It aired on Shanghai’s Dragon Television and the Youku streaming site, garnering more than 250 million views.
Clinic focuses on healthy gut microbiome
As a food writer, I expected my stay to have been hellish. In truth I never once felt hungry and left feeling remarkably energised – as well as almost 7 kilograms lighter after just seven days and nights. I was 108kg (238lb) when I checked in, although I am 1.95 metres (6ft 5in) tall.
Although there was little of it, the food was surprisingly good. One breakfast was buckwheat bread with sheep’s curd and artichoke dip.
Lunch was the biggest meal of the day; one day it was a sweet potato gnocchi with radicchio and pecorino.
Dinner was always soup, in most cases a vegetable bouillon which was essentially calorie-free.
TCM consultation takes holistic approach
The most moving and powerful part of my stay, however, was a TCM consultation with Dr Ursula Muntean-Rock, the resort’s head doctor, who trained in TCM for three years in Beijing and has been practising it for more than two decades.
“Our bodies are the ‘cars’ for our souls and the soul and the body have to work together,” she says. Chinese medicine, with its thousands of years of history, has developed systems to help keep the ‘car’ running smoothly and to prevent it from breaking down.
When she first sees people, she prefers not to look immediately at their file. “This already makes me think in one direction. I love to get to the Chinese diagnosis without knowing the history. Mostly I like to start just by reading pulses.”
Within seconds she tells me that my qi, or “petrol” side as she calls it, is a little bit low on energy, while a check of my pulse shows my blood pressure is high.
In a 45-minute consultation, she also asked questions about my overall health and well-being, physical and mental, and checked my face and tongue for signs of ill health.
Happily, she deemed my heart – “the house of the soul” – to be “quite good”. She also says I “seem to be a very wise man: you can just watch a lot, make the decisions and not panic”.
She is clearly right – although my wife would beg to differ.
TCM treatments target imbalances
This was my first acupuncture treatment in many years – and reminded me how simultaneously soothing and powerful it can be. I vowed to have regular sessions once I got back home.
TCM, Western medicine combined are ‘a perfect match’
During her consultations, Muntean-Rock is compassionate and empathetic.
“We have so many people coming here who have already seen a lot of specialists and still don’t know what to do. So, we said, why don’t we just add together medical knowledge from around the world?
“When you take the lab work, plus the Chinese tongue, pulse and face diagnostics, sometimes you can give Chinese herbs, but sometimes Western medicine is the only thing that you need. But what you have is a maximum of therapeutic possibilities.”
“Acute symptoms are definitely cured better and faster by Western medicine,” she says.
A week-long Mayr medical diagnostic programme with examinations, diagnostic tests, massages and other treatments costs €2,550 (US$2,750) per person for 7 days; rooms from €260 per night (single occupancy), €240 per person per night (double occupancy).
Muntean-Rock’s tips for better gut health
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Eat at regular times, and avoid using devices or watching TV while eating. Chew your food at least 15 times before swallowing to aid digestion.
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Drink a teaspoon of alkaline powder dissolved in water daily to clear acidity in the body.
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Sleep at least seven hours a night.
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Walk outside for 40 minutes daily, ideally in nature.
Other global resorts that feature TCM programmes:
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Langham Hotels around the world offer a Chuan Spa, which partners with TCM experts on consultations and specialist therapies.
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Sangha Retreat by Octave Institute in Suzhou, China offers an “Immersive Body-Mind Recovery Journey” starting from US$800 (HK$6,200) per night.
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Atmantan Wellness Resort near the Indian city of Pune offer a five-night wellness programme from US$2,380 per person.