THE BODY HOLIDAY
There are pampering spas and there are spas that make a difference. So if you’re going to spend your hard-earned cash on self-improvement, it’s vital you pick the right place
THE MEDICAL SPA
In an ideal world, we would all have a health MOT every year instead of just fire-fighting when we get sick. So imagine a spa where you get fit through working out, but also have doctors administering diagnostic tests, which should put paid to any Googleinduced hypochondria and let you know the exact state of play with your body.
Park Igls – a seriously good medical spa 6km south of Innsbruck, in the heart of the beautiful Tyrolean Alps – is just the place for this kind of overhaul. The spa’s concept is based on the principles devised in the Twenties by an Austrian doctor, Franz Xaver Mayr – he of the famous FX Mayr Cure. He believed the key to good health was what and how you eat, and that, combined with exercise and preventative medicine, is the secret to a long, healthy life. Dr Mayr died in 1965, at the impressive age of 89, so I’d say he knew what he was talking about.
The Austrian FX Mayr Health Centre itself sounds a bit hardcore (too much fasting and abstinence), but Park Igls has worked a modern version of the
Mayr Cure into a bespoke programme of treatments, lifestyle coaching, medical tests (ultrasound scans, blood and lung-function tests), exercise and diet.
Whatever the motivation – illness (or fear of it), lack of fitness, rejuvenation – people of all ages and backgrounds come to Park Igls, so there are no regular holidaymakers putting you off your game, as you find in many destination spas.
The core programme includes a health check, daily abdominal massages (to aid digestion), Kneipp water treatments (circulation exercises) and, depending on your goals, you can add as many as you like of all the extras: the medical tests, extra massages, facials, counselling, fitness classes and personal training.
What you eat depends on your goals. Diet categories are graded from zero (liquids only) to seven (three nutritionally balanced, substantial meals for those who aren’t looking to lose weight). The detox is aided with bitter wasser (bitter water, or Epsom salts), which everyone drinks half an hour before breakfast (cue the worryingly unpredictable dashes to the loo), and no liquids are allowed with meals (it hinders digestion). You’re meant to chew every mouthful at least 30 times, while savouring it, so the food is broken down before it hits the stomach. This means the nutrients are better absorbed; eating slowly gives you time to register fullness before overindulging. Eating mindfully like this takes a bit of getting used to and it makes me realise how often I bolt my food, but it’s quite pleasurable.