It was probably somewhere between a total stranger telling me that I had a broken heart, finding out that my blood age was about eight years older than my actual age and being suspended in a gym contraption, grappling with the upsetting (but not at all surprising) reality that I had just about lost all core strength, that I realised I had let the end of my relationship and all the emotional stress that came with that get the better of me.
We’ve all been there (and if you haven’t, well, lucky you): there’s hardly something more painful than a breakup, bar, perhaps, finding out that your flatmate has eaten your leftover Chinese on the morning of a hangover, or someone spoiling the end of White Lotus for you. You don’t sleep, you don’t eat, you smoke about every cigarette that you can fit into a day, you wallow, you feel incredibly sorry for yourself, you get drunk and think about leaving your life behind to become a tomato farmer in complete solitude somewhere far away.
But before you decide to pull an Eat Pray Love on yourself and those around you (that just want to see you get better, FYI), there’s something else you should consider - as I’ve recently learned - and that is a factory reset for body, mind, and soul to help you come to your senses again. Sounding a bit woo-woo? Bare with, because when the invitation to trial the rebalance program at the RAKxa Integrative Wellness and Medical retreat in Bangkok, Thailand, landed in my email inbox, I couldn’t have known how much of a godsend those five nights spent on the other side of the world would be.
Here’s what happened - and how this spa visit led me back to myself again.
The Retreat at a glance
A mere 13 hour flight from London Heathrow and a 50 minute car ride from Suvarnabhumi Airport, nestled between mangroves, frangipani and palm trees lies the industry-leading retreat in the green lungs of Thailand’s capital, overlooking Bangkok’s skyline in the distance. It’s a one of a kind resort, isolated from the outside world - utopian in its traditional and yet sleek, modern design - wholly focused on an idiosyncratic East-meets-West medicinal approach to restore balance back in anyone who sets foot inside the gates, readily equipped to tackle any health concern visitors might have.
Opened in the lockdown of 2020, it was born out of a partnership between the VitaLife Scientific Wellness chain, an offshoot of Bangkok’s Bumrungrad International hospital, MK Real Estate, and Minor Hotels, and is led by CEO Dusadee Tanchareon, who aimed to fill a gap in the medi-spa landscape by blending all aspects of medical and holistic treatments.
Whatever the reason for your visit - from weight loss to post cancer care, clients come to stay for a plethora of reasons - the keyword to the concept here is ‘integrative’. Your stay will be supervised by medical doctors who are available 24/7, doctors in traditional Thai and Chinese medicine, as well as Ayurvedic practitioners and physiotherapists, who begin working with you shortly upon your arrival.
Straight from the airport, I was greeted by a singing bowl ceremony, before being escorted for a quick pitstop at my private garden villa, followed by a full day of consultations with all professionals on site, who - all in communication with each other - tailored my treatment plan according to my needs. Beginning at around 8am most days (as an early riser, I agreed to those timings), my schedule was jam-packed with all kinds of appointments, suggested time slots for the three anti-inflammatory meals of the day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), proposed free time, which can be spent in the medical gym, doing additional workout classes to those in your itinerary, by the outdoor pool, in the hydrotherapy centre, or, of course, on your room for some downtime.
There are 60 single bedroom villas on the estate, 20 of which are lakeside villas with a private pool, providing a real feeling of privacy as each accommodation is flanked by dense vegetation. Each villa comes with a spacious living room, bedroom, and bathroom, complete with a large bathtub, shower and Japanese high-tech loos. The villas also come with their own bicycles, so if you don’t feel like Whatsapping the staff for a buggy, you can easily cycle between the amenities, leaving your bike outside. Each day, the staff replenishes the minibar with juice shots, fresh tea and gluten free cookies, helping you bridge the gaps between meals should you feel peckish.
