The Marbella Club Hotel has made big strides indeed in the wellness sector, with an approach that encourages guests to embrace a mindful living away from the trappings of modern life.
Wellbeing, spa, nutrition and fitness are the four cornerstones of Wellness at the hotel where guests follow highly personalised and goal-orientated programmes while reconnecting with nature and loved ones. The Spa at the Marbella Club is one of the very few Thalasso spas in Spain and offers an extensive sensory experience while harnessing the profound benefits of the Mediterranean Sea.
The newly introduced Holistic Studio, meanwhile, proffers advanced integrative and holistic health practices to identify root causes and provide long-lasting benefits to combat modern day issues ranging from adrenal burnout, insomnia, weight loss and fitness. A daily agenda of wellness activities range from aerial yoga, Pilates and kundalini energy healing to HIIT classes and nutritional wellbeing workshops. Guests are invited to reap the benefits of a destination spa within a beach hotel environment and without having to compromise on travelling with family or friends on a different agenda.
Paloma Ruiz, Naturopath Nutritionist and former WTA Tour tennis player, fits right into this integrative concept of wellness. At the stunning, nature-surrounded Holistic Studio, she is part of a team of nutritionists who lead wellness guests through their journeys from beginning to end. Her passion lies in naturopathy, chiropractic, and kinesiology, developed while working alongside pioneers in these fields all over the world. “It was during my time as a tennis player that I realised the importance of feeding your body with the right fuel.” Interestingly, Paloma completed a Law degree, since she hails from a long line of legal professionals. “I always knew I wanted to be a nutritionist, though, since I was tiny!” she smiles. Paloma indeed seems like an ideal person to talk to about health, wellness, and nutritional concerns. Her open heart and passion for helping people commence their path to health and wellbeing, are palpable.
Paloma’s warmth and social skills in many ways stem from her vast travels, which have exposed her to a variety of cultures and customs. She is every inch the world citizen, having lived in a number of cities and countries, including Barcelona (she played tennis at the Barcelona Tennis Club), Switzerland (where she taught tennis with great success for a while and worked in collaboration with the Swiss Tennis Association), England, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. “I also worked in Ireland, travelling back and forth from England,” she says, adding, “I am an adventurer. I attract positive things and have been fortunate enough to meet lovely people and make good contacts.”
Paloma decided she wanted to dedicate her life to nutrition, and obtained her diploma in London. There, she worked with a group of chiropractors that would change her outlook on health and wellness completely. “Health does not only involve nutrition. If you have a blockage in your spinal column, you can suffer from a range of disorders affecting the nerves, muscles, and organs.” Interestingly, her work with chiropractors centred greatly on horses, with whom she and the team used both chiropractic and kinesiology techniques. “We travelled to Ireland, Paris, Barbados, and Dubai, treating competition-level horses.
At the Holistic Studio, Paloma offers lifestyle and nutritional consultations, through the four pillars of good health: nutrition, movement, sleep, and state of mind. By reviewing findings from a completed questionnaire, assessing eating habits, looking into personal statistics and such, she recommends a personalised plan of treatments, fitness activities, and nutritional tips to follow at the Marbella Club or at home (ongoing consultations are also offered via Skype). In addition to her work, Paloma is currently completing a Diploma in Herbal and Natural Medicine in the UK.
One of the most nouvelle and powerful paths to health is enabled by the Qest machine: a state-of-the-art energy testing device. The instrument is highly complex but easy to use. All you need to do is hold two prongs that measure your energy, indicating any imbalances and weakness in your organ systems, nutritional needs and food preferences, toxic overload in the body, and emotional factors. Paloma then uses the information obtained to give you a detailed report with long-lasting lifestyle and nutritional advice that serves you long after your stay at the Hotel has ended. The machine works on similar principles as chiropractic or acupuncture, especially the meridians, which house energy that needs to flow smoothly through the body and mind for true health to be achieved.
“Stress,” notes Paloma, “is a crucial factor affecting human health. When stress hormone levels are high and the ‘fight or flight response’ is consistently activated, our physical and mental health is affected.” Stress reduction can be achieved in various ways, including a balanced anti-inflammatory diet, exercise, good sleep, and calming natural substances. Paloma doesn’t just teach clients basic nutritional precepts but even gives cooking classes both at the Hotel and for private clients. “Those who want to lose weight,” she says, “need to activate eliminatory channels in their body to lose weight naturally.” Her emphasis is less on weight loss and more on health. “If your eliminatory organs aren’t functioning properly, then it is impossible for the body to rid itself of toxins or burn excess fat.” Wholesome nutrition can help you bring your body back to a state of homeostasis, or balance.
In a consultation with Paloma, you can discover the small changes that can make a big difference to your health. “I may recommend a different type of fluid intake, or organise for clients to enjoy healthy bespoke meals by liaising with the hotel chefs. My aim at the Holistic Studio is to guide, support, and energise our guests. While they are here, they enjoy beautiful seasonal meals, many of which are made with herbs from our organic garden.”
At the Marbella Club, they can breathe in pure air, enjoy great food and forget about stress for a few days; most importantly, they make important lifestyle and nutritional changes that can stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives. As Paloma is such a frequent traveller, I wonder where she will fly to next. Her deep interest in everything from sustainable food to essential oils, sport, and animal welfare, are testimony to her integrative approach to health. She lives what she speaks, and is the epitome of health and wellbeing; so much so that consulting her about your health and lifestyle concerns seems very much like a gift.
The Holistic Studio at the Marbella Club Hotel. Bulevar Príncipe Alfonso von Hohenlohe s/n, Marbella.Tel: 952 822 211.