Note: Since my visit, Lake Austin Spa Resort has opened the new 25,000-square-foot LakeHouse Spa.

My visit to Lake Austin Spa Resort helped me find something I didn't realize I had lost. My breath. Living life can take our breath away. We get so busy, we forget to breathe - or at least how to breathe well. Our breath becomes shallow and quick. We become out of breath and don't even know it.

Many of the Lake Austin Spa Resort activities I participated in emphasized how important breathing deeply, slowly and in a controlled manner is. It started with Sapphire's Yoga Stretch and Breath class in the Loft. Slow, deep relaxing breaths helped us position our bodies correctly and release tension in our muscles. Then came Paul's Garden Meditation class where we learned to breathe slowly and deeply while counting on the inhale and exhale, keeping us in the present moment. By doing so, I gave my mind a little vacation - no worries, no busy thoughts - just breathing and paying attention to my state of being at the moment. We started with seated meditation in the cozy Garden Library then moved to a walking meditation in the large garden. We slowly walked long the paths and felt the warm sun and cool breeze on our skin. We walked and breathed and observed - no judgment, no internal discussion - just watching (flowers, vegetables, bees, ladybugs), smelling (herbs like rosemary, sage and fennel), and listening (birds, bees, and the crunch of the stones under our feet). Inhale, step, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, pause, observe, exhale, step, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, pause, observe. Over and Over. What a treat!

By the evening, I was beginning to get it. I had noticed the common thread of breath running through the various exercises I participated in. I ended my day with a wonderfully relaxing Dosha Balancing Treatment at the Healing Waters Spa. My therapist, Janice, instructed me to breathe deeply and slowly during the massage. Doing so helped me to better appreciate the treatment because my mind was focused on me - breathing and how the muscles felt during the massage. As if to coach me in slow, deep breathing, Janice breathed slowly, deeply and noticeably, and I followed along. The treatment was profoundly relaxing, and I am sure the deep breathing had something to do with it. Fortunately, all I had to do when it was done was walk to my room and go to bed.

Even during a Sea Salt Body Polish the following morning, my therapist, Kate, breathed slowly, deeply and noticeably. Again, I followed along. I could almost feel the oxygen nourishing my newly exposed skin. In contrast to my treatment the night before, this treatment was very invigorating. Breathing deeply also made it easier to appreciate the wonderful scents of the treatment - the garden fresh rosemary in the salt scrub, the peppermint in the shower gel and the aloe vera and seaweed in the soothing hydrosol spray (Yes, even the seaweed smelled good on my skin!).

By now, I was doing the deep, slow breathing on my own. Stan Rossi brought a different interpretation to it in Tai Chi class in the Studio. He said breath was part of the universal energy, Chi. We breathe Chi in the air and gather it from the earth. We store it in our abdomens. It circulates through our meridians. Controlled, deep breaths can bring the Chi into and moving within us. He pointed out that babies breathe with their bellies - a more natural way to breathe than with only our chests and our tummies sucked in. He encouraged us to breathe like babies. This time our breathing was controlled during 20 Tai Chi moves - a little more challenging for me, but I was fairly successful.

My final class at Lake Austin Spa Resort was Yoga Stretch and Breath with Tonya. Again there was an emphasis on deep, controlled breathing to align and relax the body. In the end, it wasn't just my mind that felt better with breathing deeply, slowly and with control. My body felt refreshed and more alive. I took home the ability to breathe again!

Healing Waters Spa

The Healing Waters Spa currently has nine treatment rooms and offers over 50 different treatments. The main building houses the spa reception and waiting room and rooms for massage and body treatments on the main level. On the lower level is a room for manicures and pedicures that overlooks Lake Austin. A second, smaller building houses the day spa locker rooms, a facial treatment room and a hydrotherapy treatment room.

According to Lynne Vertrees, The Healing Waters Spa Director, they are building a new, 2-story, 18,000 square foot spa building. The construction will take about 11 months from breaking ground, and they hope to open the new building in March 2004. The new spa will be located where the current tennis courts are. There will be 12 treatment rooms. The first level will house nails, makeup, acupuncture, chiropractic, locker rooms, steam and sauna. The second level will house treatment rooms, hydrotherapy (including a new Vichy shower) and a boutique. There will be a conference room for meetings or group classes. There will also be a small kitchen, dining room and pool for day spa guests who will no longer be allowed to access the rest of the resort.

