Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, had a very difficult time. Last year she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. He now requires further treatment for melanoma skin cancer. What does the Duchess do when her health deteriorates? He goes to the spa. And not just any spa. In a post on her Instagram account, Sarah wrote that she was "extremely grateful... to the MAYRLIFE clinic for looking after me these last few weeks and for giving me time to recover."
While Meyer Austria Health is best known for its detox and weight loss programs, it is moving away from its reputation as a fat farm. Instead, they consider themselves medical clinics, offering a wide variety of spa treatments in a beautiful setting. “Modern Mary Medicine is a blend of traditional and complementary medicine with an emphasis on holistic health,” according to the MayrLife website. Myer's clinics attract celebrities and socialites such as Rebel Wilson, Elizabeth Hurley, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell, as well as European royalty and industry figures. Everyone signs up for the same "Mayer Cure": a program of strict fasting for one to three weeks, no alcohol, lots of nutritional supplements, daily laxatives, mild exercise, early evening and fresh air. .
In 2019 I spent a week at VivaMayr, which is located along the shore of crystal clear Lake Wörthersee and is surrounded by pine trees. The Duchess chose it because of the neighboring Marelife estate, located on the shores of Lake Altaussee in the middle of the Alps. As a breast cancer survivor, I can understand why the Duchess is grateful to be around.
Although my visit was before cancer treatment, I recently had a cancer scare that turned out to be just a terrible false alarm. In addition to abdominal surgery for endometriosis, I am also recovering from back surgery several years ago. I had to stop HRT and the sweating, hot flashes and insomnia got worse, along with anxiety and mood swings. My face broke out in a red rash. To be honest, I felt defeated. Like the Duchess, I needed a place to relax, rejuvenate and regain my health.
Mayer's program was inspired by the teachings of Dr. F.K. Mayer, an Austrian physician who believed that the intestines are the center of our diseases. He began offering fasting treatments in 1901, long before “fasting” and “microbiome” became the buzzwords we all know.
There are many Mayr-inspired clinics in Austria and they all offer similar experiences, but VivaMayr and MayrLife are probably the best and most expensive. These are quiet, clean places that exude the atmosphere of an old luxury home, making them the perfect place to rejuvenate. Rest assured, it is regularly staffed by trained doctors and staff. The MayrLife medical team is led by Dr. Maximilian Schubert is a former physician turned orthopedic surgeon with additional training in nutrition and various complementary therapies.
Each guest has a personal doctor. My doctor was Dr. Eva Maria Fischer is a young, slender 39-year-old woman, a former doctor. They say the programs are personalized, but some procedures are the same for everyone, including the Duchess. Each guest is tested for vitamin and mineral deficiencies (I was vitamin D deficient), system acid levels (a controversial concept), and the balance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body.
These tests lead to the prescription of many additional nutritional supplements that appear on your table during meals. Mayer calls the supplement “molecular medicine.” Metabolic rate and body composition are also checked. All include abdominal massage aimed at improving digestion and gut health. Guests are asked to drink an Epsom salt mixture each morning for emergency and explosive toilet visits.
Mayer's doctors also use a technique called applied kinesiology or "functional myodiagnostics" (muscle strength testing) to diagnose food intolerances.
In my case, Dr. Fisher sprinkled a piece of dry food on my tongue and asked me to hold the glass bowl before lifting it with my feet while lying on the couch. Any muscle weakness is a sign that food on my tongue or hands is bad for me. I'm afraid I was and still am very skeptical.
It is unlikely that any NHS oncologist will recommend these treatments as part of their cancer treatment. And to be honest, chemotherapy often had such nasty side effects on my digestive system that the thought of punishing my poor gut was even more shocking. However, Myer's doctors, unlike NHS doctors, take the time to listen to their patients' concerns, which I find comforting and reassuring. For those struggling with a cancer diagnosis, it's helpful to know that Meijer also has trained therapists, and although I've never seen one, I've heard positive reviews from other guests.
Every morning there is a detailed schedule for the day outside your door. You left behind the demands and pressures of real life and became a zombie in white, your mind a happy void. From invigorating strokes to relaxing reflexology, a world-class massage experience. But for me, exercise changed my life. I was so afraid of getting hurt that I didn't know how to start walking again. Personal trainer Gabrielle put me through a personalized program of light weights, squats, and squats to build bone and muscle, all tailored for a skinny, out-of-shape, middle-aged woman.
I took private yoga lessons in a garden studio overlooking the lake. My teacher, Mauricio, spent most of the first class teaching me how to breathe, which made me realize that I hadn't taken deep breaths in months.
I had a hydrotherapy treatment which included a “detox foot bath”. This is reassuring, but I don't think the poison leaked from under his feet into the dark water. I also underwent hyperthermia therapy to “detoxify.” I lay in a plastic hammock over an electric heater, covered with a paper blanket, allowed myself to sweat, and emerged an hour later, shivering and exhausted.
But many of the things I enjoyed doing in Mira—morning exercise on the lake deck, swimming in a turquoise lagoon or pool, reading, afternoon Pilates, or Nordic walking in the pine mountains—were easy, fun, and free. There is also an indoor swimming pool, a sauna and steam bath complex, as well as a gym and infrared cabin to help your muscles recover. Bicycles and surfboards are available in summer, and snowshoes in winter.
Mera's food is usually authentic and delicious, but it's served in the dollhouse section. Small bowls of lamb stew or gravy, small slices of salmon with lemon and a few spears of asparagus, always accompanied by a thin bowl of cold-pressed butter and some stale spelled bread. Everyone is advised to chew bread in their mouth 40 times to stimulate digestive enzymes.
According to Mayer's doctors, fermented and raw foods such as fruit and salad are harder to digest in the evening, which is why their motto is "Not raw after 4." However, I was very hungry and after three days I asked Dr. Fischer to “prescribe” me more food. But on the sixth day Mayer's miracle happened. I woke up from a deep sleep and felt completely alert for the first time in months.
In my last yoga class with Mauricio, as we were doing sun salutations, he suggested that I draw a light circle around myself and over my heart. I'm sure the Duchess will like it.
Within a week, I had lost 3 pounds (which was disappointing), but my blood pressure had dropped from the usual 120/80 to 100/70, a number I hadn't seen in years.
"Being in a beautiful place and caring for happy people would make anyone feel better, but after a few weeks I became stronger mentally, physically and emotionally," she wrote at the time.
To be honest, I always suspected that Mayer's influence would be short-lived. But that was not the case. Even though the pandemic put my life on hold, I fell in love with Pilates and yoga and still go to classes almost every day. I have lost even more weight and believe that when I am diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021, my pre-qualification will mean I will be able to tolerate treatment better. Research shows that exercise, in particular, reduces the side effects of chemotherapy and can speed up recovery after surgery. I hope the Duchess will experience similar benefits during her skin cancer treatment.
I also believe that healing is an often overlooked aspect of medicine. In Agatha Christie's novel, people recovering from illness go to Torquay hotels overlooking the sea or board boats to sit on the deck with a blanket on their lap. However, today doctors are also ridiculing the Princess of Wales's expected recovery time from surgery on social media, while others compete for the shortest hospital stay and the fastest return to "normal" life.
Few of us can spare the time and money to travel to a simple resort. Isn't it time to treat yourself in the face of serious illness?
A week's program at MayrLife costs from £4,139 for a room and from £5,379 for a single occupancy. Includes all meals and some treatments such as medical examination and three massages, but does not include flights or accessories. Most people pay additional costs for treatments and supplements. www.healingholidays.com
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