An Urban Healing Oasis

The goal at the new Avesa Oasis Holistic Center is to remove stress, one layer at a time, by offering a plethora of services designed to help you find your inner OM.

Kira Raa, the visionary founder of Avesa and Hotel TOSA La Laguna Spa and Retreat Center, Lake Atitlán, explains the goal of Avesa is simply to help you feel your best, both inside and out. “When we are less stressed we are more creative, happier and able to embrace our lives with greater joy that we can then share with our family and friends.” Luckily for Antigua, Indiiya Sztevanovity decided to take Raa’s lead and open the Avesa Oasis Holistic Center.

The process begins as soon as you enter the complex. After checking in, you are greeted with a cool, lemongrass-scented towel to remove the dirt and grime of the street. As you sit in the serene, artfully decorated sala, you are given crystal-charged Healing Rods to hold for a few moments before your first treatment. Similar rods were used by ancient Egyptians to treat myriad ailments, including stress and agitation.

The services offered at Avesa run from the ubiquitous to sublime, but one of the more atypical is the Ozone Spa Capsule, the only one in Antigua. In a traditional spa, this service would be a regular steam shower. At Avesa, the capsule is your very own individual, private steam cabinet. What puts this service into the sublime category is that the capsule is fed with ozone, a pure form of oxygen. Ozone stimulates white blood cell production, thereby increasing the effectiveness of red blood cells, which helps to break down the toxins in our body, as well as relieving sore muscles, stress, stuffy nose and

headaches. While you may feel as if you are sitting in something from outer space, the capsule is extremely pleasant and invigorating. Avesa recommends that you sit in the capsule for 20 minutes, so you should be prepared to sweat, and do not refuse the cold shower that is offered afterward—your skin will thank you.

After the capsule, you cannot go wrong with a session on the jade chiropractic bed, as your spa experience is not complete without this tension-reducing body treatment. Avesa is also one of the only spas in Guatemala to offer surgery-free laser liposuction to remove unwanted bulge with the effort it takes a buy a cup of coffee (although at Avesa you will be offered a selection of organic teas). The Avesa facial melts away muscle tension, as well as sloughs off layers of impurities and wrinkles. And if you are just needing a quick pick me up, the Instant Avesa Bliss, a soothing foot bath, scrub and massage, offers immediate relaxation and recuperation to help you forge ahead with your day.

Avesa uses only organic, local, cottage-industry products for this treatment, as well as throughout the spa.
When talking about seeking out products for Avesa, Raa had concerns. “It was important to me that products were 100% organic, sustainably made and supported our local Guatemalan cottage industry. Our ingredients are all from Guatemala, and the products are so pure you can eat them.”

Avesa also offers memberships for regular restoration and relaxation. The Q100/month membership grants its owner unlimited access to Egyptian Healing Rods, the jade chiropractic bed, vibration technology as well as a members-only healing lounge and discounts on other services.

So whether you are just in town for a few weeks or you are an antigüeña looking for routine city escapes, you can relax knowing the folks at Avesa Oasis Holistic Center are taking care to provide the most rejuvenating experience so when you set foot back on the cobblestone street, you are recharged and ready to go.

Avesa Oasis Holistic Center is located at 4a calle oriente #5, interior, A-1, next to Fusion Restaurant. For more info go to www.avesaoasis.com or email avesaoasis@gmail.com.