AS CLEAR AS CRYSTAL

Quartz has long been recognised as a healing stone, said to amplify healing energy and have a positive effect on chakras. Lying on Ireland’s only quartz bed at Galgorm Resort & Spa, in blissful relaxation, I find it hard to disagree.

The bed itself is a wooden structure filled with heated alphaquartz sand. This is covered with a plastic sheet, which you lie on, while the therapist pads the sand around you in a kind of cocoon, to fit into every contour. She then uses singing bowls, which she strikes to create vibrations through your body and the room itself. This is a form of meditation that is said to lower stress and blood pressure, and boost circulatory and immune systems. It induces deep relaxation.

This is followed by a top-to-toe hot quartz poultice massage. During this part the bed is tilted to zero gravity position to increase circulation. Quartz therapy is derived from the ancient Greek practice of psammotherapy (hot sand therapy). In the 1980s, a German tourist called Rita Blum took a sand bath on the Italian island of Ischia and emerged feeling ‘newborn’. On her return to Germany, she and her husband developed the sand therapy bed.

After the treatment, it’s a must to visit Galgorm’s incredible Thermal Village. Overlooking a rushing river, it includes indoor and outdoor facilities – even in the height of winter, the outdoor experience will keep you toasty. There’s pools, saunas, steam rooms, sanariums, a serenity garden and hot tubs – and even a Snow Cabin.

Overnighters can enjoy a range of food options, from fine dining to Italian fayre and there’s live entertainment on weekends too, to put that healing energy to the test...

THE 90-minute Quartz Serenity Signature Ritual costs from €110. Midweek autumn escapes to include B&B, dinner with wine and use of the Thermal Village cost from €120. Visit galgorm.com for details and to book

KIM WATSON