'Inhale ... exhale ... inhale ... exhale." Surprisingly, there's not a whiff of apprehension as I embark on my first spa experience at the former Mayday Hills Lunatic Asylum.
In the 19th century, it took just two signatures to have someone committed to the asylum and eight to get them released. These days, all it takes is a phone call to get in.
Built in 1867, the white, Georgian-style building that houses The Spa at Beechworth is perched on a hill overlooking the genteel La Trobe Gardens. There's no ominous crack of lightning or creaking front door as I enter, just the luscious scent of aromatic oils and the welcoming smile of owner Debbie Donkers.
"The building's grandly proportioned rooms and soaring windows overlooking the garden are restorative elements in themselves and provide a private haven for contemplation and luxurious pampering," says Donkers, who offers services from private meditation and life coaching to reiki and kinesiology.
My spa partner and I are seated in the light-filled reception room, where original baltic pine floors are polished to a warm honey and inspirational, life-enhancing messages such as "Trust is having a dream and accepting you can have it" are on a pale-mushroom wall.
Nine treatment rooms with male and female therapists cater for couples, singles and girlfriends' getaways. There's no jangling of brass keys or slamming of steel-reinforced doors. From tortured souls to uplifted spirits, this is seclusion of a different nature.
Fingers of late afternoon's golden light spread across a spacious treatment room where a pair of massage tables are set with soft, white towels. Intuitive spa therapists focus on our breathing and our two-hour customised "Dreamtime" treatment begins with the burning of native myrtle leaves in a sacred smudging ceremony designed to clear energy in the room.
After I sink into the liquid embrace of a white oval spa bath filled with hot water infused with Tasmanian peat mud, a blissful 30 minutes evaporate. Essential nutrients are absorbed by dehydrated skin. My skin becomes soft and supple from the water's healing power. Warm oil is drizzled over my body and a desert salt scrub is energetically applied.
Oiled hands swoop across collarbones, arms, torso and legs, each articulated with long strokes that leave the skin silky smooth.
In the wet room, a warm rain mist shower hovers over a redgum table shaped like a gumleaf and the final vestiges of tension dissipate.
I select a Li'Tya hormone-balancing lavender, sandalwood and rose geranium oil from a choice of three aromatic macadamia-based oils available for my massage.
The spa draws philosophies from ancient and modern wellness rituals. In line with Donkers' high-touch, low-tech beliefs, it is one of a growing international band of wellness centres and resorts being guided by the natural spa care products and treatments created by Li'Tya, which is a Melbourne company.
Li'Tya is based on the indigenous Australian culture of touch therapy. Founder Gayle Heron learnt the philosophy from an elder who worked with her over many years of exhaustive research into traditional healing and through countless investigative journeys across Australia.
Primed and ready for the Li'Tya Kodo massage, I surrender to this ancient technique that uses a combination of pressure-point therapy and rhythmic spiralling movements. Tranquillity descends as gentle, deliberate hand motions unleash blockages. The massage also serves to amplify how essential the power of touch is to the human spirit.
Frozen dried collagen coolly slips around my eyes and a penetrating, moisturising quandong hair mask is applied. Fingers deftly locate my scalp's pressure points and I'm massaged from hair follicles to the tips of my toes.
Later, I feel restored, rejuvenated and in high spirits as I recline in one of the chill-out zones, wrapped snugly in a soft mohair rug, and sip a caffeine-free, detoxifying Yulu tea of lemon myrtle and wild rosella bush flowers. Some of the locals reckon they've seen the spectre of a former inmate at one of the upstairs windows at night but from where I'm sitting, there's nothing spooky about this spa.
Carol West travelled courtesy of North East Victoria Tourism and Indigo Shire.
FAST FACTS
- The Spa at Beechworth is located in La Trobe Gardens, one kilometre from Beechworth. Spa packages are evocatively named "The Dreaming" and "The Breath", or there's a day of total indulgence that includes yoga, meditation, massage and other treatments. Packages start at $245 for "The Breath". Phone 5728 3033 or see thespaatbeechworth.com.au.
- You can stay in-house at a self-contained two-bedroom cottage, McCarthy House, in the grounds of La Trobe Gardens, for $300 a night for one couple and an extra $80 a night for a second couple, with a two-night minimum stay. Phone 5720 8050 or visit www.latrobeatbeechworth.com.au.
- Provenance Restaurant in Beechworth has four luxury suites that include breakfast and a complimentary bottle of bubbles. Sunday to Thursday is $275 a night and Friday and Saturday is $295 a night. See theprovenance.com.au.
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