Where science meets stillness: Inside the luxury of Sensei Lanai

Through evidence-based, data-driven programs, Hawaii’s Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort offers a truly premium experience in a crowded wellness market

I have it on good authority that I know how to breathe. I have been doing it for the best part of 44 years, after all. But apparently I am not particularly adept at it, which is news to me.  

My source is Edwardo Williams, an Exercise Physiology Guide at Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort. I’ve joined Edwardo for a one-on-one session as part of the Hawaiian resort’s Optimal Wellbeing Program (OWP), and we’re examining some of the key data my WHOOP band has collected pre-arrival. 

The wearable health tracker, touted as the most advanced in the market, is a new addition to my tech stash. It landed in the mail, courtesy of Sensei, a few weeks ahead of my stay. I set it up, strapped it on and swiftly started ignoring it and its register of personalised stats. 

This is a habit of mine. I got an Apple Watch (now long dead) and almost never wore it. I downloaded a meditation app and almost never use it. I found a local yoga studio and almost never attend. 

The team at Sensei is all too aware of this trend, which is why the OWP is designed to align intentions with actions. Add the myriad benefits of Sensei’s lush surrounds and thoughtfully curated experiences, and this is a wellness retreat with a genuinely distinctive proposition. 

Best intentions 

As the name suggests, Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort, combines the renowned hospitality of the Four Seasons brand with the wellbeing ethos of Sensei, a company co-founded by tech trailblazer Larry Ellison and renowned cancer researcher Dr David Agus. 

The name also points to the adults-only resort’s pristine location, the Hawaiian island of Lana’i. Once entirely a pineapple plantation, the 364-square-kilometre isle, which is 98 per cent owned by Ellison, is now home to Sensei Lanai, as well as Four Seasons Resort Lanai, and Lana’i City, population 3,200. 

I arrive at Sensei toward the end of a challenging year, armed with intentions. The first, though, is to find coffee. Once caffeinated, I take the time to wander the resort’s Edenic grounds, flanked by undulating mountains and studded with striking artwork, including the monumental Talaia by Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa. 

Standing 14 metres tall, Talaia’s grand presence encourages reflection, her eyes closed in reverie. Sensei guests are invited to do the same in various forms: the yoga pavilion hosts flow, yin, aerial and vinyasa classes, as well as meditation, breathwork and gong sound bath sessions; the onsen garden features 10 heated soaking tubs, each tucked away amid thick, jungle-green vegetation for ultimate seclusion; and, at the heart of the property, the koi-filled gazing pond is motivation to take it slow. 

Talk about reverie. I am lying supine, wrapped in the scent of rose, geranium and sandalwood, prepped for a thermal body massage. Deeep breath. I am in one of Sensei’s 10 private spa hales, where a thermographic body-mapping machine has just scanned my frame and produced a handy heat map. Susana, my massage practitioner, is on the lookout for red zones, which reveal asymmetries, muscle tightness and pain in the body, and help her provide a more targeted treatment. 

My hips, particularly the right, demand attention. This problem spot also showed up in an earlier health metrics session with Edwardo. The dots are already starting to connect. Deeep breath. 

Her magic complete, Susana leaves me on the verge of sleep, cocooned in cosy blankets, and I am tempted to stay right where I am. Deeep breath. Instead, I make the most of the 30 additional minutes, during which the hale’s two outdoor pools – one warm, one cold – outdoor shower, ofuro tub, infrared sauna and steam shower are all mine. Deeeeep breath. 

Paradise Found

You’re already on Lana’i; it’d be rude not to sneak a peek at the Four Seasons Resort Lanai. It would also be plain silly. Just 14 clicks from Sensei, this clifftop escape is every bit the tropical paradise your mind’s eye can conjure. Dotted with waterfalls, gardens, streams and ponds – and with two ocean-facing pools and a generous selection of luxe activities (yes please, sunset sail) – opulence meets tranquillity at this dreamy destination. 

In the slow lane 

Edwardo didn’t tell me I am not a good breather. He is entirely too kind to be so blunt. Rather, he outlined how to better understand what my body has been trying to tell me for years. Spoiler: My sympathetic nervous system is in overdrive. But there is a plot twist, too: as well as being a poor breather, I am also an excellent breather. 

My source on this occasion is Lydia Moran, one of Sensei’s Mindset Guides. With help from a HeartMath monitor, we watch my heart rate depict a beautifully stable rhythm across the span of a five-minute breathwork exercise. 

The topline message is that I need to slow down, but I already knew that. The power of Sensei lies in the guides’ capacity to not just explain the data, but also the specific impact of these numbers on a guest’s day-to-day life. Crucially, they are also armed with expert advice that is simple, accessible and personalised. 

The Sensei experience is built on three core principles: move, nourish and rest. Each is connected to and enhanced by the others, helping to create the often-elusive balance many of us so deeply crave. 

Sensei itineraries are themselves an exercise in balance. Mine includes one-on-one sessions dedicated to intention setting, mindset, functional movement, fitness and nutrition, working alongside yoga, massage and mountain hikes. Free time is also built in and there is an incredible catalogue of activities available to fill it, if you wish to do so. 

The onsen garden features 10 heated soaking tubs, each tucked away amid thick, jungle-green vegetation for ultimate seclusion…

I feel nourished even before setting foot in Sensei by Nobu, the resort’s signature restaurant. Night after night, I am utterly spoilt by fresh, clean ingredients and a menu designed by world-renowned Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa. 

Balance is a Matsuhisa martini (vodka, sake, ginger and cucumber) with dinner, local line-caught bigeye tuna tataki; balance is a restorative yoga class when I would normally push through that niggle and hit the gym; balance is acknowledging the room for improvement as well as the value of imperfection. 

I leave Sensei with a vastly improved sense of balance. And, significantly, with explicit permission to do less, the promise this will deliver more and the science-backed evidence to prove as much. 

Deeep breath. 

Hotel Notes

Room-only rates Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort start at AU$1,755 per night, with a minimum two-night stay. Round-trip transportation from Honolulu on Lanai Air is included in all bookings with arrivals by 31 December 2025.  fourseasons.com 

Hawaiian Airlines offers a non-stop service from Sydney to Honolulu five times a week.

hawaiianairlines.com.au