Editor-in-Chief Katy Sunnassee heads to Austria for a gut healing retreat at Park Igls Medical Spa Resort where they employ Modern Mayr Medicine, massage, movement and much more to support detoxification both inside and out – plus a rather interesting sauna therapy!
Words: Katy Sunnassee. Images: Park Igls Austria.
I’ve been on plenty of press trips in my time: fishing in Finland, jet-skiing in Cyprus, being slathered in oil in Sri Lanka, and munching on £200-a-plate seafood in the Maldives. But, I’ve never been naked with the other journalists on a trip… until Austria. Day two of our stay at Park Igls Medical Spa Resort, near Innsbruck, four of us sign up for the Aufguss or “sauna ceremony”.
I’m slightly apprehensive about stripping off naked – the last time I got my kit off in front of others was in my 20s and at a small Buddhist festival where they had hot-tubs and a make-shift sauna. But I soon learn that in Austria they are not phased about nakedness, so I just go with it. When in Austria, after all.
There ends up being seven of us: four Brits sat like sardines along one side, and three German women on the other side, who look far more relaxed and have obviously done this before. Patrick, the sauna master, comes in to tell us about the alpine scent he’ll be using. He proceeds to twirl his towel around in the air above him, which makes the heat so much more intense, then wafts the towel at each of us individually, sending a wave of heat in my face that reminds me of getting off a plane in Doha (though I was of course very much fully clothed that time).
My nipples feel as though they are on fire! We’re then given a body scrub to apply, before standing outside, with towels on, to cool off before showering. I decide to immerse myself into the cold plunge pool and manage 10 seconds. It feels exhilarating so I repeat it a few times. The whole sauna section at Park Igls is lovely; as well as the super-hot 90-degree Finnish sauna where we have the Aufguss, there is a 60-degree sauna, an infrared cabin, a steam room, two showers and the cold plunge.
It’s all to be experienced naked but you can lay in your robe on the loungers. Back in the main pool area, which faces the beautiful gardens, there is a “textile sauna” that doesn’t require you to be naked. The loungers are the most comfortable I’ve ever laid on, and some tip back so you can have your feet up – an ideal spot for a snooze, which I do post-sauna.
Lots of chewing
The Mayr Method, both old and new, is all about chewing. Never have I been instructed to chew soup or yoghurt! They usually get swallowed in seconds. At Park Igls, good digestion is paramount and one way to achieve that is to fully “insalivate” each mouthful until it’s mush. This way, your gut has an easier time digesting.
It’s very strange chewing on a liquid, but I notice how the saliva flows.And to make sure you eat slowly, you’re given a teaspoon for your soup. Using that, plus all the chewing, means it takes me 30-45 minutes each day to consume a tiny bowl of soup, a small bread roll and a plate of thinly sliced turkey or Tyrolean cheese.
By the end, my jaw aches – and for once, not from talking, as talking at mealtimes is discouraged as it impairs digestion. For our first evening meal, our group doesn’t really adhere to the full chewing-and-not-talking principles, as we’re all still getting to know one another. The next day though, for lunch, I sit by myself, feeling ever so antisocial and rude, but in an attempt to chew each mouthful mindfully and not gulp down lots of air.
It’s a challenge. I find my mind wandering and my ears picking up on a conversation just across from me, and desperately wanting to join in. Yet the results are great as I don’t experience indigestion; normally, I get reflux after meals as I get up and down from the table multiple times, or start loading the dishwasher straight away. I want to bring this new awareness into life back home: making time for meals and chewing them thoroughly.
I also want to be more mindful of not just how I eat but what I eat. Most guests will be on no sugar. As I’ve written many times in my Katy Peri column, sugar is my nemesis. This retreat is to be my health reset: a chance to be away from my usual hurried routine, to slow down and recalibrate. My doctor assigns me to level three – zero is fasting and it goes up to seven, which is the most food you can get, including desserts.
On level three I get one Mayr food – I choose sheep’s milk yoghurt most mornings – as well as a dry bread roll (for the chewing) and 50g of protein from a choice of sliced turkey or cheese, trout fillet or paste, cheese or tofu spread, and more – there are 15 or so things on the menu.
At lunch it’s another bread roll, a small bowl of vegetable soup plus 50g of protein, while for dinner it’s two large sesame seed crackers, another tiny bowl of soup and another small portion of protein. Each portion is miniscule in comparison to what I’d have back home and yet surprisingly I don’t feel hungry all week. It’s only on the penultimate day I feel my stomach grumbling at around 5pm.
I’m also moved up from level three to four for the final two days, meaning for lunch I have a bowl of carrot soup and also a delicious duck in red wine sauce that’s so beautiful, you’d pay a small fortune for it in a fine-dining restaurant. I eat it all but feel very full afterwards.
…And lots of pooing!
A main component of the Mayr protocol, is to drink bitter water early each morning. Containing magnesium salts, which are highly alkaline, it stimulates your gall bladder to produce bile and gets everything moving. Each evening we collect a cup of it from one of the stairwells, then, come the morning, dilute it with more water – a squeeze of lemon takes the edge off the taste – and sip it as soon as we wake. And then we wait for the call of nature! We’re told to expect up to three soft stools each day, which will be yellow thanks to the bile.
And poo I do indeed! After breakfast on day one, I feel a sudden urge – it’s a good job there are plenty of toilets around. And that was from only half the bitter water; after breakfast I drink some more – I want to make the most of it – and this results in having to leave the lunch table tout suite to visit the ladies. At least it’s working.
