The spa where wellness is all in your head
Test driving Kamalaya’s brain health program
Words by Ute Junker
Photos supplied
This story first appeared in the Australian Financial Review
Stress. Sleep. Immunity. Over the past 20 years, Thailand’s award-winning wellness retreat Kamalaya Koh Samui has introduced programs tailored to a range of common concerns. But their latest program zones in on a very different area: the brain.
Given that the wellness world is currently obsessed with ways to live longer, Kamalaya’s new brain enhancement program may seem a little left-field. But after introducing a longevity program three years ago, Kamalaya’s general manager Gopal Kumar says taking a hard look at the brain was the next obvious step.
“Cognitive health is a key part of longevity. If we want to live longer better, we need to take care of our brains,” he says. Kumar spent three years developing the program, working with neuroscientists to find the modalities and the training programs that would bring the best results.
The brand-new program – available for stays between eight and 21 nights – is designed to enhance cognitive function, mental clarity and emotional resilience. Like all of Kamalaya’s programs, it combines the latest science with traditional healing, and it starts with a series of assessments measuring everything from cognition to focus, calmness and creativity to regeneration.
These are not pass-fail rankings, a team member tells me as I don the electrode-studded cap that will measure my brain activity during a series of exercises. Soon I will be glad of that reminder.
I am already aware that my brain is not performing at its best – a relentless onslaught of recent events has left me feeling fried. So it’s not surprise that my results show room for improvement. But how exactly do you boost a brain?
My first look at the treatment list leaves me a little flummoxed. I’m pretty fluent in spa-speak – I know my shirodhara from my sitz bath – but what exactly is neuromodulation therapy, and how does it differ from brain stimulation therapy?
Fortunately the staff excel at explanations. The former treatment stimulates the vagus nerve which regulates the parasympathetic nervous system; the latter helps promote alpha brain waves, associated with a relaxed state of mind.
Neither, it turns out, is anywhere near as daunting as it sounds. In both cases I simply relax in a lounge chair while tiny electric currents are applied to (different) points in my ear. The sensation never exceeds a very gentle buzz, but it is interesting to note that after both treatments, I enjoy spectacularly sound sleeps.
That is followed by transcranial photobiomodulation therapy (or brain light therapy). This delivers precise wavelengths of near-infrared light to your brain, stimulating cellular energy production and boosting the brain’s natural repair processes.
Again, all I have to do is just sit there and let it happen. I even doze off a little during that one.
Just when I’ve decided that training your brain is far easier than training your body, I have my neuroactive fitness session. There is no sitting back and relaxing in this one.
Instead, I don that electrode-studded skull cap again and play a series of video games, in which the action on screen is determined by the brain waves I’m generating.
In one game, a monk floats serenely in mid-air, as long as I stay in a calm, relaxed state. If I get distracted, or turn my attention to something else, he slowly sinks back to earth.
In another game, a little dragon makes his way over the sea on a makeshift path that wobbles or disintegrates when my brain activity changes.
Maintaining the correct mental state is surprisingly hard work. I feel positively weary after each session, which a team member tells me is no surprise. “It’s just like a gym workout, only in this case you are exercising your brain,” she says.
It’s not brain-training all day, every day however – far from it. Kamalaya’s holistic approach means there are plenty of other relaxing treatments included, and guests are encouraged to explore something new, whether that is ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, meditation or reiki.
As I am dealing with some structural issues after an injury, I opt for a number of targeted massages as well as a one-on-one session with a Pilates instructor. I walk out of that session feeling a good half a metre taller, and immediately sign up for another session.
And that is one of the reasons people keep coming back to Kamalaya – all their practitioners are at the top of their game. It is rare to meet another guest who is on their first visit; the retreat has a remarkably dedicated following, with many people returning for an annual tune-up.
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