Laucala Island have welcomed highly sought-after wellness spa and healing expert Mala Barua to their incredible spa for the month of August. During her time at Laucala, Mala will be spending time with guests to study their individual needs, and will be bringing her eastern spiritual philosophy to specially tailored five and ten day wellness programs.
We spoke to Mala about her favourite treatments for stress, her healing secrets, the three simple things we can do to revitalise our health and wellbeing, and more.
RESCU: What are guests hoping to achieve from a consultation with you?
Mala Barua: I will be addressing the guests concerns for their physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. I hope some tangible insights will help them to move forward.
RESCU: Asian and Eastern treatments and healing modalities are now common place in top spa menus, what is new and what is next?
Mala Barua: What’s new is “Wellness”. The whole spa and tourism industry is now veering towards a more holistic experience of wellbeing that addresses the body mind and soul. Wellness also encompasses preventive healthcare and integrative medicine.
It is a very interesting move for humanity as a whole. Meditation has come into mainstream medicine, The Mind and Life Society, supported by His Holiness The Dalai Lama has Neuroscientists studying the effects of altruism and Mindfulness on the brain, the ancient healing techniques such as Yoga Nidra are raising the bar for healing at a holistic level and the value of Loving Kindness and Compassion is healing not just us humans but the earth and animals as well. It’s all very exciting.
RESCU: You are visiting Laucala in August as a guest wellbeing expert, how do you work with the resort spa menu to enhance and bring something unique to guests?
Mala Barua: Laucala is a beautiful island resort that has its own innate healing properties. I feel very privileged to be here. I will be offering additional immersion packages to enhance the wellbeing of the guests and staff.
RESCU: What is your favourite treatment for treating 21st century stress disorders?
Mala Barua: Stress can be managed well with meditation, if only people would give themselves the time to practice it. Most people are not even aware they have a life inside them that is protected from the stimulants of the external world. Stress is only a state of mind. It can be changed, when you learn how to manage the mind.
RESCU: If we could incorporate 3 simple things to revitalise our health and wellbeing, what would they be?
Mala Barua: Be in touch with yourself by;
a) Setting a health goal for yourself , it may be in the realm of the physical, emotional or spiritual health
b) keep a health diary to monitor your progress
c) if you are not progressing ask yourself and WRITE down what stops you from not achieving this goal. You will be surprised!
RESCU: For some very busy and successful people, accepting traditional healing and ancient remedies is outside of what they are used to. How do you overcome your client’s reticence to go back to nature and to open up to their own spirituality?
Mala Barua: Unfortunately the opening of spiritual quest cannot be hastened. But by making it available there is more chance that people will inspired!
RESCU: Please describe your inspiration to develop your own career down the wellbeing path? Was there a moment in your life/ career that you knew this work would be so powerful?
Mala Barua: I came upon the wellbeing path about 25 years ago when I was looking to tame my mind over a very traumatic time in my life. I was fortunate to be born with a healthy body but taking care of one aspect always leads to the other. So now I take care of both and along the way I learn more and more everyday. I think when a passion emanates from you, people get drawn by it and the career happens!
No I had not imagined that the Wellness industry was waiting to be the next big industry after the IT industry. Its very exciting to be here at this place.
RESCU: Which cultures, in your experience are most evolved in their concept and practice of holistic wellbeing?
Mala Barua: Hard to say. India of course has the roots of Yoga Ayurveda and Meditation. Thailand has the spa industry well covered, yet USA is important in bringing this ancient knowledge into the mainstream for the modern mind, with teachers like Jon Kabat Zinn, Sharon Salzburg, Joan Halifax, Louise Hay and Deepak Chopra etc Even in the physical health area American doctors like Dr Dean Ornish and Neal Bernard are making waves in change. What can we learn from them? We can learn that if we take care of ourselves, we end up taking care of the whole planet. We are all connected.
Laucala Island encompasses 12 square kilometres in the Fiji archipelago in the South Pacific and offers a wealth of leisure diversions including swimming, snorkeling, diving, horseback riding, spa treatments, sailing, sunset cruises, golfing, five exclusive restaurants and bars, and the highest staff-to-guest ratio in the world.
Visit www.laucala.com for more information