Guest Rooms

Lake Austin Spa Resort offers 40 guest rooms and the maximum number of guests is about 65, making the resort intimate. I stayed in a Garden Cottage that offered a casual, spacious room with a king bed, fireplace, desk, plush terry robe, TV, bathroom with double vanities, a steeping tub, lavender-scented bath amenities, hair dryer and bottled water. Through the back door was a private garden with lounge chairs and a large whirlpool. It was a space I found myself enjoying a number of times each day. Each evening an inspirational message card was left on my pillow such as "Humility is no sentimental notion - it is a good way to walk the earth" and "Keep your spirit open. Joy will follow."

The back of the Garden Suites offers a private Japanese garden with fountain which can be enjoyed while relaxing in the steeping bath and the front offers lovely views of the garden and lake on the terrace.

Other rooms include: Lakeview Rooms that offer lovely views of Lake Austin from comfy chairs on the terrace and are closest to the Healing Waters Spa; Signature Rooms that are centrally located for easy access to dining and activities and; The Lady Bird Suite which includes a living room, fireplace, private garden and hot tub..

Dining

Three meals a day are provided at Lake Austin Spa Resort. Executive Chef Terry Conlan's philosophy about food is to serve healthy, flavorful food without deprivation. The globally-inspired menu is rotated weekly and offers an amazing variety of selections. Calorie and fat grams are included on the menu which is roughly based on a 1,200 calorie/day diet with less than 20% of the calories from fat. Chef Conlan constantly collects ideas for recipes and completely changes the menu every six months. I was delighted to find that my favorite dishes were in Lake Austin Spa Resort's brand new cookbook, FRESH. I am looking forward to making Asparagus, Potato and Leek Soup, Parmesan-Crusted Trout and Blueberry Cobbler at home as well as trying the many other recipes in the book. At the time of my visit, Lake Austin Spa Resort had a special offer on the cookbook - buy three and get the fourth free.

Cooking demonstrations are offered in the Demo Kitchen. While I was there, Sous Chef Mike Conner showed us how to make Coffee-Crusted Sirloin with Jalapeno Red-Eye Gravy.

Appetizers are offered in the Living Room every day at 5 pm. The Dining Room overlooks Lake Austin and is a lovely setting for the delicious meals served there. There is a Friendship Table for those traveling alone and wishing to meet others and poolside dining is also available. Between meals, fruit is always available and there is a well-stocked refreshment bar offering coffee and tea bar.

Other Activities

Lake Austin Spa Resort offers a nice selection of aerobic and non-aerobic exercise classes in the Training Room, Studio, Loft, pool and lake (kayakingsculling and hydro biking) as well as a variety of hikes and walks. There are also educational sessions offered in the Lake Room and Garden Library. Lake Austin Spa Resort posts the weekly schedules on the wall near the Sauna and upcoming schedules on their web site, so you can plan ahead for your visit. There are usually two or three choices at any one time allowing you to be as active or relaxed as you wish. In addition to activities always available, Lake Austin Spa Resort offers specially-themed weeks throughout the year. It was Hiking Week during my visit. Mother/Daughter week and Golf School was coming soon and the summer would offer a number of Cooking Schools. Other packages available any time are Refresher, Back on Track, Retreat to Romance and Gardening.

In addition to the breath-enhancing activities I already mentioned, I participated in a few others that I really enjoyed and are worth mentioning.

Central Market Tour

Lake Austin Spa Resort's nutritionist, Terry Shaw, took us on a tasting and educational tour of a wonderful food store in Austin - Central Market. The fresh food section alone is as large as most grocery stores and the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables was remarkable. I saw fruit there that I hadn't seen since my trip to Thailand two years ago. We sampled Leaf and Vine fruit (picked within the last 24 hours), freshly squeezed fruit juice blends, and crispy fresh vegetables. The produce was labeled not only with the names of the fruits and vegetables, but also with the country of origin. Yellow signs indicated organic. We learned that product codes on produce starting with a "9" indicates organic and "8" indicates genetically modified. We learned how to prepare many of the vegetables we saw. We learned how to know if melons are ripe. We learned that oils and packaged goods flushed with nitrogen last longer than those exposed to oxygen. Terry pointed out products, brands and labels that had less than 30% fat and high fiber. It was very educational and well worth the time. I was just disappointed that I don't have a Central Market near my home.

The Stars at Night

On most Saturday nights, Michael Brewster, a park ranger at nearby Lake Travis, talks about astronomy. We met in the Lake Room where Michael handed out star charts and discussed what we would be looking at when we went outside. Fortunately, the clouds that had been present all day went away and the sky was clear. We saw the craters on the Moon, the rings around Saturn, Jupiter and four of its moons, new stars forming in Orion's sword and much more. It was very interesting and a lot of fun.