A Magnificent Season Begins With The LUXURY TRAVEL MAG / A Transformative Digital Detox At Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat / By Madelin Tomelty / luxurytravelmag

At Australia’s preeminent wellness retreat, magic happens when digital disconnection, solitude and sacred spa rituals unite

If I had known that it was possible to experience an award-winning health retreat without giving up barista coffee, however temporarily, I might have become an advocate of Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat a lot sooner.

Like bed hair and my daughter’s porridge, barista coffee is a mainstay of my mornings, and I can’t imagine life without it – nor do I particularly want to.

The staff at highly applauded Gold Coast hinterland haven Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat put this – I think very healthy – lifestyle choice top of list when they created a radical new offering called ‘Healthy Escape’. Not only do guests have access to a barista-manned coffee cart on this three- or four-night retreat – and with, “gasp”, cow’s milk no less – they can also enjoy a glass of organic wine and even a dessert during their stay, too.

The delicious meals served, like at all Gwinganna retreats, use seasonal, local, organic wholefoods, but the serving sizes are generous and the meals almost indulgent. Compared to Gwinganna’s other retreats, ‘Healthy Escape’ – and its two-night equivalent, ‘Wellness Weekend’ – is practically hedonistic.

The ‘Healthy Escape’ and ‘Wellness Weekend’ ethos was designed for people just like me – interested in many aspects of wellness retreats (spa treatments, meditation, being immersed in nature, disconnecting from the cascade of micro-stresses that city life brings), but who also don’t feel the need to deprive themselves of life’s simple pleasures.

It’s a master stroke for Gwinganna, opening up a whole new cohort of potential customers who might have previously steered clear for fear of ‘boot camp’ vibes and a rigid rule book when it comes to deprivation of food, alcohol and technology.

Dis-connect

To be clear, technology is still (mostly) off the table, and it takes mere hours for me to see why. “All technology usage is restricted to within your room,” the guide in my suite states. Qualified by: “However, mobile phones may also be used within the Cricket Stand.

” (A small, quirky heritage cricket stand is one of the few places on site that gets cellular signal.) “Usage outside of these designated areas is regarded as extremely impolite,” I’m warned.

Always the law-abiding citizen, I spend the majority of my time at Gwinganna with my iPhone a long way from my person, and when I’m back in my room I use it sparingly, to check in with my solo-parenting husband – and little else.

We know from recent studies that limiting screen time can promote healthier cognitive development and creativity, reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep and enhance social interactions. We’ve all read the articles that state that constant phone alerts elevate our cortisol levels, keeping us in a chronic state of fight, flight or freeze. And yet even knowing this, I am still a little shocked at how quickly I feel a shift in my being while at Gwinganna.

Being unreachable for most of the day feels freeing, a little rebellious, and above all, relaxing. I am more aware of my environment, more present, and I notice a lack of that perpetual human crutch: mental chatter.

I feel compelled to read Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism again, because I clearly didn’t heed his warnings the first time round.

“Digital minimalists are all around us. They’re the calm, happy people who can hold long conversations without furtive glances at their phones. They can get lost in a good book, a woodworking project, or a leisurely morning run. They can have fun with friends and family without the obsessive urge to document the experience,” Newport writes.

He believes the key to thriving in our always-switched-on world is to spend much less time using technology, and I’m inclined to agree with him.

By the time I leave Gwinganna, I already feel myself longing for days where the only alerts are the kind written on a chalkboard stating the day’s menu, and the only sounds are those of the laughing kookaburras in the trees, the relaxed chatter of my fellow guests, and the occasional heavy-footed possum on my Moonarie Villa’s roof.

I know I will really miss the peaceful bushland environment – all 200 hectares of it, with ocean and valley views and troupes of sweet-faced wallabies – and the predictable rhythm of the day, designed to align with my body’s circadian rhythm.

Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat | Villas

A new daily schedule

Each morning at Gwinganna revolves around movement, and guests can choose to participate in restorative yin activities (yoga, pilates, meditative bush walks, sound healing) or energising yang activities (circuit training, challenging hikes, deep-water running, drumming), depending on their energy levels and goals.

Afternoons and evenings, by contrast, are for rest and relaxation.

There are no daily seminars on the ‘Healthy Escape’ retreat – another conscious decision to stray from the usual retreat formula – and for many, afternoons are defined by restorative solitude.

Some of the guests, like myself, are fatigued working mothers relishing a few days free of the high-octane demands of clingy toddlers and the ‘ding ding’ of email notifications.

Others are seeking a respite after a stressful time at work, or following a period of upheaval. There are lots of repeat guests: for one, it’s his 12th time at Gwinganna, and he tells me he visits at least once a year.

Another guest I meet has been staying at this hilltop plot of paradise for a full month. Plenty of others are simply checked in to see what all the fuss is about, because it’s common knowledge that multi-time Luxury Travel Gold List Award winner, Gwinganna, is the best health retreat in Australia. And much of that accolade comes down to the spa.

Sacred spaces

Gwinganna’s Spa Sanctuary is the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, with 33 treatment rooms available for retreat guests. The architecturally-designed indoor-outdoor space hosts a long list of highly qualified wellness practitioners, many of whom are sought after in the Australian wellness world.

The 160-treatment-strong spa menu offers Western relaxation-based therapies as well as Eastern, holistic and spiritual rituals intended for physical or emotional healing. For the most impactful and transformative among them, though, the ‘Unique Gwinganna Experiences’ are the way to go.

The ‘Vagus Nerve Release’ treatment I book in for addresses stress and nervous system imbalances through abdominal massage and intuitive energy healing.

My radiant therapist taps into messages from my organs and vagus nerve during the massage, sharing intuitive insights that bring on deep self-reflection in the days afterwards. In a similar vein, the transformative ‘Sacred Feminine Ritual’ – known as ‘Womb Hara Massage’ from the Institute of Feminine Arts – is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Designed to awaken the feminine life-force energy and connect women to their body’s deepest intuition, this unique experience releases physical and emotional congestion through the integration of several healing arts including Hawaiian lomi lomi, womb massage and guided somatic journeying.

Beginning with an angel card reading and culminating in an ancient body-wrapping technique called ‘rebozo’, this is indeed a sacred experience that has a restorative effect on my mind and body.

By the time I leave Gwinganna, I already feel wistful for days where the only alerts are the kind written on a chalkboard stating the day’s menu, and the only sounds are those of the laughing kookaburras in the trees, the relaxed chatter of my fellow guests, and the occasional heavy-footed possum on my Moonarie Villa’s roof.

In the moment

On my last morning at Gwinganna, I discreetly look around at my fellow guests, bathed in the golden light of sunrise as we all move our arms and bodies in perfect synchronicity, dancing the gentle dance of qi gong. I see the many people I’ve met and gotten to know over meals while at Gwinganna.

There is the farmer and the interior designer, the psychologist and her uni student daughter, two film directors, a couple of scientists and even the odd famous person, including one of Australia’s most beloved cooks and authors. Gwinganna seems to attract swathes of interesting folks from all walks of life, from the far reaches of the country.

But for now, who we are at home feels irrelevant.

There is just the flowing movement of this morning ritual, in this tranquil environment, in this perfect moment… and the titillating promise of barista coffee with breakfast. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Hotel notes

Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat offers various wellness retreats throughout the year.

The three-night ‘Healthy Escape’ starts from $1,985 including accommodation in a Heritage Villa, all activities, one wellness seminar, all meals and drinks, one classic massage and a $100 spa credit. Complimentary transfers are offered from the Gold Coast Airport at set times.

gwinganna.com