retreat center | Can Vital | why I started?

Frederik Mellentin, founder of Can Vital Retreat Center

In the beginning of 1998, I was a self-employed business consultant living a life in the fast lane with a lifestyle that didn’t leave much room for focusing on neither physical nor emotional health. Later that year I was undergoing my 4th operation in the brain that might or might not save my life after a devastating brain hemorrhage. It turned out that I was born with a malformation in the brain and I’m certain that my previous lifestyle had an impact in the fact that the bleeding occurred.

Having been exposed to a traditional hospital treatment with little or no focus on individuality or understanding of the needs of each patient, I realized that I needed to incorporate a holistic perspective on my life and be open to other explanations and treatments.

During the years after my brain hemorrhage, I participated in many different retreats: psychotherapeutical, spiritual, yoga, fasting, cleansing, meditation, nutrition etc. … Realizing that I had to live with a physical disability these retreats helped me to come to terms with my situation and gave me a feeling of belongingness, which was vital to me at the time. The retreats also helped me to understand myself, connect and accept my emotions and work with my challenges. The most important realization, however, was, that I needed to change my life style.

Having survived this experience, I promised myself that I would use my expertise, contacts, resources and everything else at my disposal to improve the lives and health of others. At some point I decided to create my own health retreat center and started a long search for the right place until I found Can Vital (then known as Mas Soler).

In spring 2017 I was standing in the softly falling rain looking at a run-down, neglected country house (masia) on the slopes of a hidden valley in the wine making country of Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. There was something about this place, Mas Soler, something timeless and special; an energy that I could feel working its magic on me. This was the place I had been searching for. This is where I would create the Holistic health center I had dreamt of, fulfilling the promise I made to myself years earlier.

Over the next 18 months, Mas Soler, which we renamed Can Vital, was restored with love and dedication to all its former glory, and then some. We made sure to respect the original structure of the house and carefully added elements that would provide peace, balance and harmony for our future guests. A great amount of care was taken to restore the property creating a natural space for Can Vital guests to enjoy, while retaining the unique energy and sense of history that had attracted me to the building in the first place.

The house itself has been designed to provide a complete wellness experience and offers a variety of spaces to enjoy during your stay.

Surrounded by nature, forests and the vineyards of the Mediona valley, we provide you a sanctuary where you can enjoy the rich fauna and flora of the Alt Penedès, with its magnificent views of Montserrat.

We invite you to come and experience the magic of Can Vital.

Looking forward to giving you more information about Can Vital in the coming articles.