PAUSE Visits:
Park Igls Medical Spa Resort
Follow Your Gut.
Like many, we’re going to hazard a guess that championing your health is near the top of your new year’s resolution list. If you’re serious about it, then Park Igls Medical Spa Resort is definitely somewhere you should consider.
When staying on the outskirts of Innsbruck, Austria with Park Igls, one thing becomes wholly apparent: “trusting” your gut is priority one. A saying as old as time yes, but the ultra-modernised Park Igls Medical Spa Resort are doing their utmost to mould the old with the new, utilising the brisk, rejuvenating air of the Alps in tandem with Modern Mayr medicine to completely reset your health. Despite what it may look like to somebody with little understanding of Mayr medicine, Park Igls is as unpretentious as it gets when it comes to wellness retreats. Opting for tried and tested methods, Park Igls bases itself on trusted scientific practices, hence why a large majority of its guests are yearly returners. People want reliability and specificity when it comes to their health, and Park Igls have that in abundance.
Taking this into account alongside young people’s increasing demand for an established health routine, PAUSE paid a visit to Park Igls late last year to get the inside intel on what Modern Mayr medicine entails, how fasting plays a part in that, and what you can take from the process moving forward into daily life.
PHOTO CREDIT: Park Igls Medical Spa Resort
Modern Mayr Medicine
It may sound slightly intimidating, but Modern Mayr Medicine is super simple. Founded in 1993, Park Igls follows the historic methods of Austrian physician and gastroenterologist, Dr Franz Xaver Mayer (1875-1965), who was revolutionary in discovering the link between health and the gut, utilising targeted practices and daily routines to eradicate various health complaints. Park Igls’ 2012-appointed Dr. Peter Gartner and his expert team have enhanced Mayr’s four original principles – rest, cleansing, substitution, and education – by adding exercise and various elements of self-care to form Park Igls’ signature Modern Mayr Medicine programme. Dividing up tailored programs depending on exact body types and health statuses, the retreat’s holistic approach treats each guest as an individual, looking to tackle and cure health problems head on through detoxing and cleansing the digestive tract.
Undertaking the 4-day Short Stay Mayr Programme, which is priced at £1061 and includes two health examinations, four therapeutic treatments and a full body massage, we were provided with a personalised Modern Mayr cuisine diet plan, an exercise plan, as well as the chance to take part in an extensive range of on and off-site activities.
Cuisine
The biggest reality check you’re going to face when heading to Park Igls is its relationship to food. Fear not though, the transition into partial fasting in Modern Mayr medicine was more simple than you’d think, especially with the aid of various department experts and the high-quality organic menu curated by award-winning chef, Markus Sorg.
As previously mentioned, the personalised dietary programme handed to you as you head to the front desk breaks down the eight stages – ranging from zero to seven – of gourmet fasting, a process that helps reduce intake, not stop it altogether. Forget what you may have heard about the extreme restriction of the Mayr method; Park Igls puts the “modern” into Modern Mayr medicine. Cleansing and repairing the dietary tract, this straightforward process places focus on mastication and hydration. Basically, chew your food… 30 times to be exact. From perfectly-cooked duck and panfried fish to a simply sublime apple strudel, these elevated recipes are exclusively put together for Park Igls by Mayr chef Markus Sorg, and each stage of the process looks to build upon the one before it by introducing new alkaline-rich, organic, and ultimately tasty ingredients.
See below for the break down of stages:
Zero: fasting – crispbread, alkaline-rich herbal broth, herbal teas with a few drops of orange juice.
One: traditional Mayr food such as sheep’s milk yoghurt, adding Mayr bread roll to aid chewing and saliva production.
Two: added protein – a choice of tofu, turkey, cream cheese, salmon, egg (90gms).
Three: alkaline-rich vegetable soup, increased protein to 150gms.
Four: gentle food combination at lunch, porridge variation for breakfast.
Five: light main course and filling side dish at lunch.
Six: occasional salads or sweet treat.
Seven: balanced Mayr diet – rich in flavour, light on the digestive system; three meals a day.
A solo trip might be your best bet for this venture, as your gut and digestive system becomes reactive to this change of eating style.
