It's about life phases - Spas and resorts worldwide are helping women navigate menopause

MELODIC MANTRAS and warm oil repeatedly poured across the lower back are parts of Kati Vasti, an Ayurvedic therapy that Karina Steward, founder and chief wellness officer of Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary in Koh Samui, Thailand, swears would put anyone in a pleasure coma.

- ALEX POSTMAN

"It's like when you rub oil on the back of a baby and they just pass out," she explains. But for women experiencing menopause, who are subject to nervous system overload, adrenal burnout, and sleeplessness, such treatments can feel especially powerful, Steward notes. It's one of many tools in Kamalaya's new Radiant Bliss program, a combination of Eastern and Western therapies. Stewart designed it to address women's health concerns at all points in the biological cycle, but the program particularly helps those enduring the mood swings, hot flashes, weight gain, and insomnia that are part of what was once referred to as "the change."

Cringey euphemisms for the midlife hormonal shift used to be commonplace. But today menopause and its harbinger, perimenopause (which can strike women as early as their 30s), have shed their Geritol-tinged stigma, thanks in part to the openness of stars who've gone through them: Oprah Winfrey and Drew Barrymore discussed hot flashes and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in their special program "The Menopause Talk," while Naomi Watts unveiled her meno-beauty brand Stripes at membership club The Swell's New Pause Symposium in New York and LA (tagline: "We're coming in hot!").

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Tulah Clinical Wellness, India

Named for the Sanskrit word for balance, this integrated health clinic in Kerala brings together sundry traditional and modern modalities, from Ayurveda to sports medicine. Stays can be as brief as three days for a diagnostic program or as extensive as three weeks for treatments focused on longevity and vitality. Aiming for net-zero impact, the property has embarked on an array of sustainability efforts, including solar-powered facilities and growing at least 60 percent of food on-site. Opening July 2024

Clinique La Prairie Health Resort, Saudi Arabia