The Art of Coming Back to Yourself: Lessons from Maria Menounos

For Maria Menounos, wellness has never been about perfection. Through her own experiences with caregiving, health challenges, and personal transformation, she's become an outspoken advocate for a more holistic approach to healing — one that nurtures the body, calms the mind, and restores the spirit. 

This October, Maria brings that philosophy to our award-winning Berkshires resort with her Heal Retreat, an immersive experience designed to help you reset, reconnect, and return home with practical tools for lasting well-being.  

Ahead of the retreat, we sat down with Maria to discuss what healing really means and what guests can expect in Lenox this fall.  

What does "coming back to yourself" mean to you today? 

Maria Menounos: To me, coming back to yourself means remembering who you were before the world told you who you needed to be. It's remembering what brings you joy, remembering the little one within you, listening to your intuition, and making choices that feel aligned with your values instead of everyone else's expectations.  

I realized I needed something I could come back to whenever life got noisy, or I started drifting away from myself. So, over the years, I began collecting the reminders, values, practices, and lessons that helped me find my way home again. Eventually, that became my guide back to me, and it's what inspired Your Guide Back to You™. I wanted to bring that to Canyon Ranch to help other people create something they could return to for years to come.   

How has your definition of healing evolved over the years? 

MM: For a long time, I thought healing meant reaching the finish line. That one day my blood work would be perfect, my scans would be clear, and then I'd finally feel healthy. Now I see healing very differently. It's appreciating the gift of life while continuing to care for the body God gave you. Healing isn't about fixing yourself or becoming someone else. It's about coming back into alignment with who you truly are and remembering the person you were before the world told you who you needed to be. 

Many people feel like they're constantly giving to everyone else. How do you recognize when you've drifted away from yourself? 

MM: I think one of the greatest crises today is that we've forgotten ourselves. We've become experts on everyone else's needs, expectations, and opinions while losing touch with our own. When I notice I'm making decisions from pressure instead of peace, that's usually my reminder that it's time to slow down and reconnect with myself. 

What's the first thing you do when you notice you're feeling disconnected or overwhelmed? 

MM: Slow down. For me, that usually begins with prayer because it's where I reconnect with myself and remember that I don't have to carry everything alone. But I think we all need something that helps us come back to ourselves, whether that's prayer, time in nature, journaling, meditation, or simply sitting in stillness. We live in such a noisy world that it's easy to lose ourselves. I've found that the answers I'm looking for usually aren't found by doing more. They're found by creating enough quiet to actually hear myself again and get into alignment. 

Are there one or two daily practices you return to no matter what's happening in your life? 

MM: Gratitude has become one of the biggest anchors in my life. It shifts my perspective almost instantly. I also protect the routines that help me feel like myself, like getting outside in the morning sunlight (and sunset!), moving my body every day, doing practices like yoga nidra, and making time to slow down instead of constantly rushing to the next thing. 

Which wellness habit has had the biggest impact on your well-being? 

MM: Honestly, consistency. I've learned that healing isn't one big moment. It's the daily practice of coming back to yourself. For me, that's prioritizing sleep, nourishing my body, getting outside in the morning sunlight, moving every day, taking time to pray, and protecting my peace. It's the little things we do consistently that truly change our lives. 

Healing is often thought of as a solo journey — how does community fit into yours?  

MM: Healing may be personal, but it's not meant to be lonely. We learn from one another, support one another, and remind each other that hope is always possible. That's really why Heal Squad exists. I never wanted it to be a place where I had all the answers; I wanted it to be a place where we could search for them together. And it can also be fun — healing doesn’t always have to be something we dread, and doing it together is what makes it a joyful experience. 

Why did Canyon Ranch feel like the right place to bring the Heal Squad community together? 

MM: I've always wanted to create a space where people could step away from the noise of everyday life and truly focus on themselves. I think Canyon Ranch has long been recognized for its devotion to health and wellness, and it felt like the perfect backdrop for everything we wanted to create.  

Everything about the environment invites you to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with yourself. They give you the time and space to do the deeper work that's so hard to make room for in everyday life. We talk about healing every day on Heal Squad, but being able to experience it in a place like Canyon Ranch brings those conversations to life in a whole new way. 

What are you most excited for guests to experience during the retreat? 

MM: What it feels like to truly unplug and be taken care of. We’ve intentionally created a weekend where every detail is designed to help you slow down. You'll move your body, learn from incredible experts, have meaningful conversations, spend time in nature, and connect with a community of people who are on a similar journey. I hope it feels like a deep exhale. There's something really powerful that happens when you finally give yourself permission to do that. 

What’s one takeaway you hope retreat guests leave with? 

MM: They’ll leave with their own Your Guide Back to You™. Not just the physical guide we'll create together, but I hope they leave with a deeper understanding of what helps them feel like themselves. My hope is that when life gets busy again, they'll have something they can come back to again and again that reminds them who they are and what truly matters. The impact of this retreat will last way longer than just the four days because they have Your Guide Back to You™ to carry with them for their ongoing journey. 

Don't Miss the Next Heal Retreat 

Join Maria in Lenox, Oct. 4–7, for a weekend dedicated to healing, community, and practices to guide you back to yourself.  

Save your spot today.