Would you let a wellness clinic time your meals and count your chews? VIVAMAYR wants you to

When you’re used to wellness looking like a post-office yoga class or an occasional Ayurvedic hot stone massage, the idea of a clinic timing your meals and watching how many times you chew can feel criminal. Yet that is exactly the philosophy Austrian medical health retreat VIVAMAYR brings to the table: gut-first and unapologetically regimented.

We unpacked their philosophy as Dhun Wellness hosted VIVAMAYR’s Dr Doris Schuscha to talk about why feeling great doesn’t always start with calm rituals. Sometimes you have to take the rigorous path. The obvious question is, in a culture already steeped in yoga, Ayurveda and seasonal fasting, what does a European gut clinic add?

Eastern systems have always started with the centre. Ayurveda talks about agni, the digestive fire and the idea that if your digestion is off, everything from skin to sleep eventually follows. Traditional Chinese Medicine maps meridians and qi, but still pays attention to what, when and how you eat.

Modern Mayr Medicine fits surprisingly well into that universe. “The intestines are the root of our health,” says Dr Schuscha. She loves the image of the body as a tree: the gut as the root system, every other organ and function an outgrowth. If the roots are inflamed, overloaded or neglected, no amount of facials and supplements can compensate for long.

In Mayr logic, detox is not a seven-day stunt; it’s something that happens every single day, supported by simple rules. Eat earlier when your metabolism is naturally stronger. Chew slowly so the gut isn’t forced to do all the work. Leave generous gaps between meals so the digestive system can rest instead of firefighting. Have at least one “light” day a week where both your plate and your calendar are less overloaded.

One of Dr Schuscha’s favourite metaphors comes from the creator of the system, Dr FX Mayr himself: the body as a house. “Once a year you do a big, proper house cleaning,” she explains, “and the rest of the year you keep it tidy.” Most of us, she points out, only ever book the deep clean: the annual “detox week” and then live in chaos until the next one.

The reason VIVAMAYR has a reputation for strictness is obvious: guests are asked to follow very clear structures. Meals are timed. Portions are small and textures are gentle. It will sound discomforting for anyone used to grazing all day.

But Dr Schuscha insists the point isn’t punishment. “All the practices we recommend are based on logic and common sense,” she says. Once people actually live them, something shifts. Bloating reduces, sleep deepens, energy stops crashing at 4pm. The “rules” stop feeling like external discipline and start feeling like intuition. You don’t chew more because a clinic told you to; you do it because you like having a happy, comfortable stomach at 7pm.