How a Haystack can help heal your back

Got bad back? Go crawl in a haystack

Hay, water, a large plastic bag and a wooden platform – this the modern way of having a hay bath.

100s of years ago when famers in the Tyrolean Alps had a sore back after a hard day in the fields they would crawl inside a hay stack, lay down and wait for the healing powers of the meadow herbs and the heat generated within the stack, to heal them.

However for those of us without a handy hay stack in the back garden there is an alternative – a hay bath. tried one at the Wiesenhof Hotel in Pertisau in Tyrol, Austria.

You lie on a wooden platform in a large bath. But rather than lying in water, you are actually floating on top of a large plastic bag filled with water – so it’s a watery sensation without the wetness. You are then covered in damp hay, which is considerably less prickly than dry hay. A damp sheet is wrapped around you and a number of towels and blankets keep you warm.

Once you are ready the platform is lowered away and you “float” in the encased water. There is a feeling of weightlessness and the mind and body begin to relax as the water heats up from 38 degrees to around 41 degrees.

For the next 25 minutes you lie floating in a bed of warm hay and meadow herbs. It’s quiet. It’s comforting. It’s relaxed. You’ll probably fall asleep.

The heat encourages you to sweat and the herbs help pull out toxins. The combination causes the muscles to relax and spasms to reduce.

I was quite disappointed when my time was up – I would happily have stayed there for much longer, cocooned in the warmth and breathing in the light scent of cut grass and wild flowers.

Like the majority of treatments at the Wiesenhof, the hay bath uses a local resource. The hay is grown in the mountain meadows and is cut by hand before being dried. Along with mineral salts and Stone Oil it’s a treatment that is unique to the local area and steeped in tradition.
So next time you mow the lawn remember that grass is good for more than just sitting on.


You can hear more about the natural treatments at the Wiesenhof in Tirol, Austria on PASSION for the PLANET

Harps, didgeridoos, kitchen tables and a very quiet mind

I am lying on a large wooden table. Attached to the underside of the table is a series of strings – like piano or harp strings. I am covered in a blanket with a cloth across my eyes to block out the light. A young (rather fit looking!) therapist called Christian is sitting next to me gently plucking the strings below.

A haunting musical sound begins to build, gently resonating through my body. It sounds like three didgeridoos playing harmonies. It’s certainly a pleasant experience but I am skeptical about its therapeutic benefits. Its called a “sound bed“ and it’s part of the spa facilities at The Wiesenhof hotel in the picture postcard village of Pertisau in Tirol in Austria.

The treatment is based on the understanding that the world around us oscillates or vibrates. Humans mostly perceive these vibrations as music or noises. Physics has shown us that these vibrations, if at the correct pitch can activate other bodies. Think of a tuning fork; if you strike the fork and hold it against something else with a similar resonant frequency, it will set that body vibrating too.

This is the principle of Tibetan resonance therapy which uses bells. Johannes Entner at The Wiesenhof wanted to create a treatment that would help calm the mind and body in the same way as the Tibetan bells, but using Alpine traditions.

Since stringed instruments are typical for the Alpine region Johannes chose them as the basis for his idea. He worked in collaboration with Wolfgang Lohmeier, a Munich-based sound engineer and percussionist, and togther they developed a unique bed with 15 strings tuned to the sound of the Earth.

During the treatment you lie on the wooden “resonator box“ with the 15 piano strings underneath. Your therapist then slides his/her fingers across the strings, which are tuned to C sharp. This single fundamental tone generates various overtones providing the bed with a warm, voluminous tone.

At first its just pleasant and I am not sure its really having any therapeutic effect, but gradually as the tones begin to work their magic, I can feel my body and my mind begin to relax. Deeper and deeper.

I not only hear the harmonic frequencies through my ears but I also feel them through my skin.
The idea is that as well as relaxing you, the treatment also helps to improve circulation and balances the autonomic nervous system.

I can certainly say it relaxed me – more than I have experienced for a long time. And as it came to an end I suddenly realised that for some time (I have no idea for how long!) I had actually stopped thinking – that inner voice had shut up! I was left with a strong sense of being grounded and calm, which lasted the rest of the day, and that night I slept well and woke up feeling refreshed.

What a shame all kitchen tables arent hooked up with piano strings – giving a dinner party could be alot less stressful!

