CATSKILLS: Decompressing in the New Age Health Spa

SPA WATCH. ONE IN AN OCCASIONAL SERIES. Newsday Travel takes a look at a variety of destination spas close to home.

It only took a day and a half at the New Age Health Spa in upstate Neversink before a peculiar but pleasant glowing sensation set in, as if my every cell and tissue layer were being unlocked, detoxified, shaken and stirred.

No surprise, considering that I had risen at dawn for chanting, meditation and a power walk through the forest, and spent the rest of the day sampling hatha yoga, deep-tissue massage, a sauna, strength training in the indoor pool and plenty of cool water, whole grains and raw leafy greens.

Spas are booming worldwide, though these days "spa" can connote anything from a hot tub in the basement of a convention hotel to a well-equipped beauty salon. New Age, located about 2 1/2 hours' drive from New York City on 280 pristine acres in the Catskills, is one of the most affordable of America's true destination health spas, which are dedicated entirely to restorative activities that integrate body, mind and spirit.

Coming back relaxed

Stays at these sorts of spas leave guests feeling more relaxed, refreshed, energetic and alert than those returning from other types of vacations, according to a 2004 Cornell University survey cited by New Age, which aims to offer its visitors "lasting benefits for a healthier and more joyful way of life."

My cousin and I drove up in March to verify this research, taking advantage of a two-for-one deal New Age offers during some low-season weeks - an offer it now restricts to its many returning guests. In warmer months, New Age offers long hikes and bald eagle watching in the state's Catskills Forest Preserve, while winter affords the beauties of snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. The muddy, unscenic time of our visit proved ideal for falling in with the core business of the mostly female clientele, who were there to rev up their diets, quit smoking or just clean out the accumulated psychic crud of urban living.

Founded in 1986 at a converted resort, New Age provides its 70 guests a loosely structured schedule of optional mix-and-match classes in several types and levels of yoga and a wide variety of ancient and modern physical disciplines, ranging from tai chi and qigong to Pilates, body conditioning and dance. The facilities are complete, but not deluxe, with a pool, spa and steam room, gym and workout equipment and a grand, high-ceilinged hall for meditation and yoga sessions. Besides the usual range of massage therapies, the spa's treatment facility offers, for additional charges, aromatherapy facials, herbal body wraps, reflexology and colonic irrigation for those truly intent on purification.

New Age's dining room provides gourmet, restricted-calorie meals of fish, chicken and vegetarian offerings, which are abundant, with fresh organic vegetables grown in the on-site greenhouses. One table is reserved for those participating in supervised juice fasts.

There are no televisions or telephones in the rooms, and plenty of rules: No smoking, alcohol, caffeine or chocolate; no cell-phone use indoors; and no talking in your room after 9 p.m., at least in our lower-cost room, whose paper-thin walls made it clear why such a rule existed.

There is much preoccupation at the spa with hydrating, releasing and flushing toxins, so water coolers (and bathrooms) are around every corner. The teachers have broad and deep training in their disciplines and a nice complement of personal styles, ranging from soulful to brisk, which allows them to offer something of value to guests of all skill and fitness levels, including a schlubby beginner like me. But evening lectures on health and nutrition were uneven in quality; we endured one painful session led by a supplement saleswoman whose medical knowledge appeared to have been gleaned entirely from marketing brochures, although we heard nothing but raves about a later nutrition talk that we had skipped.

Devoting oneself full-time to body work can lead to unexpected catharsis: With patient attention, those pretzel shapes you twist yourself into in yoga unlock emotional as well as physical knots.

Where's that world?

Still, after a few days, it can get a little repetitive, and when out of sheer boredom I toyed with the idea of making an appointment for a tarot reading or a Vedic astrology session, I knew it was time to go home.

But riding down the New York State Thruway, I noticed my voice was coming from a deeper, calmer place in my chest, and back home I was a model of gentle tolerance in dealings with my husband.

For at least two days, anyway. Other spa influences have proven more durable. My 13-year-old daughter and I took up morning yoga together and stuck with it all spring. There's wheat germ in my refrigerator. And five months after my stay at New Age, our whole family has learned to love kale.

Honest.

IF YOU GO

WHAT. New Age Health Spa, an affordable destination health spa on 280 forested acres in the Catskills

THE CROWD. Solo adults and couples seeking focused recharge and renewal in a casual environment

WHAT IT COSTS. All- inclusive price ranges from $204 a person a day for an offseason midweek double room to $499 for a VIP single on summer weekends. Includes three meals a day and all classes and activities. Spa treatments priced separately.

DON'T FORGET TO BRING. A watch and open-backed shoes that slip on and off easily. Much of a New Age day is spent shuttling between buildings for classes, meals and treatments.

MORE INFORMATION. Call 800-682-4348; detailed information available at newage healthspa.com.

Related topic galleries: Health Treatments, Newsday Inc., Cross Country Skiing, Organic Foods, Yoga, Arable Farming, Financial and Business Services