Clearing out the colon is beneficial for long-term health, says Dr Gartner, the head doctor here, as if waste is not properly excreted, toxins can be reabsorbed back into your body, so you don’t detox but essentially retox yourself. Days three, four and five, the bitter water gets to work even faster and I’m running to the loo within 10-20 minutes of having it.
Another bitter liquid in our regimen is the herbal drops taken before each meal, to aid digestion. If you’re used to neat echinacea tincture, they’re not too bad. Supplements are also part of the plan (for an extra charge) and I’m prescribed four: the bitter tonic for before meals, an alkaline supplement to be taken three times a day, an antioxidant capsule, and magnesium for before bed.
Water everywhere
If in doubt, drink more, is the mantra at Park Igls. You’re meant to drink a litre of water for every 20kg of bodyweight, so for me that’s three litres a day! I’m lucky if I remember to get through one at home.
And to make things more difficult, you mustn’t drink with meals, as it dilutes the digestive juices. Drinking must be at least half an hour away, both before and after meals. But there are visual reminders everywhere, from the bottles of still and sparkling water lining the tea station in the lounge, to the rows of bottles lining each corridor leading to the bedrooms.
At almost every turn, you’re confronted with water. I also have four bottles in my room, which are refreshed each day if opened. Plus, there’s vegetable broth on offer from 10am-1pm in the beautiful spacious lounge area, along with a wide selection of herbal teas, both hot and cold, many of which are designed to aid digestion, unsurprisingly.
Top-notch treatments
My three massages for the week are with Hanni, who expertly knows just what to do with my knotted back, performing long firm strokes more like a sports massage than a “strokey strokey” spa-style massage – I later find out she incorporates rolfing, which is a vigorous form of massage.
When I mention my painful hip flexor, she gets to work pummelling my piriformis and tensor fasciae latae, which is the band of muscle that runs down the outside of the thigh. After session two, the pain I experience when I lift one leg – I only really notice it when getting into a car – has virtually gone. No wonder she is in high demand.
After my massage, I only have 20 minutes until my assessment with Dr Matzenauer, or Dr Zen as I’m calling her, as her whole demeanour is one of grace, calmness and serenity, in contrast to my buzzy, racing mind and fast tongue.
She encourages me to take a proper break from my phone – although I can’t help but post loads of stories on Instagram (see my Park Igls highlight at instagram.com/thehealtheditor) – and to unwind and slow down, sharing a calming technique with me: to fold my arms into a cross in front of me, and slowly pat each arm with the opposite hand, one after the other, for a few minutes.
It’s a trauma technique, apparently, and helps calm the nervous system. Funnily enough, the shiatsu practitioner, Christine, tells me the next day that I have energy like the Duracell bunny, which I’m guessing means fast and scattered – and that’s just her opinion from observing me in the corridor! We’d not even begun the session.
As I sink into her incredible shiatsu full-body pillow, I feel soothed by the gentle but quick rocking motions she performs up and down my spine. When she stops, a warm fuzzy energy infuses my entire body. Next, she gently presses and pummels me before turning me over to stretch and press along my legs.
All cried out
Some of the other journalists have been rather tearful thanks to their craniosacral treatments, which are shifting stuck emotions. I, on the other hand, feel fine… until Friday, when the waterworks come! I hadn’t banked on an emotional detox as well as a physical one. Years of pent-up sadness, regret, anger, disappointment (mainly in myself) just spill out, and keep spilling out with every therapist I see for the rest of the morning.
At the Do-In session I cry loads more. It’s part of shiatsu and involves laying on the floor, face up, and rocking your hip bones/pelvis side to side in a gentle rhythmic motion. Christine’s gentle hands on my chest make me blub like a baby once more.
She kindly asked me to stay behind afterwards to do a little craniosacral therapy, holding my head and sacrum ever so gently as I lay on my side in a semi-foetal position. It really helps to calm my energy, and I feel much better afterwards.
Not wanting to leave
On my last morning, I try the sitting down Kneipp bath where you alternate sitting in a warm herb-filled bath for 10 minutes then swapping to a cold one for 30 seconds. It’s good for your hips and “women’s issues”. Later, when walking through the airport, I can feel a lightness and spaciousness in my hips as my legs seem to effortlessly swing. It’s like I’m walking on air.
I’m putting Park Igls on my “must revisit” list, and next time I’ll remember the rules of sauna club: 1) don’t giggle when the sauna meister flicks a towel at you; 2) keep all body parts on or over a towel; and 3) wet your nipples first or they’ll burn!
TRAVEL TIPS
Spring and autumn are great times for a detox, and many guests return once or twice a year. It’s busiest at New Year and in January and February, so go later in the year when it’s quieter. The fourth floor has the most spacious and impressive rooms, some of which have saunas.
I stayed in a lovely Deluxe Double on the first floor at the back of the hotel, which gives easy access into the bathing/treatment area. The Kneipp footbaths are busiest between 10am and 11am.
Try extending your overnight fast and head there at 7am, when they open (the whole process plus relaxing takes about 45 minutes), then going for breakfast. There are no breakfast queues you need to beat as each dish is brought directly to your table.
TRIP NOTES
- The 7-day Detox Classic at Park Igls Medical Spa Resort is €1,993 and includes examinations, massages, a personalised Modern Mayr Cuisine diet plan, and a range of optional on- and off-site activities. Double rooms start from €202 per person per night, singles from €209 and suites from €373. Accommodation prices include breakfast, parking and transfers to/from Innsbruck airport or station.
- A stay of 14 nights is recommended but seven will still be beneficial. Find out more at park-igls.at.
- Book a 10-night stay over New Year’s from Dec 26, including a torchlit walk and fireworks, with health treatments (excluding accommodation) for €3,239.
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