The Second Brain

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We tend to forget what our stomach does for us…other than hold food and drink.   Here at EspaceHenri Chenot in Merano the concepts of ancient Chinese Medicine are alive and ticking and much focus is on what we do…or not do to our stomachs.   When you think about it, of course, it’s a brain – look what we say and feel when we are scared – we get a knot in our stomachs, when nervous – we have butterflies, – when shocked- it’s like a punch in the stomach.

We tend to forget that our bodies couldn’t operate without what our stomach does, it is the powerhouse. It holds all those machines that power our body – our organs.  Here the nutrients we pile into our intestines are processed and filtered out to where they are needed – or often are NOT filtered out, which is why we get tired, sluggish and eventually sick.  The clear and efficient working of our digestive systems is all.   This is recognised in most wellbeing centres and clinics.  It is why in the Mayr clinics throughout Germany and Austria you are asked to chew every mouthful at least 42 times.

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This comes as a shock to those of us who are used to throwing food down our throats without truly savouring it.  Part of the Mayr philosophy is that the chewing slows us down and breaks the habit of the fast talk/fast food world we live in.   Here at Chenot, they go one step further in describing what happens if you don’t macerate your food thoroughly.  The bits that aren’t chewed fully, hang around the intestines, not being absorbed, and gradually fester, ferment and release toxins…just think of the smell from your gut!

Just a thought…perhaps we will all chew a little longer from now on.  It brings a whole new meaning to the Slow Food Movement

http://www.palace.it/en/hotel-espace-henri-chenot.htm

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Lady at the Lake

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What does a small hotelier do knowing that there is no real room for a spa proper, but also realising that guests may want a treatment or therapy…otherwise they may book elsewhere

The people at Gilpin Lodge nr Kendal in Cumbria, had a brave, but clever idea…they offered time as a spa treatment with their Jetty Spa Trail – three and a half hours of pleasure at the Lake House, an off-shoot of the main hotel, set in its own grounds and with its own private lake.  The Lake House is in itself, a romantic retreat with just six bedrooms, all huge and spoiling, ideal for couples, who make up most of its occupants.  And while anyone can lose themselves in the glory of the Lake District and have masses of time to themselves with great walks, hikes and boat rides…every so often people want something special

Well the Jetty Spa Trail is it.

It begins with one of the most impressive aromatherapy consultations I have had ( your chosen essence is then used in your massage and is given to you as a going away present of body cream, bath salts, spritzer and a pulse point roller), after which you can swim before having a salt scrub shower and sauna.  Then it’s time to take the little jetty trail across to the spa for a massage or facial of your choice, and onto the Boat House for tea, and time to unwind and talk to your nearest and dearest without any interruption…or just simply relax in each other’s company.  The finale is champagne and a hot tub – hopefully under the stars.

Zoe Cunliffe who runs the place with her husband knows how precious time is when you have a business and family…and suggests this as an easy way to have time out, some good champagne, fun…and fun in glorious surroundings.

Panic ye not – every so often the Lake Districts stuns the visitor and turns off the rain…at which point it is one of the most beautiful places in England

www.thegilpin.co.uk

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Time to Fast

The third day of the #Grayshott programme is when we fast …but it’s just a semi fast.  Finish supper the night before around 7.30 and no more food until the following lunchtime when some soup and a sald is served.   That evening instead of supper the most delicious broth – although not enough of it.   I pleaded with organiser, the glorious Elaine Williams, who says we can have seconds on our next fast day.

I don’t think I had been without food for that long in an age…but oddly enough it was no hardship.  The only hunger pang I felt was immediately before lunch…but I am convinced that ws because I knew lunch was on the way…and I only had a smidge of a headache half way through the afternoon – nothing at all like I’ve had at other food deprivation retreats!

I’m not sure what the fast did to my tastebuds but I must admit that the sauerkraut at breakfast the following morning didn’t taste as ‘delicious’as usual…and was difficult to get through.  

Back to normal for another couple of days and then one more fast before finishing the programme

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Day 2 Grayshott programme

 Sauerkraut for breakfast!   I kid you not, a small bowl of the fermented cabbage awaits each participant before each meal to be eaten before we embark on our morning feast.  Added to which  some 20 drops of herbal bitters need to be consumed also. All this is not just to get the gastric juices going but to prepare the digestive system for work.

I happen to like sauerkraut but mostly when its served with great lumps of fatty meats and sublime sausages, unlike the chaste little bowl in front of me.  However the sight of the breakfast menu spurred me on – there was a terrific choice of spinach and red pepper omelette, a ful medames with beans, seeds and poached eggs, a muesli made wih chia (looked a tad like pond life), scrambled eggs with mushrooms and truffle oil – a truly imaginative selection.   Sadly no tea (other than herbal) or coffee…but that’s what we’ve signed up for.

