Member Postcard: A Restorative Stay at Pegasus Malibu

Indagare member Tamara Bernstein reports back from the Pegasus Malibu and shares her impressions on the excellent fitness retreat.Contact Indagare for assistance planning a stay at Pegasus Malibu. 

I have just returned from the glorious Pegasus Malibu and am happy to report that it is absolutely wonderful across the board. I was at the retreat with two other women (although we all came separately), and we loved it and are now obsessed.

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Pegasus Malibu is a six-day program, and while similar to The Ranch Malibu, it is also unique. We stayed in a funky, modernist house designed by architect Harry Gesner in the 1950s and located in the hills above Malibu. The views of the ocean are truly breathtaking. Though the accommodations are not five-star, the house was clean and felt like a nice beach rental. The house has four bedrooms, so it is really best for friends traveling together if they are sharing rooms. There is also another nearby house designed by the same architect with three bedrooms that can house additional guests. The three of us staying there bonded immediately and have already decided to return later this year!

The house offers lots of outdoor space, which we used for stretching after our hikes and for strength and conditioning exercises with John, a former gymnast/Superman who could seriously kick your butt if you let him! He took it relatively easy on us, but after a four-five hour hike you only have so much energy left over.

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The hikes are really the main reason to come to Pegasus, and they are spectacular. Each hike had different terrain, but all of them were equally challenging. We covered 10-11 miles per day, and you get 10 almonds while hiking (not just five!) The vistas from these hikes are really unbelievable. Since California has gotten a lot of rain recently, the land is green and lush, and you can see mountains, valleys and ocean for miles. Two or three staff members accompanied us on each hike, so we were very well taken care of and one of them, Lindsay, even brought her dog Chachi along. Rory, who founded Pegasus Malibu, is an ex-member of the British Special Forces, so we felt extra safe. Everyone at the retreat works incredibly hard to make the experience special and tailored to your individual needs.

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Yoga and meditation with Kat was also amazing. She will do any kind of yoga you like, but we did mostly flow and restorative. After yoga we were led through different types of meditation. We had massages each evening to help relax our sore, tight muscles so we were able to hike the following day. At first I was very sore, but after they put kinesiology tape on me, I was good to go.

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The vegan food prepared by our Italian chef Sarah was very fresh, flavorful and surprisingly filling for 500-calorie meals. She is a genius, and everyone wanted to take her home.

The daily schedule at Pegasus is:

• Wake up at 6:00am and have a smoothie for breakfast
• 6:45am leave for the hike (the longest drive is about 15 minutes)
• 12:00 pm lunch back at the house
• 1:00pm workout with John
• 2:30-4:00pm yoga
• 4:00pm optional beach walk
• 5:00pm dinner
• 5:45pm massages begin

I went to sleep by 8pm every night and woke at 6am, so I was always very rested for our busy routine. On our last day, we were all very sad to leave, but we have plans to meet back in six months!

Contact Indagare for assistance planning a stay at Pegasus Malibu.