Inner Peace, Good Eats. yogasite.com yoga@20retreats.html yogafinder.com yogaeventsearch.cfm.(Brief Article)

Pinney Dror, a New York investment banker, felt so overworked last month that he decided to slow down and take a deep breath--several deep breaths, in fact. Dror skipped town for a 10-day stretch in Costa Rica. He spent roughly $2,150, excluding air fare, at Pura Vida Retreat and Yoga Center outside San Jose. Days at Pura Vida begin with sunrise yoga sessions in the hardwood studio suspended above the lush foliage. The finishing touch? After-dinner massages--for an additional fee. Dror's a true believer. After assuming all the right yoga positions--none of them behind a desk or computer screen--he found that "things that used to be huge and overpowering were reduced in proportion." Who's the last investment banker you heard talk like that?

Dror is a prime example of the "health trippers" --Type-A professionals expanding their minds and muscles on vacations that try to teach them how to relax. In the United States alone, the number of yoga classes in health clubs has nearly doubled in the past five years. Now those tired of sweating it out in a stuffy gym are taking vacations that are as much about breathtaking vistas as taking deep breaths.

Yoga used to be considered a cult rather than a lifestyle. Yurts in the wilderness attracted serious students to spartan meditative marathons where alcohol and other pleasures were enthusiastically banned. The food was awful. Only the insects got to enjoy a decent meal--you. Today, well-heeled practitioners on these new luxurious retreats try to balance philosophy with fun. "In the '70s yoga instructors thought austerity added to the experience," says Satyam Nadeen, who owns Pura Vida and the Maya Tulum retreat in Cancun, Mexico. "Now people want wine with their meals." And down pillows and rooms with ocean views. "The serious students aren't going on these trips," notes Maty Ezraty, who runs Yoga Works in Santa Monica, California.

Think Gucci, not Birkenstock. Yoga trips now include Hawaiian hideaways and centuries-old European homes, with such amenities as maid service and private chefs. "I did do some shopping," admits Amery Burleigh of Santa Barbara, California. She spent $1,595 (air fare not included) for a ...