Deeply Rooted

Ancient philosophy meets modern wellness culture at a retreat in Greece.

- Janine di Giovanni

I'M A STRONG BELIEVER in psychotherapy, but the concept of professional coaching never appealed to me. The one time I tried it, I was unnerved by a trust exercise and gave up almost immediately. Then, a couple of years ago, I became CEO of a nonprofit investigating war crimes in Ukraine. Having spent most of my career as a writer, working alone, I found leading a team to be exhilarating, but I needed a new skill set. So I signed up for a leadership program at Euphoria, a wellness retreat in Greece.

The word euphoria is derived from ancient Greek. (Its literal meaning is “to bear” or “to carry well.”) It’s a fitting name for the first—and most acclaimed—wellness center in the country. The property is set in the fortified town of Mystras, about a three-hour drive south of Athens. I arrived just as the sun was going down behind Mount Taygetos, the highest peak in the Peloponnese, and casting a golden light across Euphoria’s stone floors.