"To me, wellness is something active," she says. "It's a way of living where the person is practicing awareness of what a person needs."
Caminos, a pranic healing instructor, yoga, and spiritual guide, is the spa director at Tierra Santa Healing House.
Prana is a Sanskrit word meaning energy that refers to the practice of using energy to heal the body. Caminos' pranic master once said, "Without awareness, there is no transformation," and transformation is the focus at Tierra Santa Healing House, the Faena Miami Beach's 22,000-square-foot spa with terraces facing the Atlantic Ocean, direct beach access, and a massive hammam that would put Caligula's opulence to shame.
While spas often draw inspiration from Eastern cultures, Tierra Santa's influences are a bit closer to home, with a focus on sounds, smells, and plants of South America. "We have such a rich culture with rituals and healing and prosperous land. Hotelier Alan Faena wanted to bring that to the world," Caminos adds.
The spa's menu involves shamanic rituals and instruments from the region and presents the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of the plant cacao, which is native to the region. Caminos says it's known to "open your heart."
At Tierra Santa Healing House, Augustina Caminos brings the spa's healing work to the community through events and workshops.
Faena Miami Beach photo
Sixteen years ago, at Faena's request, she shaped his namesake hotels' spa offerings, first in Argentina and then in Miami. Early in their collaboration, he asked Caminos what her mission was; she answered, "To right human consciousness." She puts all her energy into helping and serving others. "We're really aligned in our mission," Caminos says of her and Faena.
Most of the team at Tierra Santa are pranic healers and massage therapists, offering hybrid healing techniques tailored to each client's needs after a consultation. The Sacred Warrior, for instance, combines pranic healing, palo santo, sound healing, and massage. The range is vast, so whether you respond to crystals, kundalini yoga, cold plunges, acupuncture, IV vitamin infusion therapy, or Hydrafacials, Tierra Santa has a treatment that suits everyone.
Caminos especially enjoys bringing the spa's healing work to the community through events and workshops. She's created a program with a calendar of high-vibrational happenings open to the public — not just hotel guests. Upcoming wellness retreats include an Ultimate Wellness Conference at Faena Forum in September and an Ultimate Wellness Retreat from Biohacking Congress in October.
Tierra Santa Healing House is a 22,000-square-foot oasis at the Faena Miami Beach.
Faena Miami Beach photo
A wellness trend Caminos sees is that other healers take all aspects of a person into account, including their spirituality, and provide support not typical of spas, like counseling.
"When I started in spas, I said, 'I want all the spas in the world to be an anchor of light,' and Alan said, 'Okay,' like I was a little crazy," she says. "That was almost 20 years ago, and now he's like, 'I want you to do that in our spa.'"
She sees spas using an integrated healing approach more across the board. And while Caminos and her staff will support you along the way, her ultimate goal is to help you help yourself.
"I feel that you're going to come have a session with me, and I'm going to use all of my tools to help you stand up again and feel your best," she adds. "I will show you how you can do it for yourself and have a balance in your energy body."
Tierra Santa Healing House. At Faena Miami Beach, 3201 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; 786-655-5570; faena.com.