I committed to the RAKxa Rebalance programme, a five-night stay focused on realigning your body, mind and soul. After several consultations, I received my bespoke itinerary, and immediately found myself hopping between all my appointments from morning to evening. From a fitness test (which after months of no exercise, was a sobering reality-check), to having my blood drawn before breakfast for a blood age taste, a session in Pranayama (the yoga practice of controlling breath), chakra balancing, deep tissue massages, ZenNa Tai, hyperbaric chamber therapy, a body composition check, a Thai salt pot massage, acupuncture and Thai Ya-Pao detoxification therapy (by which an open flame is being lit on your stomach to release toxins), to Tai Chi and suspension exercise - it was what wellness dreams were made of, giving me insights into my of wellbeing (or the lack thereof), revealing the roots to my physical shortcomings, and connecting dots, which I had never even assumed possible beforehand.
Other signature treatments on offer include IV vitamin drips, infrared therapy, cryotherapy in the VitaLife clinic, and reflexology to colonics and abdominal massages in RAKxa Jai, the Wellness centre.
The outcome
I entered the program with little expectation but a lot of excitement for plenty of massages, hoping to feel a bit more healed inside and out after each point on the itinerary. But it wasn’t as easy as that: letting your inner workings glide out of balance as much as I allowed them to also means putting the work into getting everything back to where it needs to be.
Which leads me to the first lesson learnt during my time there: You can’t just tackle the symptoms of your health concerns, but you have to get to the root of them, which is something the highly-skilled staff working at the retreat is inimitable at. The medical doctors, as well as the wellness advisors will suggest you seek Western medical treatments, and deem all traditional practices(TTM, TCM etc.) just as important, as they understand how they can all work together. You have to consider your body as a whole, and treat it as such. Your energy flow is important, as is drinking enough mineral water and to quit smoking (work in progress). Controlling your breath can help with tension in your shoulders and journaling might just help to unblock your head chakra.
Secondly, no massage will suddenly heal you from heartache. Be prepared to face yourself and the emotional labour that comes with energetic work. I’ve come to realise that the hard way during an hour of chakra balancing, as well as a sound bath, both which brought forth plenty of tears and emotional release. There’s a reason the professionals hammer ‘be present’ in your brain at every turn; it takes it out of you, and the only way to reap the benefits of these treatments is to fully be present in the moment and to work through whatever you might be feeling.
My Personal Takeaways
The RAKxa team makes one thing quite clear from the beginning: this isn’t some sort of hardcore ‘drink broth only resort’ retreat, setting you up for the ultimate yo-yo effect when you return back to reality. The aim isn’t to cure you, but to equip you with the preventative tools to be able to continue your healing journey once you’re back home. For me, other than being reminded of the importance of exercise and good sleep, the breathing techniques I was taught during Pranayama have until now proven to be some of the most useful learnings in every life situation and I now find myself quite literally breathing through life, whenever I suspect even an inkling of imbalance.
Elsewhere, and that is perhaps one of the most crucial lessons in my particular case, sometimes it takes a bunch of strangers and professionals to reveal to you that the sorrow you’ve been bathing in for months is not just damaging your mental but your physical health, too, and that enough is enough. I didn’t leave feeling any less sad or magically healed, but I left with a lot more awareness for myself, and why boundaries in every aspect of your life are so important. It’s now been a few weeks since I’ve returned back to London and I’m finally starting to feel like myself again, and no bones about it, that comes courtesy of this little getaway.
How to book
You can check availability for all treatments on the RAKxa website. The retreat’s busiest time of year starts around October and lasts until March, so it’s best to not leave it until the last minute if that is the time you think about heading there. From Detox programs, to weight management, destress, hormonal imbalance courses, gut and immunity support and physical recovery treatments, there are a variety of options you can choose from.
Henrik Lischke is the Senior Fashion Features Editor at Grazia. Prior to that, he held the role of commerce writer at British Vogue, and was junior fashion editor at The Sunday Times Style. A first-class honours Fashion Journalism graduate from UAL: London College of fashion, Henrik is invariably on the lookout for the newest talent in fashion, that is driving the industry forward, and shining the spotlight on them whenever possible. He’s also got a passion for interiors design and the arts. Follow Henrik on Instagram @henriklischke.