by “Put out your tongue. Hmmm, very red,” said Sally, my no-nonsense acupuncturist. Healthy tongues are pink, red is a sign of excessive inflammation. Also, my head and yang were off kilter. “During menopause, your feminine energy is low, so your body may feel warm and you may feel hot flashes, you may feel moody and uncomfortable because your body is out of balance.”
A moment later I was covered with needles, and a bunch of herbs smouldered on my belly, sending up plumes of smoke. Were they saying: “HELP ME!”? It would make sense, but this was moxibustion, intended to clear the heat and aid in detoxification.
The mysterious ways of Chinese medicine were beyond my understanding, but I couldn’t argue with Sally’s assessment. me was feeling moody, tired, unbalanced; or as some would say – first my boyfriend – grumpy.
Sleeping had become something I used to do in some past life, and my belly was a bubbling caldron of anxiety. I would try lavender oil, weighted blankets, yogurt probiotic drinks, HRT patches. Nothing worked. But now, finally, I could outsource the problem, because I had come to the new Radiant Bliss program for women’s well-being at the famous Thai beach of Kamalaya – and I had not just Sally, but a legion of experts of the excellent that worked hard to rebalance my yin and yang and help me overcome the highs and lows of the menopause road.
There couldn’t be a nicer place to experience menopause. Kamalaya is built on a sacred hill and the grounds are dotted with Buddhist and Hindu temples; even the monk’s meditation cave is filled with offerings, and you’re never far from the soothing sound of running water. Thai-style thatched-roof villas and pavilions disappear into a lush garden, like a jungle of ferns, banana palms and giant boulders. At night it is lit by Spanish moss trail lanterns. Everywhere you go the yellow staff lights up and you will be greeted with a smile and a bow, hands pressed together as if in prayer, “Sah-wah-dee kah”.
I had arrived at this island paradise on the quiet south side of Koh to Thailand’s beaches, two days before and was immediately drawn into a warm Kamalaya suit with a flurry of cold essential oil infused towels and a cooling drink of juice butterfly peas; they already anticipated my every need and that was before I even met Tara, my personal fitness coach and naturopath.
Tara swooped in like Mary Poppins to the rescue, adapting the program to my needs. My goals, we established, were to address my gut and hormonal issues, get a good night’s sleep and, if they could help me get back into my favorite pants, all the better all of it.
The dark mood turned briefly when Tara gave me the results from my bioimpedance analysis, which measures body composition. I had gained six kilograms in the past few months and at .82 my waist-to-hip ratio was entering the danger zone, which put me at high risk for cancer and heart disease. That’s another great thing about the menopause – because estrogen drops, women usually lose muscle and gain fat, and digestion slows down, which can cause bowel problems, such as increased gas and constipation. No wonder we feel grumpy. Stress was adding to my problems.
“That could be why your body is holding on to fat at the moment. But it is not too very bad,” said Tara brightly, as she handed me my assessment. “I’m usually writing long lists of recommendations.” I did my best not to cry when she ordered the ideal weight program. I had heard that the food at Kamalaya was heavenly and I had no doubts about the starvation diet but, like all the best guardian angels, Tara was gentle but firm. She continued to write things that looked suspicious much like a long list of recommendations, putting a big cross on the daily holistic schedule next to pranayama (breathing) and yoga. “You have to focus on these activities, to reduce your stress hormones.”
And so my recovery began, the days starting with a glass of hot water and lime juice to clean and a chorus of birds on my balcony. At 7.45 I would cross to the outdoor yoga pavilion amongst the cluster of exercise rooms. It was here, overlooking the lush, jungle-fringed coastline below that I learned to breathe – really breathe. Breathing is serious business at Kamalaya, they have an entire hall dedicated to it (Prana Pavilion). I learned the different ways we can use our breath to calm our mind and energize the body. I even had a one-on-one pranayama breathing lesson with my life mentor, Praveena.
If Tara was the guardian angel of my body, Praveena was the guardian of my soul. A 23-year-old monk and trained psychotherapist with her keen eyes, she had a knack for getting to the heart of the matter and gave me wise, easy-to-follow advice.
For the treatments, of which there were two or three a day, I proceeded to the alfresco Wellness Reception; this is the engine room of the spa, with the treatment rooms staggered up the hillside. At first, I felt like I was scaling Everest while following my therapist, but the trek was always worth it.
My program started with a foot soak and massage, to help me sleep and offset the jet lag and oh my god it was a dream. Similarly, the Chi Nei Tsang (massage of internal organs) was a revelation as my therapist, Yu, found the knots buried deep in my belly. Afterwards, I felt suddenly disgusted, as if she’d dropped several rounds of tequila that had been stuck in there since the 1980s. The elimination process was fast and dramatic, but I soon felt lighter and clear-headed. In a repeat of the same treatment three days later, my gut was much less tender, and the manual massage that followed was perhaps the best hour of my life.
Tara explained that the treatments are designed to build on each other. “We start by relaxing and grounding you, then we work on physical, mental and emotional issues.” The program alternates between Western functional medicine, with naturopathy, vitamin supplements and IV infusions, and traditional medicine that works to bring the five elements (water, wood, fire, earth and metal) back into balance. So, one minute I was connected to a drip supplementing my magnesium to get better sleep, the next the flames came across my belly in an ancient Thai herbal medicinal treatment to improve digestion.
Even the Ideal Weight menu was a pleasant surprise and far from the hardship I imagined. Breakfasting at Soma’s open-air restaurant overlooking treetops full of dancing butterflies, I could help myself to ordering tropical fruit, detox muesli, a great salad bar and eggs (for extra protein). At lunch we went to the private restaurant “sala” at the Amrita (Sanskrit for “divine nectar”), overlooking the gorgeous blue-green pool and beach, for a green papaya salad Detox Som Tam and added “some protein “‘ prawns with him. , chicken breast, squid or even ostrich. Tara had encouraged me to eat these extra options at every meal if I could, as our bodies need more protein in midlife.
During the week I met an incredible range of people, and one of the favorite topics around the communal dining table was the pros and cons of different wellness centers. Some spas, I learned, encourage you to chew like a cow, and laughing at dinner is a true word. Others will scare you out of bed to march you up mountains at dawn. Then there are those who convince you that you need to spend thousands of pounds on an aesthetic “improvement”. I’m sure it all works for some people, but perhaps the soft, soft ethos of Kamalaya is the one that people respond to the best. It is definitely a good place to come if you are beaten down by life and need to put it back together.
It’s no surprise to learn that 40 percent of guests are repeat customers. Often they come to lose weight, but change is left at a deeper level. I lost two and a half kilograms (five pounds) a week, but definitely deeper shifts went on. My sleep improved and even my tongue had lost its coat, a sign that my digestive system had improved. Tara told me I looked rosy. It’s cliché to say I felt refreshed, but I did. I came away feeling like I had a proper holiday and my spirit was revived in the process.
Basics
The Radiant Bliss Program at Kamalaya Koh to Beaches (00 66 7742 9800) starts at £2,850 for eight nights. This includes all treatments and three meals a day. Accommodation is booked separately and starts from £150 per night.
British Airways, EVA Air and Thai Airways offer direct flights from the UK to Bangkok; from £661 back. From Bangkok, you can fly to International Airport to beaches with EVA air from £100 return.
Read the full review of Kamalaya