A full day’s programme followed with a hydrotherapy bath, a castor oil compress – warm oily poultice placed on tum and liver, covered with a towel and then a hot water bottle, after which you lie in a darkened room while apparently a load of toxins are drawn out from your liver, followed by various consultations with herbalists and nutritionists.

Exhausting…. 

 

 

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The Grayshott Programme – day 1

It’s Grayshott’s newest programme so I arrived to test it in the freezing cold.

It’s basically a GUT CLEANSING affair and I’m fascinated to know how it differs from other similar programmes through diet, exercise, fasting and various massages and holistic therapies.

As with every visit to Grayshott, your stay begins with a visit to the nurse, and these nurses are seriously special.  Most of them have been here since God was a girl, have seen it all, know almost everything there is to know about a body and so make everything seem like coming home.  They reassure you with their knowledge and warmth…as Joanie did with me explaining that my blood pressure was normal for me, writing copious notes to everybody that they were NOT to tell me my weight (that’s something I don’t need to know, I know it too well from my side), and organising a hot water bottle for my bed.  What’s not to love

This was followed by a consultation with Ravi about my fitness levels (or rather lack of them) before heading for the introductory lecture by a whirlwind of a nutritionist, Stephanie Moore who devised the prog with Grayshott’s resident angelic therapist Elaine Williams, and between them they appear to have banned most foods…in theory, if not in practice, for the supper following the lecture was delicious, it included steak(!) and filling.

Entertainment was even organised with the appearance of a glossy red fox streaking across the lawn.  So far, so good, no headaches, no hunger and a huge amount of interesting information shared.

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Creature Comfort

There is something quite soothing and serene about elephants – it’s to do with the placid way they move, and in spite of their size there appears an innate gentleness about these huge pachyderms.  So how clever then is it of Thai spa group  #Anantara to team up with the Golden Triangle Elephant Foundation thereby allowing their guests to see the extraordinary research that is being done into elephant behaviour and to meet the researchers and mahout trainers.  An hour spent in such congenial company can be almost as relaxing as any spa treatment. In fact it could almost be marketed as an alternative spa treatmentLady Mahout  Pumpui the Elephant

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Couples a gogo

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I’ve never really seen the point of couples rooms in spas…surely all you want when you collapse onto that massage table or into a scented bath is total relaxation and NO distractions.  The idea of having my nearest and dearest, or even a close friend, lying a couple of feet away from me while I moan, whinge, groan and possibly dribble, is anathema. Much better for me to have my treatment in privacy so that I appear all sweetness and light and completely refreshed at the end.

However I do know such suites are popular so how clever therefore is the ESPA spa at the Leela Palace in Udaipur to offer such suites but with two separate treatment rooms, so that those who cannot bear to be parted for too long can have their various treatments in private, but then relax together, either in the pool,  the garden or splayed on luxury sofas in the calm of the withdrawing room…or even better having lunch in their own private turret overlooking the lake.

 

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City Slicker

Hard to imagine that Edinburgh’s One Spa , the first serious city spa in the UK, is 10 years old. Can you imagine looking out over Edinburgh from the rooftop hydropool above – only the Castle has a more interesting view! I talked to them recently about the changes that have occurred over the last 10 years of spadom…and even in Scotland, that home of the dour and brave, men have taken to spas like the proverbial ducks to water. In fact they now make up a qaurter of the spa’s users and membership. However when guests are looking for something a little gentler and warmer the laconium looks golden and inviting.
To celebrate their birthday One Spa is introducing a new ESpa Enzyme Facial – which peels and plumps – wonder how that is going to go down with the guys?
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BodyHoliday3

Well good to know not everything is perfect. Head of Wellness stood me up and my caci facial disappeared off the face of the beach…however I did have a terrific Chi Nei Tsang massage from a really terrific Tao therapost called Toby Maguire. Not too many places offer this TCM stomach massage while a great number of people really dislike having their stomach touched. I am very keen on it as it can be quite strenuous but it does shift any sluggishness in there. This one was exceptional, even more so because I slept for part of it!
Final thoughts on Body Holiday – very good value for money and if you make it work for you it won’t get any better. It’s all inclusive, including a treatment a day and at least a choice of about 12 activities from golf to scuba, spin to walks as well as yoga, pilates, tai chi and meditation. Everyone os given a 30 minute slot with a personal trainer – hope for Felix, who runs the gym and whose body looks as if its made of iron…but he has the kindest smile…

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