Written by Laurence Brahm - Published by Hongkong Culture on 03/01/2008

“Our nectars merged as a single elixir…Self and other dissolving in radiant awareness…Look into the intrinsic freshness of your desire and there is boundless light.”
Yeshe Tsogyal
The Dakini

Spa’d out in Bali, Phuket, Sebu, Kota Kinabalu? Looking for a new experience that tops them all ― certainly when it comes to altitude. Why not try Tibet.

The Tibetan Tantric Spa located within the yoga and meditation center at House of Shambhala in Lhasa’s old quarter offers the unusual, an experience that draws upon ancient alchemy and tantric meditation to explore one’s body’s chakra nerve system and harness positive energies to rejuvenate and revitalize one’s mind and physical senses.

The question is, what makes Shambhala’s Tibetan Tantric Spa so secret?

Shambhala’s Tibetan Tantric Spa integrates combinations of Tibetan herbal bath, meditative sauna and ancient chakra massage. Ian Baker, National Geographic explorer, Shambhala director, and author of numerous books on the Himalayan region, explains “To overcome the internal Wind that causes the body to age, Tibetan doctors advocate frequent bathing followed by regular massages with extracts of medicinal plants wards off disease, promotes longevity and increases both digestive fire and sexual stamina.”

In Tibetan Buddhism the mandala is presented as series of concentric disks representing our universe. In turn our body and minds are considered to be integrated parts of the universal matrix, each serving as a microcosm of this greater connectivity of which they are a part. The mandala is an integral part of the Shambhala Tibetan Tantric Spa, which begins with traditional mandala elements of earth, water fire, air and space are revealed during the experience in the forms of incense, herbal oils, bathing, sauna and caring human touch. Such features go far deeper than just a pleasurable spa experience. Rather they form the basis of traditional Tibetan medicinal science which draws upon natural phenomena in its explanation of sickness or disability origin, seeking to turn negative energies into positive in the healing and nurturing process. Baker, who is also a specialist on Tibetan medicine explains, “The psycho-physical energies represented by the five elements―earth, water, fire, air and space―circulate throughout the body. When purified through visualization and Tantric yogas, these same elements that cause disease become the basis of enlightenment.”

Shambhala’s Tibetan Tantric Spa begins by offering tantric space. Located on the second floor of an ancient Tibetan building within a cool stone alleyway within Lhasa’s casabas-like old quarter, one enters the spa through a creaking wooden staircase with hints of realms within from yoga figures carved on stones exposed in the wall. Guests are greeted by a tall Tibetan girl with dreamy disposition, and one might think she was on hashish until learning she is actually the yoga instructor and chief masseuse, a practicing tantric yogi herself. Guests are then led through the yoga and meditation center whose walls are adorned with murals ofancient Tibetan yoga positions and secret mantras from the Naga Temple. The spa is entered through a narrow passage, which was only discovered by House of Shambhala during restoration when a cracked wall revealed hidden interconnecting rooms probably used for meditation or tantric rites during years when such practices were forbidden.

These rooms contain a Naga bathing pool for purification, sauna built as a meditation cave, and separate massage room intoxicating with incense. The ceiling is adorned with a grand mandala mural depicting the realms of wind, fire, mountains water and Dakini psychology. A mural of traditional body chakra pressure points features in the massage room. During a one and half hour spa session guests combine a half hour purification bath with meditative sauna before entering the massage space for an hour massage, Alternatively they may use their time and space to engage in tantric practice. Shambhala Spa policy believes there should be no rigid time frames for any of those things within the hour and half session and space provided as tantric seeks to shatter illusions of time and space. Baker explains the philosophy, “In the path of inner Tantra, desire is not rejected, but used as a force of transformation, burning through the habitual obscurations and states of inner contradiction that separate us from our innermost Buddha nature.”

Most spa sessions begin with a purifying bath in the Naga pool combining intoxicating Tibetan herbal energizing bath oils with sacred water blessed each day at a nearby monastery. Water pours from two bronze Naga fugures―half female-half serpent deities. The tantric master Padmasambhava once explained, “The Nagas govern the four districts of Tivet…They have great abilities and miraculous powers.”

Bathing is followed by the sauna, which recalls a mountain meditation chamber of the sort only found in remote monasteries. Relaxing herbal alchemy is poured on mani stones to release a steamy calm which will both energise and invigorate.

The sauna is then followed by chakra deep massage. This is the nerve system connected with vital qi energy flows. Key points are identified by mantra sounds such as “Om” for the forehead, “Ah” throat, “Hom” for the heart, and so on. Baker explains, “In the context of the body’s chakra system, the earth element provides solidity and is associated with the lower body and the perineum. The water element is linked to the genitals and seminal essences, fire to the region of the navel, air to the hear center, and space to the region of the throat and head. This image also reveals the architectural basis of the Buddhist stupa―in essence, an abstract three-dimensional representation of the subtle body.”

Amidst intoxicating medicinal herbal incense which begins the relaxation process, Shambhala’s Secret Tibetan Spa massage applies gentle touch and subtle pressure to the key chakra points to release flow of harmonizing qi energy to revitalize and replenish curative properties of body and mind. Within the time of tantric space guests may convey to the masseuse points requiring attention from head to foot. Baker explains the principle, “Combining the use of seventy-eight specific acupressure points with the medicinal effects of oils and plant extracts, Tibetan massage is used in variety of contexts to overcome disease and enhance the life-force. As the skin is the juncture between external environment and gateways of subtle consciousness that run the length of the body, massage is used in Tibetan medicine to produce a positive influence not only on physical health, but on the consciousness itself.”

The Tibetan Secret Spa concept has been developed exclusively for House of Shambhala, by Shambhala, a social enterprise dedicated to action for ethnic diversity and culturally sustainable development. The Tibetan Secret Spa project is intended to revive and sustain an ancient traditional medicinal art. All spa products used ― incense, bath and sauna herbs, massage oils ― have been especially developed according to the traditional Tibetan medicine thankas by monks at a clinic established by Shambhala at Tashigang Monastery outside Lhasa with support from Embassy of Ireland in Beijing. In turn, guests enjoying the Tibetan Secret Spa experience are not only benefiting themselves physically and mentally, but also benefiting community initiatives for cultural sustainability through their support.

Shambhala is a social enterprise committed to promoting and supporting initiatives for ethnic diversity and cultural sustainable development. For more information go to www.shambhala-action.org

Laurence Brahm is a global activist, international mediator, political columnist and author. He is the leading advocate of a fresh development paradigm - The Himalayan Consensus - an innovative approach to development.

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