The ultimate lightness of being

With its rhythm of restorative and cutting-edge treatments, nutritious meals, foraged teas (think dandelion root tea that mimics the taste of coffee), detox regimen and the crisp Alpine air, Mayrlife in Austria is one of the world’s best medical spas. I went for a two-week programme that left me with lightness and clarity

By Mini Mathur

The best answers often lie in questions. Sometime last year, I started feeling not quite like myself. I have been a consciously fit, healthy woman who had only visited a hospital to deliver my babies. As I turned 50, I felt a lot of things change. My knees were hurting, I had brain fog, I noticed resistant abdominal fat, I was laying awake at night for hours that made me anxious and edgy in the day.

Every doctor I went to, suggested only symptomatic relief, taking me to the realisation that I was bang in the middle of a huge transition called perimenopause. Apparently it was a “grey area” with many unconnected symptoms that I just had to bear with just as our mothers did.

Not one to be happy with fatalistic ideas, I researched and enrolled to study THE most comprehensive women’s health-coach certification in the world. I needed answers, not just for myself but for every woman feeling unsupported and lost in this transition. It was just about that time that a friend was going to Mayrlife in Austria and suggested I come along for a wellness reset. Mayrlife is widely acknowledged as one of the best medical spas in the world.

I landed in Munich and set out on a scenic drive through the stunning Austrian countryside. The serene alpine beauty was almost meditative—the winding roads flanked by emerald-green meadows, towering hills and the occasional charming village. By the time I arrived at Mayrlife in Lake Altaussee, I had already begun to feel a shift — the air was crisper, the silence deeper.

My room was cheerful with a stunning view of the lake and the facility is like a large but cosy home with the exception of the medical treatment floor that’s all white; where you couldn’t see a speck of dust even if you tried.

I was assigned To Dr Iris Maislinger (also a specialist in Chinese medicine), who meticulously examined the bloodwork I had carried, ordered a few specialised tests that are only done at Mayrlife, and curated a two-week regimen designed to restore, rejuvenate, and optimize my hormonal balance. My personalized schedule included antioxidant infusions to combat oxidative stress, cryotherapy for countering systemic inflammation and O2 therapy to boost cellular regeneration. Magnetic therapy was prescribed to address my persistently problematic knee injury, while WATSU, an aquatic shiatsu treatment offered a deeply restorative experience, floating me into a state of profound relaxation. There were also detox wraps and electrolysis foot baths everyday, while a test called spiroergometry measured metabolic optimisation for fat burn. I also asked for sessions on tapping for stress relief from Dr Alexandra who magically helped zero in on my root triggers. All this while I could wonderfully corelate what they were trying to achieve to what I was learning in my women’s health certification. The most profoundly amazing thing they did was to start me on HRT– a solution doctors back home didn’t even list as an option for me; something every woman my age should be considering to combat perimenopause.

However the spine concept of “The Cure” at MAYRLIFE is rooted in gut health & regeneration, with every meal being a lesson in mindful eating. The meals (eaten in silence preferably) were tiny, customised but packed densely with taste and nutrition. Just enough to sustain your energy and yet little enough to give your gut a chance to rest and heal. A small but significant ritual was the “chewing trainer”—a dense, hard piece of bread designed to encourage chewing each bite at least 40 times, a practice that aids digestion by initiating the breakdown of food in the mouth rather than burdening the gut. A mandatory 30ml serving of good fats, such as hemp or walnut oil, was incorporated into each meal to nourish the body at a cellular level.

There was a 24-hour tea-bar that had an array of healing foraged herbal teas from ladies mantle, St John’s wort to sweet clover and mallow designed to detox and aid every system. Coffee of course, was off the table, but my new obsession quickly became dandelion root tea — a rich, caffeine free brew that eerily mimicked the taste of coffee. The discipline of the meal plan was softened by the knowledge that each bite, each sip, was contributing to a sense of renewal from the inside out.

The days unfolded in a rhythm of treatments, nourishing meals and self-discovery, culminating each evening with a 6-kilometer walk around the breathtaking Lake Altaussee. The crisp alpine air and stillness of the landscape were almost meditative but resisting the aroma of freshly baked cakes and coffee wafting from the quaint inns lining the trail required sheer will power !!

I went to bed each evening feeling relaxed nurtured, packed with magnesium salts to expel the toxins, liver detox oil on my tummy, a hot water bottle and a huge silly smile. By the end of my 10-day retreat, I felt reset — my body certainly but also redefined my relationship with wellness. I left with a sense of lightness, clarity and an unwavering commitment to prioritizing my health—not as an indulgence, but as a necessity.

Mayrlife is expensive yes, but I would choose a birthday gift to myself like this over a diamond or bag anyday. After all, your body is the only home your soul will truly ever own.