An unexpected hangover of the life altering events of 2020 (no, it doesn’t need mentioning by name) is that many of us have emerged with a newfound penchant for holistic wellness. If the recent Dark Ages taught us anything, it’s that health is wealth. From spas to supplements and ayurveda to aromatherapy, the booming industry is now worth an eye-watering £1.3 trillion and a massive 73 per cent of the UK populace (and 82 per cent in the US) consider it a priority in our lives. It’s hardly a surprise with world wars brewing, the cost of living rising exorbitantly and global doom looming: AI takeover or cataclysmic climate change event, take your pick.

A space set up for meditation at The Mandrake hotel, which now offers weekend wellness retreats

So, when I tell you I recently pencilled in some much-needed relaxation at a wellness retreat, you might be picturing an enviably far-flung locale. Was it a snow-covered tundra in Swedish Lapland (as opposed to the Finnish one where Santa lives) that I found myself in or perhaps a silent retreat in a Buddhist monastery in Bhutan? Try a little closer to home, specifically Fitzrovia, just a bit north of Soho. Intrigued, I went in search of nirvana in W1.

“A retreat in the middle of London, how does that work?” I wonder as I trudge onto the Overground, schlep into town on the Central Line and meander through the back streets of Oxford Circus before arriving at swanky hotel The Mandrake. Unsurprisingly, relaxation feels very, very far away.

“Why should you go to the countryside to relax?” poses Maria Lodetoft, the retreat’s leader and the hotel’s head of spiritual wellness, when we met in the basement of the Mandrake midway through the two day festivities, which runs from Friday to Sunday. “We have this idea that London is so stressful, and it can be really overwhelming, but you can find pockets of calm and tranquillity, too.”

The Damu spa at The Mandrake

How does one place oneself on the path to becoming enlightened, I wonder. After a transformative gong bath, naturally. Lodetoft traded her career in marketing to become a wellness guru. “I trained with this really old lady who lives in a forest,” she says. “From that moment, I have incorporated [those teachings] into everything I do. The way I work with people and hold space is always very tailored to the person or group. I try to be very open in my approach and use different modalities to make it special.” For a restful weekend that promised “a transformative journey of rejuvenation”, the schedule is jam-packed: from infrared light therapy and reiki sound healing to morning yoga, aura photography and ecstatic dancing. Once your chakras are open nice and wide, you can find the time to squeeze in a visit to the hotel’s brand new Damu spa, which borrows its name from the Sumerian god of healing and transformation. Physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing all wrapped into one weekend. “I like to call myself a channel for the universe,” is how Lodetoft describes her continuing journey toward the divine inspiration that brought the programme into being. “I keep having these downloads of ideas. Having the playground where I am able to explore with the support of Rami [Fustok, The Mandrake’s founder-owner] is incredible, as looking at everything holistically has completely transformed my life.” Said to be built atop a giant crystal, the hotel has spirituality literally running through its foundations.

First up, a shamanic ceremony to welcome me and my fellow guests. After a smudge with sage to cleanse any lingering negative energy, the retreaters – similarly bewildered journalists sent in pursuit of peace and paradise by their respective publications – begin to shuffle in, also flustered by their weekday commutes. One by one, the group share their hopes and wishes for the weekend while sipping on their blue lotus tea, its flowers floating in the cup. “Transformation,” I declare to the group, citing this issue’s theme. Stephanie, our spiritual guide, nods in an affirming manner.

Next, there’s a guided meditation on the leafy terrace to help us recentre – a story that leads us on a sojourn to a fantasy garden where we eat the most delicious golden fruit. Fighting to drown out the din of postwork, pre-weekend drinks that floats up from beneath us, it feels like the first time I have intentionally sat still in a long time. I reflect on the past year, during which I moved back to London then across it, to the other side of the city, to start a new job. We conclude with a fire ceremony to banish what no longer serves us. I hastily scrawl my wishes down before tossing the paper into the fire, watching as it is reduced to ash in seconds. Do I feel lighter already?

