AS THE GRANDDAUGHTER OF GUCCIO GUCCI, PATRICIA GUCCI HAS FASHION IN HER BLOOD, BUT ALSO A PROPENSITY FOR ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE AND HEALTHY LIVING. HERE ARE SOME OF HER TOP DISCOVERIES FOR ACHIEVING ULTIMATE MIND AND BODY HEALTH…
01
Kalari Kovilakom.
I was there for 28 days about 15 years ago, which is a total luxury. I couldn’t spare that much time away now, but it meant a lot then. It’s one of those places where there’s a sign that says, “Leave your world behind you.” You’re already in India, which itself is leaving your world behind, so it’s asking you to take even another leap. The food is amazing, and the rooms are simple but nice, but it’s really about the panchakarma experience, which is not for the faint of heart. They find your dosha, and then according to your dosha, they create a special treatment for you with medical oils. I’ve been to other Ayurvedic facilities, and one of the unique things here is that men treat men, and women treat women, who I was told were all virgins. So then you have two women massaging you with these oils at once, which might sound nice, but it’s not at all pleasant. You’re slathered with this smelly oil for a deep, deep detox. Then you ingest ghee, which is a sort of horrible butter, and it basically purges your system. You end up in your room, in the bathroom, but all the toxins in your body get released. The massages and the clean diet with these teas and liquids—you do the ghee for a few days, and it’s an unpleasant detox, but it works. You’re also doing gentle yoga at 5 a.m. You’re constantly in the bathroom, and this goes on for a while. You think you can’t go on, and then you get to the other side and you suddenly understand why you’re there. Emotionally, you’re affected because there’s so much detoxing—meanwhile, you’re surrounded by Hindu temples where there is constant chanting, which helps—but after you purge through, your entire self feels lighter and younger. Some people go there to get through addiction—I didn’t have that issue, but I had a lot of stress in my life, and it was helpful to shed that skin. cghearthayurveda.com
02
Yogabeats.
Traditional Western therapy doesn’t work for me, but I had a traumatic experience that made me reevaluate my entire life. When I was living in London, a yoga teacher said her mentor and friend, David Sye, was a genius on Tibetan rebirthing. It’s a kind of breathwork where you go on a deep journey through your subconscious. It’s intense. You know where you are, but you’re also seeing things, and he asks you what you’re seeing to help guide you through a journey. Afterward, there’s such a euphoric sense of joy and love that lasts for a few days. You don’t ingest anything—it’s just breathwork and self-realization. He says that we’re all perfect when we’re born, but then things happen in life that make us anxious. The breathwork is like a bit of deprogramming. It’s not something that lasts forever, but what I got from it is that you have the capacity to have that feeling of pure joy and you don’t have to be stuck forever with bad energy. yogabeats.com
03
Innata.
My daughter Isabella had leukemia when she was a child, and it was three years of just agony. The chemotherapy helped her live, but as she got older, she realized it had affected her. They may tell you that you’re clear from cancer, but then there are still a lot of things to heal from. Now, she deals with a lot of cancer patients. Her first journey into the world of Chinese healing was with Grandmaster Hong Liu, a Taoist, National Institutes of Health researcher, and oncologist. He was an oncologist in Shanghai and brought his healing art to the West. I had met him and he helped me get through menopause—I was suffering with hot flashes and all the things, and I wasn’t reacting well to the medications that Western doctors had prescribed. The sessions were over Zoom, and I was skeptical, but he helped unblock my channels so that the circulation in my mind and body could go freely. After the first session, I slept like a rock for nine hours. He was an amazing force for me. He sadly passed away recently. Isabella was an apprentice to him when she was 19 and followed him for a decade through Hawaii and China to learn from him. She’s 30 now and takes what she learned from him to help people with chronic medical conditions with everything from acupuncture to psychology at her practice in Topanga Canyon in Los Angeles. innatainstitute.com
04
We Care Spa.
I love being in the California desert around Palm Springs. It’s naturally just so healing there. The We Care Spa in Desert Hot Springs is known for colonics, which I strongly believe in. I prepared myself ahead of going [as they suggest] and detoxed, and then did three days there of fasting and detoxing. It’s not something you can do when you’re running around and working a bunch, so it forces you to take a few days off and just reprogram your system. wecarespa.com
05
Swiss Mountain Clinic.
Swiss Mountain Clinic. There are lots of great spas in Switzerland, like Clinique La Prairie, which I’m dying to do. Swiss Mountain Clinic does a lot of therapies you can’t get in the U.S., like bioresonance, which is essentially a machine you put your hand into and based on the frequency of the energy wavelengths coming from your body it tells you what your illnesses are and how to treat them. You need a good person to administer it though. swissmountainclinic.com
06
Mayrlife.
This is a bit more clinical than I prefer, but it’s a great place for losing weight. You’re in beautiful Austria next to a lake, and they teach you how to eat a healthy diet with delicious food. They get you to chew each bite of food for 60 seconds. It’s great if you’re not the kind of person who can handle something very hardcore, but want to make a change. mayrlife.com
