Saturday, January 19, 2002 – Page
T8
VEDIC CITY, IOWA -- Down a narrow
country road named Jasmine Avenue, past tractor-crossing signs and fields
of ripening soybeans, sits the oldest business in Iowa's newest incorporated
town.
It's not a Wal-Mart, nor a farmer-owned
ethanol plant.
It's a luxury health spa, the Raj,
hidden amid rolling cornfields in the southeast corner of Iowa. The 18-bedroom,
gleaming-white building situated at the end of a long driveway of perfectly
spaced trees resembles a French country villa. It doesn't offer seaweed
wraps or tennis, yet clients are shelling out as much as $3,816 (amounts
in U.S. dollars) for a seven-day stay.
They come for Ayurveda, a Transcendental
Meditation-prescribed treatment that includes a vegetarian diet, light
exercise, holistic medicine, deep tissue massages, hot oil and herbal enemas.
The Raj, built in 1993, is the main
draw for outsiders in Vedic City, founded by followers of the Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi and his Transcendental Meditation movement. The city was chartered
last July.
The chronically ill and stressed
out arrive here from New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Minneapolis. They
follow in the footsteps of celebrities such as Bianca Jagger and Mike Love
of the Beach Boys, says Jim Garrett, a spa spokesman.
Many claim that Ayurveda balances
bodies out of whack from years of poor nutrition and stress or helps chronically
ill patients suffering from multiple sclerosis or cardiovascular disease.
"We like Ayurveda's use of herb and
other natural products," says Katie Garber, a spokeswoman for Canyon Ranch
Health Resorts. Canyon Ranch spas in Tucson, Ariz., and the Berkshires
of Western Massachusetts also offer Ayurvedic treatments.
"We use it to maintain an overall
balance and sense of calming for guests," Garber says. "It has been quite
effective."
When customers arrive at the Raj,
they first meet with Dr. Nancy Lonsdorf, the spa's medical director, a
graduate of Johns Hopkins University.The consultation includes the Maharishi
Ayurveda pulse diagnosis, which detects physical imbalances, Garrett says.
"The human physiology naturally wants to be in a state of balance," he
says.
An Ayurveda specialist from India
also prescribes individual programs, which may include Panchakarma -- a
trio of therapies that includes a deep tissue massage, a drizzle of hot
oil over the body, and an herbal enema.
The Raj is at 1734 Jasmine Ave.,
Vedic City, Iowa 52556; phone (641) 472-9580; or visit the Web site at
http://www.theraj.com.
By CHAD GRAHAM
Associated Press
© 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive
Inc