Samadhi Spa & Wellness Retreat, Daylesford review: Blissful affair of the harp

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This was published 12 years ago

Samadhi Spa & Wellness Retreat, Daylesford review: Blissful affair of the harp

Nature for nurture ... Samadhi Spa & Wellness Retreat offers personalised spa treatments, wholesome food and therapies to encourage healing.

Nature for nurture ... Samadhi Spa & Wellness Retreat offers personalised spa treatments, wholesome food and therapies to encourage healing.

Sheriden Rhodes finds nirvana at a holistic wellness retreat that doesn't require a trip to the airport.

It is one of those wet, miserable nights in Melbourne, the kind that makes venturing out a formidable challenge.

As I drive up the Calder Freeway heading for the one-horse town of Glenlyon near Daylesford, heater cranked up, I admit I'm cynical. Everyone I know who has done a wellness retreat got on a plane and headed to warmer, more alluring climes - Koh Samui; Ubud; some exotic, far-flung place in India or, at the very least, Queensland.

After getting hopelessly lost on the back roads of Kyneton and Tylden, I finally pull into the driveway of Samadhi Spa & Wellness Retreat.

My host Annah Mirananda runs out to the car with a huge umbrella and a warm smile and ushers me inside. Here, the stylish East-meets-West retreat - fitted with heated polished-concrete floors, an open fire, calming neutral decor and alpaca rugs - indicates comfort, safety and warmth. Annah, with her nutritional background, delivers the first of many wholesome and artistically striking meals. It's the exact food the moment calls for: a rich celeriac soup, hot and full of flavour; decorative smoked salmon rolls stuffed with Holy Goat feta; and a glass of local Hepburn mineral water.

After a good night's sleep (a rarity since becoming a mum) and a breakfast of toasted muesli I show up for my first counselling and healing session with Annah's husband Wayne.

Typically I get embarrassed by this kind of thing but Wayne, who can only be described as a big, friendly bear, makes me relax instantly. It's 10am Monday and I haven't had a coffee or checked my emails. I decide there's nothing to do but go with the flow.

"So what are you sensing?" Wayne asks, "What's going on?" As I sit bathed in an overwhelming feeling of peace, I open my eyes to find Wayne nodding enthusiastically.

"It doesn't have to stop. You can take this feeling with you, or ask for it as you do your emails, as you walk down the street; even when you're facing difficult situations." Now there's an idea, I think to myself.

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As I chat with Wayne afterwards over herbal tea, I learn the couple has more than 50 years of professional and personal experience in the field of health and healing.

Originally they came to build a home in Glenlyon but the idea for the retreat unfolded. Annah felt a strong connection to the land they'd bought, which also is home to their pet alpacas. It turned out later the cottage on the corner had been owned by her nanna. "This place is unique and special; there's a history of healing here," Annah says.

"Our focus is life change and we are small, private and all inclusive. It's a one-on-one investment rather than a boot camp group experience."

Healing sessions are interspersed with body treatments in the spa - with its beautiful Chinese doors, which connect the retreat and the spa via a covered walkway - and good food.

Sometimes printed cards are presented with meals or drinks to describe their contents and benefits, as well as beautiful or quirky napkins. Dishes, prepared by Annah, are creatively constructed with organic seasonal produce, sourced locally or from an on-site garden.

On day two I experience the Himalayan Rejuvenation body treatment, involving a mineral crystal salt scrub combined with warm detoxing oils using lime and ginger. The best part is being wrapped in a cocoon of thermal vitamin-rich mud, minerals and sea extracts, designed to enhance circulation and draw out impurities.

My scalp is then massaged with a mint elixir, before I enjoy a full-body massage, using magnesium-rich cream customised by Annah. I float to my room in a semi-comatose state, eat another wonderful wholesome meal and sleep like there's no tomorrow.

The next day I participate in my first sound-therapy session. I slip under an alpaca blanket, close my eyes and slip into a deep state of relaxation guided by Annah's words and beautiful sounds emitting from a harp and bowls she plays. It reminds me of being sung lullabies as a child and dutifully I fall asleep. Later I take a walk in the crisp air to the Glenlyon general store, refreshed by my three days at Samadhi.

I realise the same things that brought me here will still be there when I leave but my response to them has shifted. Even better is that I didn't need to fly halfway across the world. Sometimes what we have in our own backyard is every bit as good, if not better.

The writer was a guest of Samadhi Spa & Wellness Retreat.

FAST FACTS

Samadhi is located at Glenlyon, 90 minutes north-west of Melbourne via the Calder Freeway.

Samadhi offers stays from half-day to nine-night retreats, starting from $550. Phone 5348 7926, see samadhiretreat.com.au.

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