I'm mid-way through my stay here are Miraval, and today I had "Spirit Flight", a 100-minute metaphysical spa treatment that is truly unique. In fact, Dr. Tim Frank, the naturopathic doctor who created it, says it's not a spa treatment, it's a ceremony. Miraval is known for pushing you a bit past your comfort zone to get you to a better place, and Spirit Flight definitely does that.
As we walked to the outdoor heated tents, (see my photo) , Dr. Frank asked me why I had come to Miraval. I gave a glib answer, but he said people come to Miraval to change their lives, and promised me that the Spirit Flight could help me do that through the power of the prayers that were passed on to him by his grandfather, a Cherokee.
The purpose of the ceremony is to get rid of anything hurtful or negative that had ever happened to you, and access the higher realms for healing. He asked if there was one thing I could let go of, what would it be? Well, we all have something we need to let go of. So I gave him my answer, and we set that as an intention for the ceremony.
He explained that Spirit Flight combines three traditions -- Native-American (the burning of sage, the prayers, the use of drums), Chinese (acupuncture) and Tibetan Buddhism (acupuncture in "samadhi points" that open you up to the higher realms.) I started face down under the sheets, like you would for a regular massage, but it was pretty clear it was out of the ordinary.
First of all, Dr. Frank is talking and praying a lot -- sometimes in English, sometimes in Native American prayers in a voice lower and different from his own -- while he's massaging you vigorously. He is shaking rattles over your body and sweeping you with turkey feathers (part of the purification process), and sometimes it sounds like he's calling like a crow. Part of me was going, "you're kidding me...you can get rid of all the hurts that have ever happened?" But at a certain point I realized that I just had to turned off my mind. I decided to trusted the prayers, which felt pure and authentic. I said to myself, "he's a medicine man, and he knows what he's doing." And then I relaxed.
He uses hot towels (which feel great). After he inserts the acupuncture needles, plays a drum over your body, and your whole body feels the sound vibrations. He incorporates cranio-sacral therapy and spinal manipulation (what a chiropractor does).
You know Dr. Frank is praying on your behalf -- you hear your name every so often. He speaks affirmations that relate to the thing you want to let go of. After you've been purified he puts the needles in the samadhi (calm) points. This is the "Spirit Flight" portion of the ceremony, where you access the higher realms and speak with an enlightened beings like angels and bodhisattvas. I was pretty much in an altered brain state.
This is an intense and highly personal treatment, because a lot of it is taking place in your mind. And some of what was happening was just a little beyond my comfort zone, especially at first. But afterwards I felt a tremendous sense of well-being and calm. All the tension was released from my shoulders, and it felt like the thing I wanted to let go of was gone.