Why you don’t need fake tan if you’ve got apricots!

Austrians love their apricots and if you spend any time in their beautiful country during the summer you’d be hard pushed to avoid eating this delicious fruit.

I’ve spent the last week in Vienna writing my book, in between eating large quantities of cake and ice cream and going to watch Rigoletto in front of the Rathaus.

Last Sunday afternoon my mother and I took the train to the suburbs to visit some friends. In their back garden was a wonderful apricot tree and we spent an hour clambering up ladders gathering the ripe fruit.

We had so many we could hardly carry them – they’d already had three harvests and were keen to give us a large bag to take home.

So on Monday morning we set about making apricot jam (along with Powidl this is an Austrian staple) and (my personal favourite) apricot dumplings. These are so popular in Austria that they come in three varieties; brandteig, topfen and erdapfel.

Brandteig is basically apricots wrapped in plain choux pastry, boiled and rolled in bread crumbs. Delicious.

Topfen is a type of cheese you can get here that I’ve never seen in the UK. It’s in everything and can be made into a pastry called “topfenteig” giving the apricot dumplings a fluffy cheesecake flavour. Also delicious.

And then there’s erdapfel. Actually that’s just me showing off – erdapfel is simply potato. The potatoes are boiled and then pushed through a sieve to make a sort of mash. Flour, eggs and semolina are added and then this is rolled around the apricots. I’ve never actually had these as my mother is adamant they aren’t worth eating. She claims they are slimy – I have no idea.

Then of course there are all sorts of apricot cakes; apricot strudel; apricot flan; a light sponge with apricots on top (no idea what it’s called, but it’s good); a different version with a sugar crumble on top of the apricots; apricots with pastry below and a layer of marzipan above; apricot and topfen parcels; apricots on top of pastry and crème anglais; apricot fleck (a large square cake) and of course the usual apricot Danish pastry. Those are just a few – I am still sampling the others!

And if you still want more apricots then how about apricot ice cream, apricot brandy and apricot schnapps? And, for the purist, you won’t have to look far to see a vendor on a street corner selling huge, golden red, ripe, firm apricots.

I’ve eaten so many that I’ll look like an apricot soon.

Count Your Mobile Blessings

We’re very lucky in the UK when it comes to mobile phones and the mobile Internet. You can pick up a Pay As You Go phone for a few pounds and it comes with credit already loaded. Sign up to a contract and you’ll be offered free laptops or iPods. Top up your phone and you’ll get even more credit – for free.

And the same can be said for mobile Internet – I recently purchased a T Mobile USB modem. It cost me £30 plus £2 per day for PAYG Internet access. All very straight forward, and if I’d been looking to renew my mobile contract, I would probably have got it for free.

So when I arrived in Vienna at the weekend I thought I’d buy myself a USB modem for use in Austria. I am here for a week in order to write my first book (which will be published by Hot Hive in the autumn). My mother has a lovely flat in the centre of town so members of the family are often here and Internet access would be handy.

My mother and I set off for the Mariahilfer Strasse (Vienna’s Oxford Street) on the hunt for mobile phone shops. As well as my USB modem we also wanted an Austrian SIM card so we could reach each other without calling via the UK.

Easy you’d think. Not so.

It took us over three hours, and an ice cream, to get it sorted.

Austrian’s don’t get the great deals we do when it comes to mobiles. Nor do they have the kind of choice we have.

A USB modem is the equivalent of £60, the minimum top up is £20 and you get one gigabyte (or two gigabytes if you sign up to the 3 Network) and you must top it up again within 12 months or you lose your credit, the modem stops working and you have to buy a brand new one!

A SIM card was £10 – no phone, just the SIM card. Again, if you don’t top it up within 12 months you lose any credit and the SIM will stop working, so you’ll lose that number.

The Austrians I spoke to couldn’t believe what a good deal we get in the UK and how free and easy the Telecoms companies are with SIMS, incentives and PAYG deals.

However there was one oddity that seemed better for the Austrians than us Brits. The USB modem I eventually bought from 3 will also work in the UK – for no extra cost. But, had I bought it in the UK, it would not work in Austria! Does that make sense?

All in all I feel very lucky – I live in a country with wonderfully cheap mobile deals AND I've got a USB modem for use here, which means I've been able to sit in the beauty of Schönbrunn and write my book.