AsiaSpa - July-August 2017

72 AsiaSpa July/August 2017

InnerRetreat

Guests can be a tough

crowd but all meals

are punctuated with

oohing and ahhing

over the simple but

delicious healthy

offerings

in the moment, and listen to the kind of

activities their bodies naturally crave. The

bosu ball class with Ali is fun and she offers

modifications depending on fitness ability

to ensure everyone is challenged.

Afterwards, bubbly Shannon gives the

first of our daily two-hour talks on the

importance of deep sleep and the vital

role it plays in mental clarity, emotional

intelligence, cell renewal, balancing

hormones and burning fat. We learn how

alcohol, caffeine, nutritional deficiencies

and dehydration can be potential roadblocks

for quality sleep, and are given ‘sleep

hacks’, such as mindfulness, journaling and

conscious breathing to ponder next time we

are tossing and turning.

Afternoons are a time for guests to bring

the focus inwards, in what Gwinganna

likes to call ‘Dreamtime’, an opportunity to

slow down for more yin-skewed pastimes.

The spa menu is extensive with page upon

page of indulgence, including out-of-the-

box ones like reiki and tarot card reading.

I try Rockupuncture, which fuses gentler

Japanese-style acupuncture with heated

basalt stones, used to calm the nervous

system. As soon as the needles go in, I feel

a delightful wave of serenity wash over me

and the soothing oil massage to follow is a

hazy, blissful blur.

The day’s early rise coupled with spa

time and many starting to feel the first

effects of caffeine and sugar withdrawal

make exhaustion clearly visible on many a

face. The group meditation session before

dinner, complete with bolsters, blankets

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The spa deck offers a sense of peace any time of day; equine therapies are a unique highlight; wildlife is abundant on Gwinganna grounds; look forward

to specialities like orange fennel fish