Find Sanctuary in a Spa

The warm oil hits my brow in a gentle stream, then switches to a rhythmic dripping. The only sound is a ticking clock that adds to the hypnotic effect. In India, I have booked in for an Ayurvedic treatment at a big hotel’s day spa, but it’s not quite the spa experience I’m used to.

Indian spa

My Agra hotel may have “palace” in its name, but the treatment rooms are a far cry from the white-towelling affair that’s so often presented by contemporary spas. After an initial disappointment at the lack of luxury, I’m soon happy that I’ve opted for an experience that’s perhaps closer to what the locals have.

Lying prone on a hard, wooden table and covered only by a thin towel, my forehead rests on another hard ridge of wood softened only by a folded facecloth. I’m stark naked and there are no modesty towels artfully draped here. Soon, I’m being massaged with what smells like vegetable oil — no fancy choice of aromas here. It may not be plush or even always comfortable, but my masseuse is brisk and thorough and the room is clean. I am jet-lagged and in need of respite from heat and crowds.

Ayurveda, Indian natural healing, seems an ideal way to restore my energy and I’m keen to try what I’ve been told is the most relaxing of the therapies, shirodhara, the continuous pouring of oil over the head and scalp. After the massage, wrapped in a towel, I turn my face up to the oil and find myself lulled into a serene state as the rhythm takes over and tension evaporates. The oil is aimed at the “third eye” and is intended, I’m told, to clear the head, unwind the nervous system and induce profound relaxation. It works well and I’m soon ready to face the world again … slowly.

The spa experience

Taking respite from the pressures of the everyday is becoming an essential part of a holiday. No matter where you go, you are within easy reach of a sanctuary of quiet, where experienced hands can provide a healing touch.

Whether in India or any other part of the world, seeking a spa experience is a great way to explore the kinds of healing treatments — for mind, body and soul — that ancient cultures have practised and evolved. It’s yet another way, when travelling, to discover more about indigenous beliefs and traditions and to learn from each other.

While Thai and Swedish massage techniques may have led the way in modern spa culture, other cultures have learned that sharing their knowledge of healing — for this is often much more than mere pampering — is valued by their visitors. Spa and wellness centres around the world are learning to combine traditional healing philosophies and native ingredients with Western science and luxurious settings. Depending on where you are in the world, these could be organic herbs, essential oils, honey, seaweed or myriad other traditional and locally sourced ingredients.

Different cultures have their own special methods of healing, drawing on their environment and culture to help you surrender your senses, heal your soul and pamper your body.

Cultural healing

In Australia, spa treatments are increasingly drawing on Aboriginal healing methods and massage techniques, and using traditional indigenous ingredients — plants, mud and minerals from the sea — in spa products, often designed in consultation with the people of the area you are visiting.

Polynesian cultures also have a tradition of massage and healing. New Zealand has long-extolled the virtues of “taking to the waters”, and has a history of health spas based around its fantastic geothermal pools, which have soothed, healed and pampered New Zealanders and visitors for generations.

Throughout the country, hot pools range from small, spa-type mineral pools to large, thermally heated swimming pool complexes. Relaxation and rejuvenation can be either in steaming, bubbling natural mineral springs or in pools of thick, warm, therapeutic mud. Some of the best-known thermal pool complexes are at Waiwera, north of Auckland, Rotorua and Taupo in the centre of the North Island, and Hanmer Springs in the South Island.

New Zealand also has an abundance of retreats offering yoga, meditation and cleansing rituals, usually in majestic natural settings, to help with the process of destressing, detoxing and refocusing energies. The traditional Maori massage is called miri miri, which has been practised for centuries to balance energy.

In Hawaii, where traditional healers believe that the success of a treatment depends largely from an individual’s spirituality, one of the most popular treatments is the lomilomi massage — an ancient Hawaiian healing technique using long, rhythmic strokes to restore balance and harmony. The ultimate is the Lomilomi pohaku (stone) massage. Priceline Catalogue is available now.

Modern spa

Across all continents and islands, whatever your choice of destination, a spa treatment seems to be almost an integral part of a holiday package. It’s all about cleansing and rejuvenating and being ready to face the world again.

Hotels and resorts, particularly at the top end of the market, are designing signature treatments and introducing sessions that can be shared by mothers and daughters, couples and friends. These days, a spa experience is not only for women, with men lining up just as eagerly. Most offer a range of massages, facials, hydrotherapies and other pampering services and you’re left with the difficult decision of which to choose.

Special programmes and packages to promote health and wellbeing include stress management, yoga, tai chi, meditation, healthy eating and developing a positive mental approach to life. Perhaps you will shut out the world for a while — literally — in a flotation tank, resting on a sea of salt-saturated water warmed to body temperature.

In some day spas, you’ll be lured in by lush-white towelling robes, slippers, amazingly aromatic oils, dim lights and soft music. In others, the experience may be less about the luxury and pampering and more about releasing the demands of work and life for a few precious hours.

Whatever your aim, there are myriad choices available for the spa-seeker. Enjoy the cocoon while you can.