Healthy holidays

After a hectic year a soothing, relaxing holiday may be the best gift you can give yourself. Here are healthy holiday ideas for both home and abroad to help you unwind and rejuvenate mind and body

Alix Johnson

From HealthSmart Magazine

1. Yoga

Tame the distracting thoughts of everyday life with this ancient spiritual practice.

1. Ultimate retreats. Luxury resorts in exotic locales host a range of high-end, yogabased getaways. Start close to home with The Byron, at Byron Resort and Spa. It was recently voted one of the world's best luxury retreats by US glossy Condé Nast Traveler. Surrounded by natural rainforest, lush gardens and flowing water, visitors here can combine yoga, massage and meditation. Details at www.thebyronatbyron.com.au. Or head overseas for classes at The Twin Palms in Phuket, Thailand. This dynamic yoga retreat encourages deep relaxation and is set within the comfort of a five-star boutique hotel. Visit www.yogatogo.com.au.

2. Yoga travel. Combine sightseeing of the world's great wonders with yoga. Stretch and relax by the pyramids in Egypt, on the beaches of Morocco or by the Red Sea. See the options at www.yogatravel.co.uk. Or go on an "awareness adventure" and spend your mornings doing yoga and snorkling with dolphins and giant turtles in clear blue water in Hawaii, or why not dance to a different drum surrounded by indigenous forests, exotic gardens and beaches in Ibiza? Head to www.awarenessadventures.net.

3. Bargain basement. Come to rest at the Prema Shanti Meditation and Yoga Retreat, at the foot of Thornton's Peak in Far North Queensland and beside the ancient Daintree rainforest. From $70 a night at www.premashanti.com.

TIP: Consider the yoga styles on offer and the level of discipline expected. One gentle session a day may be all you need, or you may want something more challenging to loosen up.

2. Spas

1. A transcendental experience. In the 1960s, The Beatles made their famous spiritual pilgrimage to Rishikesh, India. At nearby Ananda Spa, you can choose from Ayurvedic practices, detox treatments and hypnotherapy. Sojourn to India at www.anandaspa.com.

2. Executive energiser. Fasttrack to Port Douglas's Executive Spa Retreat if you can hack rejuvenating massages and mud wraps. Get up to speed at www.executiveretreats.com.au.

3. Romantic getaway. Pleasure is the focus at Evason Ana Mandara & Spa, Nha Trang, Vietnam. Among the many treatments are four-handed massages and Cleopatra milk baths with honey and rose petals. For your every whim to be met, see www.sixsenses.com.

4. Seclusion. Pangkor Laut is on a privately owned island off Malaysia. The spa offers a combination of Malay, Chinese, Indian and Thai practices, as well as Japanese-style cleansing. Escape from the crowds at www.spatravel.com.au.

TIP: Go to www.fiveminute retreats.com for guided meditation sessions and daily reflections. Online and free.

3. Secret Men's Business

YOU MIGHT remember your teen years as a particularly turbulent time, and wish that your mum or dad had guided you better over the many pitfalls. Now parents have that chance.

In the mid-1990s, a group of Australian men set out to create something that would help young men make the emotional shift from boy to man. The Pathways Foundation is now an awardwinning charity running camps for boys aged 13-15 and their dads (or male carer). Its "modern initiation" includes physical challenges such as long bushwalks and also many opportunities to listen and speak with the group. The foundation wants to help boys discover a purposeful, productive and beneficial life, and avoid delinquency, drug abuse and low self-esteem. In November last year, it introduced the Pathways into Womanhood camp for mums and daughters. For information go to www.pathwaysfoundation.com.au.

4. Find Inner Peace at Inner-City Havens

Researcher Dr Jan Packer from The University of Queensland is investigating how inner-city locations can be used as sanctuaries for stressed-out city folk. She says there is a documented link between natural environments such as parks or museums and the ability of people to mentally recover from stress. Dr Packer says the four attributes integral to a restorative experience are:

1. Fascination - being engaged without effort, such as listening to the sounds of birds, a waterfall or the wind in the trees. "In museums, people get absorbed in their surroundings, so they tend to forget about everything else," she says. "It's a quiet space, and the architecture is sometimes cathedral-like, so visitors get that feeling of reverence and awe."

2. A sense of being "away" - being removed physically or mentally from the everyday drudge. Just looking at paintings in an art gallery can transport you to other places and times, and have a mentally stimulating, uplifting effect. "There's no rush - people like how they can take their own time, with no pressure."

3. The perception of extent - when the environment has enough to see or do that it can occupy the mind for an extended period. "People feel like they can lose themselves in the space. Here's enough there to keep them occupied," says Dr Packer. An aquarium is an ideal place for this.

4. Compatibility - the location provides a good fit with your purposes or inclinations. "These are places with what we call ‘free-choice learning', where people can stop at what they're interested in, or move on," Dr Packer says. So, if you‘re a keen gardener, then a botanical garden would be the perfect place to simply wander through.