After a somewhat harrowing, nearly missed train connection coming out of Vienna, I arrived in the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen — that’s saying a lot since I’ve traveled widely. MAYRLIFE is nestled in the Austrian Alps alongside Lake Altaussee, one of only two lakes in Austria so pure you can actually drink the water. The view literally took my breath away. The taxi that picked me up at the station sped along winding roads, and after waving to every car we met the local driver deposited me in front of the doorway to a weeklong adventure of health and beauty in the Longevity Program I had booked.
MAYRLIFE, based on the principals of Dr. Franz Mayr, in which a healthy gut is the root of all well-being, has amassed dozens of awards and hundreds of followers since opening ten years ago. It is the younger sibling of VIVAMAYR, which was founded in 2004 in Maria Worth, Austria by Drs. Harrald and Christine Stossier. https://www.mayrlife.com/en But enough of history – I want to take you through my journey to optimum health day by day!
Arrival Day – Since I arrived on Sunday, when the medical staff is off, I had the day to settle in and wander around the grounds, down to the lake (which was the view from my private balcony) and eat two delicious meals prepared by the chef. Every bite you eat at MAYRLIFE is prepared individually for you, according to recommendations from your assigned physician. Because I had not yet been tested, I received a plate of lightly cooked root vegetables with the most delicious little potato cakes I’ve ever eaten. For dinner, as is the custom at MAYRLIFE, I was served a scrumptious vegetable soup. I went to bed and slept well in the mountain air, dreaming of what awaited me.
Day 1 – Getting up early, taking in the view and breathing the mountain air was amazing! I went to breakfast at 7:00 and learned to chew each bite 30 to 40 times – the Mayr theory is that if you chew properly, your food is already half digested before it gets to your stomach, making for far better digestion and gut health. Breakfast consisted of a choice of several mains and my choice of “chewing trainers” as well as one of half a dozen plant oils, including olive, walnut, camelina, chia and a few others. Chewing trainers come in various levels of intensity, with the soy and chia being the toughest. I usually opted for corn cakes or rice cakes and had avocado and goat cheese for my main. Traveling frequently in European countries, I’ve gotten used to savory breakfasts, so it tasted wonderful. After breakfast, I had an appointment with Dr Monica Moritz, my designated doctor, for a consultation. She explained my therapy plan and then sent me off to metabolic, free radical and mineral analysis, as well as something called Body Impedance Analysis. This all took place in one of two wings of the building where I was greeted warmly in the various departments. I was then treated to a marvelous massage before lunch, followed by functional Myodiagnostics and applied kinesiology to identify food intolerances/sensitivities and other health issues with Dr Moritz, followed by a Bio-frequency measurement, review and therapy, IHHT training, which is about breathing properly, and a lecture on the cure, followed by dinner which once again was delicious soup. Needless to say, it was a busy day, and I turned in early to read, not getting far before falling into a deep and lovely sleep.
Day 2 was a lighter day – I started with functional training, choosing arial yoga which is done using large silks attached to the ceiling like a TRX that give a feeling of weightlessness – it’s marvelous and I’ve already ordered some silks for our home gym. Then I had water plasma therapy, another way to enhance breathing. After a delicious lunch of veggies and fish, I had cryotherapy which I love and have had before MAYRLIFE. For those who don’t know, you’re encased in a chamber that is set to minus 166 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 110 degrees Celsius) for three minutes. Yes, it’s cold, but you dance, and if you’re lucky, your facilitator dances with you outside the chamber. Since being back in Chicago, I’ve located a great place here to continue the practice – it helps with inflammation, aches and pains, and keeps you young www.iCryo.com The day was rounded out by an abdominal treatment by my doctor, (like a massage for your organs), a lecture on tapping, a forest healing hike, and of course, a lovely dinner of soup followed by a relaxing evening.
On Day 3, I had breathing exercises with Waultraud, who is an actress and voice coach. I learned the four ways of breathing properly and later took the breathing test I’d had the day before over again and almost doubled my score! Another massage followed, and a liver detox wrap, which was very comforting. Then I had a colonic, which we are not going to discuss, and a refreshing swim in the lake. After lunch I walked in the picturesque town of 2,000 with a few friends from all over that I’d met since arriving and attended the lecture of the day on nutrition and the health benefits of various oils. I had already been sampling the variety of oils at meals and decided that olive, camelina and walnut are my favorites.
Day 4 consisted of another IHHT (breathing) session and another water plasma session to reduce free radicals in the body, followed by Cryotherapy, leaving me ready and ravenous for lunch, which was the most beautiful dish of veggies topped with two small slices of tender duck breast. Each and every dish was straight out of a gourmet food magazine, all incredibly healthy in small, perfect portions. In the afternoon, I had another abdominal treatment by Dr Moritz. One of the rules at MAYRLIFE is not to drink during or within a half an hour either side of a meal, but for between meals there is a different herbal tea on offer each day in huge glass containers throughout the clinic – you just fill a glass every time you walk by! There is also water everywhere you look, waiting for you to drink it – you’re given a water bottle with your name on it upon arrival. I will say my skin looked happier and happier the more I hydrated.
Early on Day 5, at about 6 am, I walked the four miles around the lake with my friend Dima from London. It was much cooler at that hour, and we saw many locals walking around the lake – apparently, it’s the most common form of exercise there. We had breakfast when we returned and then I had a salt peel, a lymphatic drainage massage and a detox foot bath before lunch, which was another veggie/fish dish, this one topped with caviar. In the afternoon, I had something called Watsu, which was a kind of Shiatsu performed in an highly salted pool created specifically for the treatment. The practitioner held my head in the crook of his arm, and I floated, weightless, as he moved around the pool. The feeling was that of being a baby or a waving frond of seaweed, completely calm and without gravity. It was incredible and I was so relaxed I could barely stand up after. I completed the experience with a time in the salt sauna. Later I had my last medical consultation, Dr Moritz pronounced me a healthy patient made even healthier by the treatments, and I still had one day to go! At 5:00 pm, one of the therapists led a free-movement and dance event, featuring mostly disco music. The half dozen of us who attended had a ball, and the those present were all very impressed when I mentioned that I’d danced at Danceteria and Studio 54 when I lived in New York.
On Day six I was already feeling sad about leaving. I consoled myself by taking the four mile walk around the lake again, this time with my new friend Fiona. After our return from the walk, we ate breakfast together and then went to our separate treatments, mine being another session of Water Plasma therapy, a fabulous facial using the products of Dr Barbara Sturm (on which I’m now totally hooked!), another detox foot bath, and my third and last Cryotherapy of the week. After a lovely lunch of cooked pumpkin and veggies, I had a lymphatic drainage massage. I wandered around the premises memorizing each and every view, and after the customary vegetable soup dinner (each day made from a different vegetable!) and feeling light and relaxed went to my room to pack, took a sauna, and slept deeply on my last night at MAYRLIFE.
After breakfast on my seventh and last half day, I walked to the forest, looked again at the indoor infinity pool, wondering how that is even possible, and began saying my goodbyes to the view and the friends I’d met in my week there. I had one last lunch and heard a server I knew to be a jokester say to a newly arrived guest, “Are you hungry?” When she answered yes, he replied, “Well then you came to the wrong place!” She laughed, he laughed, I laughed and the guests close enough to hear it all laughed. Humor goes a long way in the process of healing the body and mind. I sadly wheeled my luggage down from my room to reception and waited for the car that would drive me to Munich, positive I would return to MAYRLIFE. Two months later, I’m still sure that I, like over 50% of the guests, will go back. It’s that special. www.mayrlife.com
