A breath of fresh air

How do you want to feel after a holiday? Relaxed, reinvigorated – and happier? Following a week or so away from the grind of your everyday routine, you are likely to return home with a spring in your step and a sunnier outlook. However, studies have shown that the calming effects of a holiday tend to wear off for most after three days back at work. And with more than 800,000 people in the UK currently reported to experience work-related stress, depression or anxiety (which in turn can lead to other health problems, such as exhaustion and heart disease), a few days’ R&R might no longer be enough to combat the high pressures people are facing.

However, a new host of spa and wellness hotels seem to have found a solution, offering holistic treatments tailored to mental well-being so that their guests benefit in the long-term from the treatments they had during their stay. From therapy sessions to spiritual rituals, luxury hotels have shifted their priorities away from fleeting all-out indulgence and towards supporting mental health in a comprehensive way – a trend that has arisen in light of the pandemic, which caused a 25% rise in depression and anxiety across the globe, according to the WHO. This move responds to the ways in which guests are continuously reconsidering what it means to be ‘well’ in the context of modern-day society.

“Even before the pandemic, we’ve been living in a rushed world,” says Julian Chapa, the wellness leader at Chablé Yucatan, Mexico. “Everything is getting more stressful, so I think that the main thing people are looking for is to disconnect in order to connect. People want to get away, but not to party or just be in a resort; what they want is something that fulfils their spirit, their mind and their body. That’s why they’ve been seeking out holistic well-being experiences and prioritising their mental health.”

Mahesh Natarajan, the chief operating officer at Ananda in the Himalayas, echoes this. “For the primary wellness traveller, recognising and prioritising mental health is now growing exponentially. Our guests have become extremely aware of the importance of mental health and how it must go hand in hand with physical health to achieve an overall sense of well-being. Having said that, our observation is that people need a lot of guidance as to how to how to embark on this journey.”

Translating to ‘bliss’ from Sanskrit, Ananda is well-equipped to provide this guidance, placing mindfulness at the core of its therapies, which include yoga, meditation, Ayurveda, Vedanta and, as of last year, emotional healing. The hotel employs a panel of resident therapists who specialise in clinical psychology, hypnotherapy and spiritual healing, “to help our guests understand themselves, their challenges and patterns from a deeper level to create a life of emotional balance”, says Natarajan. “They begin to explore emotional and energetic blockages to understand the root cause. These blocks show up in repeating patterns in our life, for example, the inability to control anger, repeating guilt, insecurity, low self-esteem; relationship disharmony; lack of clarity, stress, tension, overthinking; lack of creativity.” To address these issues, experts use a combination of techniques, including hypnosis and tailored neuro-linguistic programming, alongside traditional therapies of acupuncture and Kuu Nye massage that work on the energy meridians. Yoga and meditation are also key, “in order remove distractions from the mind”.

“The idea is to integrate all these elements to create a completely transformative journey towards positive mental and emotional health,” because, as Natarajan states, “integrated holistic practices enable guests to look inwards – and therein begins the true transformation”.

From the outside in

Both Ananda and Chablé Yucutan draw on their respective surroundings in their therapies. Ananda is built overlooking the northern city of Rishikesh, where both yoga and Ayurveda are said to have originated more than 5,000 years ago. “The location lends an element of healing and spiritual awakening,” describes Natarajan. “Our guests have a sense of travelling back to the source of where ancient well-being began to experience the authenticity of these traditional practices here.”

Chablé Yucatan’s spa is built around the San Ignacio cenote, a natural fresh-water sinkhole in a limestone cave, which was traditionally used as a site for spiritual rituals. “It has so much mysticism and energy,” Chapa says of the spa’s location. “For the Mayans – who are our ancestors – it was a place to connect to the underworld and it was a way they could cleanse their spirit.” As such, the spa naturally promotes emotional well-being above all else: even the physical-relaxation treatments, such as massages, involve a spiritual-healing element, with Tibetan bowls and Mayan instruments used to help guests channel inner peace. Other offerings include chakra therapy, reiki, sound-cleansing and spiritual guidance from local shamans. “We work on three planes: the mental, the spiritual and the physical to produce total relaxation and the detox of negative thoughts. It’s very important to understand that in our treatments and our rituals we are trying to focus on mental well-being and the spiritual – even through doing something physical. The main benefit of holistic therapy is you can focus on your inner self,” explains Chapa.

Chablé Yucatan has also recently introduced a ‘Healing Heartache’ programme, designed for newly single individuals with a focus on boosting feelings of self-worth after the breakdown of a relationship. This involves talking sessions that encourage ideas of gratitude and self-love, daily yoga classes and an emotions-led body-exfoliation treatment that represents the conceptual scrubbing away of the past. It culminates in the ancient temazcal ritual, which Chapa describes as being the resort’s “most important”. Meaning ‘steam house’, a temazcal involves a two or three-hour spiritual session that begins with the guest setting intentions with a therapist and channelling them in four different spaces designed to symbolise the four natural elements: earth, air, fire and water. “Each one will heal different parts of your life,” explains Chapa. “There could be wounds or fears that you have, or things that you need to get out of your mind to connect and to live a fulfilled life. It connects with your energy and helps identify the parts you need to relieve from your life – and when you leave the treatment, you’re a different person.”

Out with the old

One of the greatest aspects of pursuing wellness on holiday is the lack of outside distractions in order to truly prioritise the self: in the beautiful surroundings of a seaside resort, a sweeping mountainscape or a verdant bucolic retreat, guests can fully commit to a treatment – and may indeed be more receptive to them. Moreover, the results tend to speak for themselves: Chapa explains that the impact Chablé Yucatan’s spiritual therapies have on their guests is immediately tangible. “A lot of people arrive a little bit closed off, and when they ask for a temazcal, they don’t know what to expect – they don’t trust it until they experience it,” he explains. “It’s so amazing to see how they change afterwards: they’re smiling, they’re hugging their therapist.”

As Natarajan notes, the very choice to visit a retreat such as Ananda or Chablé Yucatan signifies an intention to rest your mind. “Any leisure – whether a short break, a long holiday or a wellness retreat – is a recognition of the need to refresh and rejuvenate not only the body but also the mind and spirit. Holidays comprising only physical activity don’t provide any relief to the buzzing mind; mental well-being is time dedicated towards mental relaxation and grounding.” So even before they arrive, guests will be ready to embrace the programmes on offer.

Indeed, the effect of the therapies will continue for months after the guest has left the resort. “On a mental and emotional level, it will liberate you in the long term; you will feel like you can start fresh,” Chapa says. “Our guests are looking for mental and emotional relief, so they want to continue the resort experience in their day-to-day life, to be more connected to their spiritual well-being.”

Similarly, long-term change is also the aim at Ananda, with therapists examining an individual’s range of health issues not in isolation but as a manifestation of something deeper. “Rather than looking at the human body as a set of physical organs, the holistic approach looks at entire health system and in the interplay of physical with the mental and emotional,” explains Natarajan. “The approach is all-encompassing and more sustainable, if carried out by experts in a safe and nurturing environment.” Such an environment has always come naturally to luxury spa resorts – except now it leads not only to an enjoyable time away, but a new way of living.