Treatments
The laidback and structured routine that Park Igls build itself around leaves a lot of time to relax, and they provide plenty of different ways of doing so. An initial examination with the aforementioned Peter Gartner gives you all the information you need moving forward into your treatment, being followed up a medical and guided training circuits in the gym. A stimulating and informative start to our journey at Park Igls, more relaxing full body massages helped stimulate blood flow and aid the body in doing what it needs to do, whilst a liver compress, a detox beeswax compress, and a moisturising cosmetic treatment continued to target areas of the body that needed some TLC. And of course, they all played their part in detoxification.
Facilities
What puts the metaphorical cherry on top of Park Igls’ humbly-sized cake are the facilities. Set amidst a private garden within close distance of the breathtaking Alps mountain range, Park Igls’ grounds consist of pretty much everything you could want, even a rather chilly game of golf (we couldn’t resist.) The clean outer stylings of Park Igls nod to the surrounding alpine environment, utilising clean shades of white and green, whilst a contrastingly cosy interior gives the retreat a “home away from home” feel, which was a very welcome touch. This sense of comfort is epitomised in Park Igls’ all-new tea room and relaxation area, which has recently been updated.
Getting into the headline-grabbers, Park Igls’ extensive spa and swimming pool areas put stimulation and relaxation on a pedestal. The 90 square-meter indoor heated pool welcomes you as you step through double doors, with lounger seats pointed directly towards the facility’s green garden. Despite central and Northern Europe’s customary naked saunas, a textile sauna sits adjacent to the pool for those who like to stay wrapped up, whilst showers, changing rooms, complimentary towels, and fresh alpine drinking water made things beyond easy.
Heading into the spa area was where our favourite aspect of the facilities can into play, with various health-oriented spaces being ready for use. The naked area boasted a diverse selection of hot and cold specialties, ensuring that all important blood pump rush, with everything from a steam room, an infrared cabin, and Finnish and bio-saunas to an ultra-refreshing plunge pool keeping you at your healthiest. Want more? 16 treatment rooms, an exercise studio with forest and garden views, relaxation areas, and medical showers continue to put that modern spin on the Mayr method.
If you fancy a view with your workout, Park Igls’ penthouse-style gym has an array of modern equipment to keep your exercise sessions enjoyable. Fancy purchasing a piece of kit you’ve used at the facility? A boutique stocking Mayr products, exclusive Park Igls health & beauty products, clothing and sportswear, local artisan gifts and mementos sits in the lobby. In need of a good book? A multi-language selection of books are available. What about some more self-care? A beauty salon has you covered for haircuts, cosmetics, and everything in-between. In essence, there’s not a blade of grass that Park Igls aren’t covering.
Accommodation
You pay for what you get with Park Igls’ tasteful accommodation, with all rooms arriving with a spacious balcony. Variously-sized rooms and suites are available to guests, providing reliable air-conditioning, a power shower, modern amenities, as well as a bathroom filled with natural light, having been developed in collaboration with the medical team and scientists exclusively for Park Igls. In the hallway leading to your room, convenient hot-water-bottle taps and still and sparkling water are available on every floor, whilst the all important mugs of bitter water are pre-prepared in the stairwell. To be honest, the living space in Park Igls was brilliantly curated, rubber-stamping the sophistication of the Austrian way of living. Anyways, it’s all worth it for that view.
Final thoughts
Our stay at Park Igls was filled with informative and calculated professional opinions, which was something we looked for heading into the process. Leading with understanding, precision, and warmth, the facility makes sure to break down pre-determined opinions as soon as you step through the door, eradicating any trepidations you may have over the process. Park Igls brings Mayr medicine well into the modern age through years of dedicated research and an extremely talented team of health experts, making it an ideal starting point for a 2025 lifestyle change.
Additional information:
Book your stay: Park Igls Medical Spa Resort (+43 512 377305).
Doubles rooms start from £170 (€204) per person per night (two sharing), singles from £175 (€211) per room per night and suites from £322 (€388) per person per night. These prices are inclusive of breakfast, parking and Innsbruck (INN) airport or station transfers.
Mayr programmes:
The 4-day Detox Short Break is priced at £1061 (€1279) for 2 health examinations, 4 therapeutic treatments and a full body massage, whilst the 7-day Detox Classic is set at £1706 (€2057) per person for 2 health examinations, 1 medical examination, 5 full body massages, and a manual abdominal treatment.
Mayr medication – which is optional – is not included. A 7-night stay is beneficial, but in order for the Modern Mayr practice to be most effective, a minimum stay of 14-21 nights is highly recommended.
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