|
 "The Independent"-News Journalistin Sophie Robehmed berichtet über ihren Aufenthalt im Biohotel Stanglwirt. (06/201) /english
Mountains of massage: The Austrian spa retreats that take their cue from Mother Nature
By Sophie Robehmed
Saturday, 25 June 2011
It's rare enough you meet someone who has invented a massage. To have them perform their treatment on you on a balmy afternoon in western Austria is something else indeed. But that's exactly what happened to me as I lay prostrate under the hands of Harald Kitz.
His massage focuses on releasing tension in the head, neck and shoulders. Harald noticed many of his patients suffered from pain in these areas and – clearly not one for false modesty – named his treatment Haki, a merging of his two names.
I was staying at the Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt, a charming, almost entirely wooden retreat (even the phones are made of the stuff) overlooked by a dramatic mountain backdrop in the Tirol. From its ornate wooden architecture to the dirndl-clad ladies on reception, it is every inch a traditional Austrian hotel. My room boasted a wood-burner, king-size bed and a balcony overlooking the majestic Wilder Kaiser mountain.
The stunning countryside, lakes and mountains certainly add appeal for a visitor keen on sensory indulgence, but it's the unique range of traditional treatments on offer – many using fresh herbs and plants from the surrounding mountains – that sets Austria apart.
As twinkling tunes filled the intimate treatment room, Harald began by wrapping his fingers around my spine. I let out a sheepish laugh and asked if my back was knotted. "Please do not talk to me any more," said Harald. "I am in full concentration of the mobility and energy of your body."
Whoops. Closing my eyes, I instead focused on how Harald engaged with my limbs, seeming to shake and stretch them, even pulling my fingers and snapping my toes. Stretching and relaxing are core values to the Haki way of life (the words "stretch and relax" even made the final logo for the treatment, which naturally Harald designed himself).
By the end, I was a convert: my body felt loose and tension-free, particularly in my neck, which Harald had identified as a "problem". With the treatment over, Harald gave me some last sage advice: "Get up and have a good life."
|
