I stayed at an exclusive Austrian spa to try to solve my chronic health problem

“Could I have a glass of water?” might be an innocuous question in most restaurants. Here at Vivamayr, a luxury medical spa near Klagenfurt in Austria, other guests turned in their seats to gawk at the new arrival.

The waitress, kindly but firmly, lets me know that, unless it is necessary to take medications, during the “Mayr cure” drinks are not allowed at meals. Why? To avoid diluting digestive juices.

Calming the digestive system is the basis of the “cure,” as many health problems are believed to originate in the gut. Get it working well again and you’ll see most other systems and processes improve as well.

But how a stay here gets your stomach in shape varies wildly from guest to guest. This is the central tenet of Vivamayr’s award-winning approach: personalization.

There is no one size fits all approach to a stay here because every body is different. Everyone has different lifestyles, foods, and stressors that throw their system out of balance. Your body is always trying to find balance, doctors here told me, and with the right diet, treatments, supplements and exercise we can bring it back into balance.

Prepare for your stay by deciding what you want to work on

I showed up at my first consultation with my doctor with a shopping list of ailments. While he told me it was helpful to know everything, he advised me to choose one or two things to focus on during my week stay.

I have a long-standing chronic condition, which some say is caused or exacerbated by poor people gut healthand some hormonal imbalances. We therefore decided to focus on these.

I would recommend telling your doctor about any health problems you have or have had recently. I forgot to mention an eye problem and a treatment I had interrupted the healing, putting me in the local hospital. It wasn’t serious thankfully but it’s still all worth mentioning.

At my first consultation, my doctor I performed various tests, some conventional like blood tests and others a little more common, like using muscle testing to determine whether various supplements made my body stronger or weaker.

I was then “prescribed” for the week’s treatments and appointments, as well as some supplements. My treatments ranged from IVs to osteopathy cryotherapy to Nordic walking.

Most of the treatments were new to me, but the staff carefully explained what would happen and the likely benefits. Every day was a fun journey to discover the world of wellness.

Get ready to learn a lot about your body

My prescription diet it was definitely less than what I eat at home but it wasn’t too extreme. It’s worth knowing that if your goal is weight loss, you’re likely to be given a fasting diet. It sounds extreme, but daily monitoring and testing by doctors reassures you that nothing dangerous is happening to your body. The “treatment” is adapted and fine-tuned daily based on how your body responds to your new diet, treatments, exercise and routine.

Read more about Vivamayr’s tips for a gut-friendly diet Here.

Many of the practitioners I met at the center told me that residents find “treatment” to be an emotional rollercoaster and this has certainly been my experience. A detox It stresses your body, after all, but it’s ultimately good for you, if done safely and under your doctor’s supervision.

I have received new information about my body at almost every appointment, and while this is encouraging, it has been overwhelming at times since I am health-minded anxiety. It will take some time to absorb all the information and advice I have been given, and probably more time to replace old habits with new, healthy habits.

What can Vivamayr treat?

People come here looking for help with a wide range of Health problems. Some of the most common are post-COVID recovery, immune and skin problems, allergies, diabetes and weight loss.

With these problems, there are specialized programs available to follow. The program I attended was tailored to what I was dealing with.

How is the atmosphere at Vivamayr?

I would describe the atmosphere as meditative. No one moves quickly or speaks loudly. No background music is played. This is all intentional, of course.

The atmosphere and decor are designed to be relaxing. This works well when you’re on the emotional roller coaster of a fast, or if you’re going crazy liquor or cigarettes like many of my co-hosts had.

The staff is friendly and helpful if a little distant. This is comforting, in a way, since they’re dealing with so much personal information and you sometimes tell them really private details about yourself—over-familiarity would seem out of place.

There is also detachment between guests when inside Hotels. I suspect this is partly because many people come here to get away from it all, including chatting with strangers.

If you want to get to know your other guests, the best time to chat is when you are engaged in group activities such as hiking.

Is it possible to go to Vivamayr alone?

Absolutely. There were several other guests on their own, so I didn’t feel out of place.

There were also couples, mothers and daughters and couples of friends. It was the fourth visit for a guest I spoke to. She was here alone, but she said sticking to the diet and rules was “easier” when she arrived with her family.

Depending on your individual schedules, you may not be able to spend much time together. But you can sit together during meals, which of course are slow, leisurely affairs.

What is the recommended length of stay at Vivamayr?

This depends on, you guessed it, the individual. If you come here with serious or long-standing problems, a longer stay will allow you more time to regain your balance.

The general advice is “come as long as you can”, with an average length of stay of 10-12 days. Some programs are recommended for 3 or 4 weeks.

I was advised to come for a week to really feel the benefits and I felt it was a good time.

The first half of the week was a shock to the system, getting used to the reduction in food and feeling the effects of all the treatments. But already on the 4th day I got into the heart of the situation and I could have gladly stayed longer in the Vivamayr bubble.

What is there to do in your free time?

How much free time you have will depend on the length of your stay.

I had 5 or 6 appointments and treatments a day, except the weekend when some departments are closed. But if you come for 2 or 3 weeks you will probably have fewer appointments each day, leaving you more free time.

It is normal for your energy to be low during the first few days of treatment, as you will likely eat less food than usual and your body detoxifies. So you may not feel like doing anything other than sunbathing on the lake’s docks or relaxing on one of the saunas.

Once you’ve regained your energy, there’s plenty to do in the surrounding area. You can borrow a bicycle and cycle around Lake Worthersee, go standing in the nearby hills, take the ferry across the lake or join one of the cooking classes or group excursions.

How I felt at the end of my stay at Vivamayr

My doctor Vivamayr had his work cut out for him. Chronic health problems are notoriously difficult to resolve. I have tried a long list of remedies and have been to many specialists over the last 10 years. As a result, I knew that a general practitioner was unlikely to have the missing piece of the puzzle. But I definitely got some benefits from my stay.

In agreement with the doctor I suspended some medications while I was on Vivamayr and I did not have any flare-ups of symptoms. Of course it is impossible to know whether this was due to the “treatment” or simply the fact that I was very well relaxed which is known to help the way the body processes pain.

There have been some surprising benefits. Eating relatively bland food really sharpened mine taste buds. Dessert was added to my diet mid-week and the first few spoonfuls were an explosion of flavor. It just goes to show that we are so used to things like sugar that we practically stop tasting them. So reducing it can make everything a lot more enjoyable.

The habits encouraged by Vivamayr are not rocket science. We all know we should eat slowly, stay away from screens, and get a good night’s sleep.

But it’s much easier to stick to these healthy routines when everyone around you is adhering to them and you have professionals holding you accountable every day.

If you can continue these good habits at home, a stay here could do wonders for your health and happiness.

The writer was a guest of VIVAMAYR.