How RAKxa Wellness and Medical Retreat Puts Your Mind, Body, and Soul Back in Balance

Bazaar Arabia’s Jessica Michault hits her wellness reset button at the Thai health sanctuary

I didn’t realise how badly I needed RAKxa until I crossed the little bridge that lead to the unassuming entrance of the retreat’s private island. The lush green surroundings, the tranquil lake waters and the calming stillness embraced me like a long-lost friend I just happened to be meeting for the first time. As soon as I crossed the threshold my lungs filled with what felt like the first deep breath I had taken in months. I noticed my tense shoulders had dropped from beside my ears and I discovered that a wide smile had miraculously appeared on my face as I accepted a welcome tea from an equally beaming member of staff. Oh yes… this is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Speaking of doctors, one of the reasons that RAKxa, which is just a 45-minute chauffeur-driven car ride away from Bangkok airport, initially appealed to me was that it was so much more than just another spa getaway filled with massages, facials, healthy food and hydrotherapy treatments – although all of those things are absolutely part of the experience.

The retreat firmly believes that wellness is a journey of self-discovery that needs to be explored on multiple fronts. This is why, after having already filled out a multi-page questionnaire before arriving (which asked some classic health questions as well as broader ones about goals and desires) I had the pleasure of speaking with a number of doctors from many different fields of medicine so that I could be properly assessed before my five-day programme got the green light.

There was the Western medicine doctor in the retreat’s state-of-the-art clinic, which is run in partnership with Bumrungrad International Hospital’s highly respected VitalLife Scientific Wellness Clinic. The doctor walked me through a microscopic look at my blood cells and clocked right away, thanks to the number of white blood cells she spotted, that I was just at the tail end of a nasty cold. She prescribed a tailor-made IV drip to get panel once I recounted my medical history.

Then it was the turn of the Ayurveda doctor to take my pulse, examine my tongue, teeth and gums and proclaim that I had a Kapha Pitta body type, that I needed to drink more ginger and fennel tea and prescribed a detox yoga treatment, some breathwork meditation classes as well as suggested that I keep jasmine and lotus flowers in my surroundings going forward.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctor also took a deep interest in my very pale tongue and the fact that the indentation of my teeth could be seen on each side, a sign of a “dampness within the body” and an indicator of being run down. She added an acupuncture treatment to my five-day stay. And as for the Traditional Thai Medicine (TTM) doctor, she used my birthday to determine that I was an earth sign and that I also had a bit of fire in me as well. With that information and a pulse check, she mapped out which deep tissue treatments, like an abdominal massage, I needed in my wellness lineup. I even had an hour-long physical fitness assessment in the retreat’s high-tech and very well-appointed gym to determine things like my flexibility, core strength and balance levels.

Once my many and varied treatments from the retreat’s integrative medicine program were planned out – from visits to hyperbaric oxygen and cryotherapy chambers to private pilates classes, hydro-gym classes, IV treatments and therapeutic massages – it was time to jump on the bicycle the resort had provided me for a leisurely ride back to my private villa (staff driven golf-carts are also an option). There the lush garden was fragrant with blossoming frangipani and the trilling sound of exotic birds made the world outside RAKxa fade even further from thought.

Each of the 42 villas is designed to respectfully accommodate guests with mobility issues, with large living rooms and expansive bathrooms. The modern decor comes in muted tones that soothe the mind and the cocooning beds, as well as the vast assortment of pillow options, pretty much guarantee deep, restful sleep.

The villas that sit along the lakefront, which is connected to the Chao Phraya River, also feature private pools for those looking to do their hydro classes one-on- one with a trainer and enjoy even more peace and quiet. The only disturbance, the occasional rippling surface of the lake when one of the resort’s shy lizards might peek its head above the water.

As much as each of the daily treatments adds another layer of understanding of just how interconnected the mind, body and soul are when it comes to getting healthy, the meals at RAKxa have their own sort of healing properties. Much of the food prepared in the Unam restaurant comes from the resort’s on-site 40-hectare organic farm. The recipes of the three-course meals are elevated takes on classic Thai dishes with a few Mediterranean options folded in for good measure. And the bread, I could write a whole paragraph just on the bread alone.

Baked daily and often still warm when served with oil and balsamic vinegar, the bread was an exciting discovery I particularly looked forward to at each meal. There was always a sourdough and gluten-free option to savour. My favourites included those that were sprinkled with bits of fig, apricots, dragon fruit or sweet potatoes. By the end of my stay, the staff knew that I would need at least two servings of bread, morning, noon and night.

A visit to the resort’s tea bar to test out one of the 60 different teas while watching the river boats chug by was a daily rendezvous as was a leisurely hour or two spent relaxing by the massive outdoor pool and submerged jacuzzi. If I was feeling particularly motivated I would also tack onto my outlined programme a free extra class or two of yoga, or fascia release at the gym. But an afternoon spent in the spa’s hydro-therapy space, moving from sauna or steam room to showers crafted to represent different sorts of rainfall and refreshing cold water baths, were just as appealing.

As someone who has long been a believer in preventative medicine, and has had my fair share of bodywork done over the years, the staff at RAKxa JAI, the resort’s spa, were some of the most skilled I have ever encountered. And with over 200 different treatments available to choose from at the resort, guests are spoiled for choice when it comes to the bespoke way they want to find their way back to wellness.

It seems almost fitting that a resort that was conceived as a health sanctuary would end up opening its doors in 2020 as the pandemic raged. In its aftermath, the world has had to reassess its priorities, with a desire for work/ life balance and an overarching pursuit of wellness becoming new and regular topics of conversation. At RAKxa, where guests can come and stay from three nights to two weeks, the hope is that visitors will find a way to reconnect with their bodies, find stillness in their minds, and flush out the toxins of life that once again seems to be running at a breakneck speed.

After my stay, not only did I feel like myself again, but I also had a deeper understanding of what I personally needed to do to maintain a more harmonious and healthy lifestyle. Now all I have to do is stick to it – and if I don’t, I know that RAKxa is ready and waiting to help me back on course.

For more information, visit rakxawellness.com

From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s June 2023 Issue

(Images supplied)