Al Gore and other noted “environmentalists” in the U.S. to branch out from giving “safe” advice like “use energy-efficient light bulbs” and “recycle”…
Salt scrubs or dry brushes are excellent ways to wake up the body and prepare your skin to eliminate toxins with ease which is one of its most important functions.
Deep cleansing detox facial the way Gramma used to do!
Take time this week to pay attention to your face as well as the rest of your body. Every surface of your skin is trying to release toxins. Here is a simple facial you can do at home at that is deeply relaxing, cleansing and refreshing.
The first full moon in December signifies the beginning of the Winter Solstice whereby thousands of people around the world begin a conscious process of inner self-reflection while also focusing on their vision for the upcoming year.
We are Earth-Committed. We prepare fresh foods daily and prescribe to a healthy, whole-food, plant-based diet for health reasons, as well as ethical and eco-conscious reasons. We support the wellbeing of people, animals and planet, doing our part to end animal factory farming. Enjoy delicious food prepared with heart.
You can take action today to turn your kitchen into a healthy one too. These are simple antidotes to follow to start feeling an immediate improvement in your health and energy level. Making these few simple changes will start to raise your alkaline level and lower your acidic level AND help you with weight management.
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Member Since 2022
