Where do Chelsea Handler, Elizabeth Hurley, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Karan Johar and other Bollywood’s A-listers head to for health and beauty breaks? Well this is at the luxurious VIVAMAYR retreat in Austria.

Bangalore’s premium wellness centre, RESET recently invited Dr. Christine Stossier, Co-Founder and Assistant Medical Director, VIVAMAYR to conduct a Medical Talk on Metabolic Diseases and Biological Strategies. The center that is known for its weight loss, skincare and chronic disease therapy programs is frequented by well-heeled visitors and offers a unique blend of modern diagnostics and medicine programs. Dr. Stossier tells us more in this exclusive conversation.

Tell us something of your early days, education and career?

I am born in Carinthia, have studied and graduated at the Medical University of Graz. After my practice years in a hospital, I specialized in Mayr Medicine, Orthomolecular Medicine, Functional Muscle Diagnostics (FMD). Soon after we (my husband and me) started working, we have got an offer by an investor to open a health clinic related to what we studied. We found excellent team and therapists to execute our ideas regarding health therapies, based on the knowledge of Dr. Mayr, the FMD and the principles of Orthomolecular Therapy.

What was it about health that attracted you to make a career of?

Medical students spend years to learn and understand diseases and pathologies. I was wondering, what happens, that one person gets sick, another one not and both my husband and me found ourselves attracted by the question: what are healthy people doing different than the ones falling sick? What is the important key, to stay healthy? At university we couldn’t find answers, so we started searching in traditional medicine and found books, written by Dr. F. X. Mayr. This was the beginning of a long and still ongoing journey into a fascinating field of medicine.

What brings you to Bangalore?

Reset Bangalore has invited us to explore Bangalore for future prospects. During this first time two day visit to Bangalore, we are also meeting with the press and presenting VIVAMAYR philosophy and Modern Mayr Medicine at private events. VIVAMAYR and RESET firmly believe a balance between mental and physical wellness. We believe that being healthy goes beyond physical fitness or body aesthetics and would like to see how both can partner to bring more education and strategies for both the public and medical sector.

What is holistic health all about?

It is the overall optimal given capacity of the body, to compensate any “negative” influence. As our health is under “fire”/ attack every day in different aspects, the holistic approach to cure is characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease. We can say, that ‘holistic’ means ‘networking’, but we need to understand, what‘s the net. The sooner we realize that the parts of something are intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole, we then can approach health holistically.

When did you start VIVAMAYR and what was the thought process behind it?

Both my husband and myself opened VIVAMAYR  medical centre in 2005 in Maria Wörth and 2015 we opened a second institute in Altaussee, both are in Austria. The principles are Modern complementary medicine based on the diagnostics and therapy according to Dr. F. X. Mayr in combination with functional myodiagnostics and orthomolecular medicine we have established the VIVAMAYR principles. We treat people – and this is the important thing – with fasting and detoxification to get rid of their complaints and diseases. So we use fasting as a medical strategy and additionally to that we use a wide range of complementary methods to help people with their health issues.

What are the various programs that you offer?

First of all is our aim, to create an individual program, accordingly the results of physical examination, FMD, blood tests and physical capacities. We do not have prefixed programs, as this is completely against our medical principals and our philosophy. All programs are individualized based on the initial checkup. The most important therapy is that we want to reeducate the eating habits of our guests. So we advise people to eat slowly, to chew well, to take time for their meals, to create a routine and rhythm again to help the digestive tract to work on the food in a better way. While focusing of the eating habit we have the possibility to implement that also in our daily routine. So VIVAMAYR principle is to establish a healthier eating habit for the rest of the life. What we do during the stay at the VIVAMAYR centers in Austria, we support people in their process of cleansing by using Epsom salt to cleanse the intestine or a colonic irrigation. We administrate daily manual abdominal treatments to improve the function of the intestine. We do massages, water applications and a lot of orthomolecular supplementations. This is necessary, because many people have deficiencies and because of that we also have established a wide variety of intravenous applications of minerals, vitamins and trace elements. We also support people in their emotional cleansing, because that’s also an important part and we have a lot of information and training programs to help people to implement the most important things in their daily routine.

VIVAMAYR has a customized therapy program. The digestive tract is one of the most important organs, because people do eat lifelong, in average three times a day. Our energy, our quality of life depends on the work of the intestines. The better the intestines work, the better we will be nutrified and every single cell of the body gets the best quality of nutrients. If not, if you are not able to metabolize the food as it should be, you create a lot of maldigestion, mainly fermentation and putrefaction. Those processes produce a lot of toxins which lead to a leaky gut syndrome. This leaky gut was hundred years ago named as an intestinal autointoxification which is absolutely the same situation. We produce a lot of toxins in our intestine which are reabsorbed and then spread over the whole body. This is very often the beginning of a disease and most of our civilisatoric diseases are related to these intestinal problems. So therefore it is absolutely important to focus on the quality of the digestive tract and we also know in the meanwhile that the intestinal flora has a lot of influence on our general health. We also do improve the health of the intestinal flora.

Why are your programs so popular?

I guess that’s driven by the therapeutic results that the patients achieve. VIVAMAYR also is committed in becoming a lifelong companion if one takes the responsibility to follow the lifestyle changes. . Our clients experience this in an enhancement of evidence based university medicine as we focus on the origin and not so much on treating the symptoms of illness and complaint. Medical guided cleansing, rest, substitution, individual diet, teaching of physiology and sport-scientific guidance, are the tools helping our clients to sustainable rejuvenate their metabolism.

Give us some easy ideas on how one can detox oneself?

Fasting is a great idea for detoxification. Try to reduce your dinner intake and eat early, eventually dinner cancellation is the best. Beginners should start to drink more water (according their body weight). Most of my patients don’t drink enough. Enough free liquid in the body is basic to get rid of metabolic toxins. Herbal teas which support the liver and kidney are helpful too as well as an alkaline diet and alkaline powders.

What is kinesiology? Please explain with examples.

To explain Functional Muscle Diagnose (FMD) is quite a job. It is easier to understand it when its practically demonstrated, even better is to undergo such an examination. Principally I may say, that the tension of each muscle in the body is very dynamic and in FMD we learn to set challenges and we learn ‘reading’ the changes in reaction. FMD is like a network of coherence, we have to get into. This is extremely fascinating, as we get reactions on food or supplements or medicines immediately to see and to understand. This is truly a high dynamical situation, which surprises patients and keeps us doctors always alert. 

What is the importance of diet in the wellness regimen?

Diet is one of the most important roots of health and wellbeing. There is no substantial wellbeing without health.

How do you help guests to implement good health practices after they leave VIVAMAYR?

I hope to create a deeper understanding of the nature of the client’s body. I hope that they may understand, experience and take responsibility of their daily habits especially eating habits. While they are in VIVAMAYR they realize a shift in their overall health by practicing a daily rhythm and that is the initial motivation to continue it when they leave.

What are some health trends you are seeing?

Everyone looks at food constantly as a source of weight or weight loss. Currently intermittent fasting is the trend. Unfortunately most people are practicing it wrong and not following it accordingly our body rhythm, but at least it is one meal less, that is still a certain release for the metabolism. We hope that one day everyone will follow the trend called ‘balance’ and ‘Rhythm of Life.’

What are your future plans?

As a doctor I will continue working best in harmony with my health, my wellbeing, physical, social and emotionally.

What do you like doing outside work?

Reading and learning more about life is what I do. Enjoying my health in thankfulness – as this is very precious and is never guaranteed.

This story first appeared in Smartlife Magazine’s Nov-19 issue here: