Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1451559
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 57 S he has been called the "godmother of wellness," the "mother of the modern spa," and a "pioneer in the mind/body/spirit movement." Her life's work building Rancho La Puerta and Golden Door—two of the most famous destination spas in the world—is what helped earn her those monikers. But it's how she sees herself as "a seeker and a learner," along with a motto that she's always carried close to her heart—siempre mejor or "always better"—that have successfully guided Deborah Szekely (pronounced say- kay) throughout her illustrious career. Glimmers of grace, spirit, and good fortune run from beginning to end in the novel that is Deborah Szekely's life. Whether it be her mother's desire to move the family to Tahiti in search of a healthier lifestyle, her own marriage at 17 to a Hungarian philosopher who would be her partner in laying a foundation for the modern spa movement, helping Hollywood royalty like Kim Novak and Burt Lancaster get fit before their next movie, running for Congress at age 60, or continuing—even at nearly 100 years old—to deliver lectures on health and life to spa guests on a weekly basis, Szekely is the first to say she is blessed. "I really believe I have some angels up there who take care of me." Yet, it becomes quickly evident when you talk with Szekely that fortitude, curiosity, hard work, and courage play large roles in her novelesque life as well. LEARNING LIFE SKILLS IN TAHITI It was certainly the hard work young Szekely learned as a child that gave her the skills and the courage to help create Rancho La Puerta, which itself at more than 80 years old was named 2021's number- one destination spa by Travel + Leisure. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Szekely's health-conscious family moved to Tahiti during the Great Depression. Her mother, a nurse, believed in eating fresh, organic foods, and Tahiti offered that to the family during a time when fresh foods were hard to come by at home. With steamship tickets in hand, the family set off for a new way of life. At 8 years old, Szekely learned what it meant to live off the land as she caught fish, carried drinking water, learned to live without an indoor bathroom, and helped with the family's garden. It was a simple life. It was while in Tahiti that the family befriended Edmond Szekely, who was teaching about raw foods and healthy living. He was a philosopher, religious scholar, and author of Cosmos, Man and Society, written in 1936. It was at one of the family's favorite swimming holes that they first met Edmond, in what was to be the beginning of a lifelong friendship. When the family returned to the US, they continued the friendship with Edmond, and would frequent his summer health camps, a tradition he brought with him from Tahiti and various European locations. The young Deborah Szekely ended up working for Edmond, and the two eventually married in 1939. With war at hand, neither knew how dramatically their lives would change in a few short months. FINDING A SPECIAL PLACE Imagine starting adult life at 17, newly married, and needing to find a way to keep your Hungarian-born husband from being deported to fight in Hitler's army in W WII. It was 1940 and these were the circumstances that led the couple to a small village in Mexico where they would lay roots for the birth of today's modern spa and where the famed Rancho La Puerta would be born. "The war threw us a curve—we had been on our way to England where my husband had been working at the British International Health and Education Center, and I was going to go to college," Szekely says. But the Romanian government would not renew Edmond's visa. "They wanted him to come and fight on the side of Hitler, and that wasn't very attractive Deborah and Edmond Szekely taught their children, Alexander and Sarah Livia, about the simple lessons in life. Founded in 1940 by Deborah and Edmond Szekely, Rancho La Puerta is the original fitness resort and spa. Photos supplied by Rancho La Puerta. for a young Jewish man living safely in the United States," she explains. Without a visa, the US government chimed in next. "My husband got a letter saying, 'If you are found in the US after June 1, 1940, you will be returned to your country of origin.' So, we left . . . We went to Mexico without papers, without anything, knowing that in a village in Mexico, nobody's going to pay any attention to us . . . and they didn't." The couple began looking for a place to call home. "We had absolutely no plans," Szekely says. "We were kicked out of the United States. We really didn't have many choices, and there was no planning, no vision, no wonderful ideas." But there was Edmond's reputation as an educator, and a following of people who liked his message of healthy living, whole foods,