The Damu spa at The Mandrake

As a crystal-buying, manifestation-setting person already firmly resident in Camp Woo Woo, the short shuffle to becoming a true wellness seeker feels like a natural one. Naturally, I gravitate towards the soundhealing experiences – from gong baths to reiki – and drift away while wrapped in cosy, plush blankets as bone-shaking drums and gongs pierce my psyche. Have I taken mushrooms and forgotten?

Speaking of mushrooms, I am relieved to discover that the vegan menu, courtesy of wellness chef Bettina Campolucci Bordi, isn’t measly foraged finds or torturous rations of bone broth, but delicious and sustainably savvy meals. Turmeric-roasted cauliflower and stuffed courgette flowers, finished off with a chocolate mousse so rich that I’m still trying to figure out how it doesn’t have any dairy – the curated courses are designed to heal from the inside out.

The next day, morning yoga demands an early wakeup call. As a lover of lie-ins, I must say I’m still not sold on this, sorry! At the aura reading after that, my green glow reveals I am open to and accepting of love and abundance. Though that could be the Seven Chakra Afternoon Tea, a bladder-bursting amount of herbal blends: white tea and peach, black tea and mango, blue aurora oolong and hibiscus and rose, each paired with tasty bite-sized treats.

Finally, it’s time for the retreat’s highlight: the mud cave. In a darkened, terracotta-toned wet space with cavernous steam rooms and rain showers, visitors are encouraged to slather on mud sourced straight from the Austrian Alps, peppered with various powders, to brighten and cleanse the skin. I slough away dead cells with a reassuringly abrasive scrub, leaving my skin baby-soft for weeks afterwards.

Inside the mud cave at the Damu spa

By now heavily moisturised and blissfully sedate, I ask my spiritual guru why people are flocking to wellness retreats like The Mandrake’s. Lodetoft alludes to others, from naysayers to netizens, who are also finding themselves desperately seeking balance at an extremely unbalanced time – understandable given global burnout and fatigue. “The Earth is going through an awakening on an energetic level,” she muses. “As a collective, we’re starting to understand that we have been put into systems or structures that don’t align with our true soul essence. We’re starting to push boundaries a bit and go against things that don’t feel right anymore.”

Before snapping back to reality, she imparts her final seeds of wisdom, hoping they will take root and flourish as I return to life outside the hotel walls. “Think of spiritual and emotional wellness as part of your daily routine. Are you always rushing around?” she says. “We’ve been pushed into masculine energy and are losing touch with our feminine energy, which is about receiving and slowing down. Everybody can learn from slowing down, taking a deep breath and coming back to the present.”

I take a deep breath and prepare for the journey home. Transformed? It’s not exactly a metamorphosis from fuzzy caterpillar into beautiful butterfly, but rather a shedding of toughened skin, a rediscovered lightness. Yet, as the hotel slowly disappears in the rearview mirror of my Uber and I’m once again confronted with the sights, sounds and smells of London, it quickly begins to dim.

Not quite nirvana in the end, but giving myself a weekend to disconnect and find precious moments of tranquillity – I’ll take it.

TREATMENTS

Mud Cave: a dimly lit cavern that transports you to another world, where you navigate through steamy recesses to slather on sustainably sourced mud, scrub away dead skin and let yourself shine.

Ecstatic Dance: a sober rave that encourages an unbridled expression of movement to awaken the chakras. Not for the weak, I longed for substances (anything) so I could make it to the end.

Infrared Gong Bath: an exclusive to The Mandrake, this multidimensional treatment combines the calm of a sound bath with the bonus of skin-toning and texture improving infrared light. Don’t go after eating, you’ll fall asleep in seconds.

*Photography courtesy of The Mandrake. *Taken from 10 Magazine Issue 75 – BIRTHDAY, EVOLVE, TRANSFORMATION – out on newsstands now. Order your copy here.

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