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SunWater Spa is a sanctuary.
That was my thought when I walked through the door for the first time, right about a year ago.
The air feels different inside, infused with the mineral-rich water from Seven Minute Spring that fills the soaking tubs – the spring water that earned Manitou Springs its name. The effect is instantly relaxing. The spring water, plus the use of wood and stone in the spa’s design, incorporates the natural world into the built environment.
I was there because a friend invited me to go to a Full Moon Celebration for January’s full moon, the Wolf Moon. I understood we were to do some yoga and then soak in the hot tubs. It sounded lovely, but I had no idea how far my expectations were to be surpassed.
First, the “yoga” was not what I expected. It was led by an energetic, petite woman who did indeed lead us in various poses, but not the traditional yoga stances I knew – and there was great live piano accompaniment. The focus was very much on letting loose and having fun, and our class leader was a great model for this. We danced; we hopped; we went out into the chilly night air and howled at the moon because, after all, it was the Wolf Moon. I had fun in a way I hadn’t since childhood. It was profound and playful – profoundly playful, playfully profound.
“Who is this magical pixie woman?” I wondered about the class leader.
The magical pixie was SunWater Spa co-founder Kat Tudor. And the live piano accompaniment was courtesy of her husband, Bob Tudor.
After “yoga,” the class donned swim wear and headed for the water. My friend and I opted for a soak in an outdoor cedar tub. The mineral water was heated to just over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the perfect temperature on that chilly winter night. It was a decadent sensory experience: the warm and welcoming water, the bracing night air that smelled like snow and forest, the conversation and companionship we shared at the foot of Pikes Peak. It was one of those moments where I understood in a deeper way the joy of being alive.
I’ve gone back a few times since then, as it is easy to book a 90-minute soaking reservation and fun to do with friends – each tub can fit up to four people. During your reserved time, you’ll also have access to a traditional sauna, a cold plunge tub, and the indoor saline pool area.
SunWater also offers luxurious spa experiences: many types of massage such as deep tissue and sound healing, as well as a form of massage for expectant mothers; hydrotherapy; and body treatments like the Stone Crop Body Wrap which promises to “soothe and smooth” you from head to toe, plus facials and lash and brow sculpting. And there are the movement-based classes – currently, that includes the Candlelight Infrared Recovery Yoga (which uses infrared yoga mats designed to warm and relax your muscles as you stretch) and Sacred Sundays: A “womben’s circle” that is “devoted to cultivating sacred sisterhood.”
For more information or to book services online, go to SunWaterSpa.com.
The origins of SunWater spa
SunWater Spa co-founder Don Goede told the Bulletin the spa’s origin story, which he said began in Rishikesh, India in February of 2010 when he and Kat were there on a spiritual journey. Kat noticed the similarities between Rishikesh and Manitou Springs. Both have sacred waters: Rishikesh with the Ganges, a river central to much of life in India and sacred in the Hindu tradition, and Manitou Springs with its mineral waters – waters that have been considered special by many across time and, according to the Mineral Springs Foundation, made Manitou Springs a “resort and healing destination” in the early 20th-century.
“Rishikesh I might add looks like Manitou’s twin with beautiful rolling foothills meeting rock formations and mountains as well,” Don said.
The two were inspired by this insight to create a healing space in Manitou Springs based around its mineral waters. But there were a lot of moving parts, including finding the right location and securing access to the mineral water – but they were eventually successful in this.
“We … decided … we would work with Loya Arrum, a Northern Ute … to ask permission before developing SunWater,” Don said. “She came out and did a lot of blessings and gave us many prayers and healing for our project.”
He added, “Here’s where it gets interesting.”
“After we asked, and were granted permission, we hired a drilling company to come out and start drilling the well,” he said. “And for the most part everything went pretty good until they hit about 300 feet or so and they did hit water – but it wasn’t mineral water.”
Don said Loya was very sick at that time and “getting ready to make her transition.”
“We asked for her help along with our other spiritual advisor, Miguel Angel Vergara,” Don said. “And I remember Kat coming over to Seven Minute Park and praying her heart out for everything to work out with the drilling.”
If the drilling did not obtain the mineral water, the spa opening they had envisioned and announced would have not been possible – it would have still happened, but it would have been a different experience. And they invested so much into their original vision.
Just in time, the drilling worked: As Don and Kat were on their way to Fort Duchesne reservation to pay their respects to Loya, they received a call with news that the mineral water had been secured.
“We think Loya was helping us with all of it, as she had sung and spoke to the waters just months before,” Don said.
