IF you are feeling frazzled after the festivities and need to unwind body and mind, then there is plenty on offer to help achieve a new you for the new year, as LIZ LAMB discovers.

IT’S one of the most stressful times of the year and despite the lengthy build-up, Christmas is often over in a flash.

Now it’s January, most of us will set about making a lengthy list of New Year resolutions and vowing to be healthier, happier and fitter in the coming months.

But if you are still feeling jaded after the festivities and need some TLC to help start you on the road to a new you for the new year, then a break from the monotony of January could do just the trick. Read on for ways to de-stress and rejuvenate you.

SPA DAY

One of best ways to relax and reflect on the coming year is by booking yourself into a spa.

Being pampered and preened not only makes you feel good about yourself but a day away from the office or the children can give you a much-needed break after a frantic Christmas and New Year.

Rockliffe Hall, an exclusive £55m hotel and spa resort, opened in the region at the end of 2009 and is set to be one of the biggest and best spas in the country.

The development boasts a 50,000sq ft spa and fitness facility complete with gym, 13 treatment rooms, saunas, steam rooms, a sleep retreat and one of the largest hydrotherapy pools in the country.

It sounded just the place to unwind so I booked myself in for a spa day just after Christmas.

The spa is set in the stunning grounds of Rockliffe Hall, which also features an extensive golf course and a restaurant headed by star chef Kenny Atkinson.

On arrival my friend and I received a warm welcome at the spa reception, which is set in a stunning room that features large gilded mirrors, stunning light fittings and plush velvet chairs.

The spa has two pools. There is a large pool, great for swimming, in a vast room that features floor-to- ceiling windows so you can enjoy views of the countryside, and the hydrotherapy pool, which is in a circular room next door.

After a brief look around, we headed to the poolside bar where we received a complimentary glass of refreshing fruit juice from the spa butler. Once our thirst was catered for we decided to venture into the hydrotherapy pool.

This was a great way to kick off our de-stress mission. The pool features pulsating jets of water that worked on ridding our bodies of knots and stresses so we literally laid back, closed our eyes and revelled in the calmness of our surroundings.

After 20 minutes we decided to check out the igloo, which, as the names suggests, was a cold room housed off the pool area, with ice that you rub on your body to help close pores and cleanse.

Next was the caldarium steam room which featured heated ceramic seats.

By now we were truly relaxed and all thoughts and stresses from the festive period were out of our minds.

We were looking forward to indulging in some beauty treatments. Rockliffe spa has an extensive treatment list which caters for every beauty whim.

There are bespoke treatments inspired by the heritage of the area as well as holistic treatments for the body such as a Manipura full body massage, Hopi ear candles and Blissful Experience, which helps to calm the body and heal emotions.

There is also an extensive range of facials, a complete skin care system for all areas of the body and grooming treatments such as manicures, waxing and eyelash tints.

I was tempted by the Glorious Skin treatment – a facial that aims to lift and firm the skin and uses hexapeptides which are hailed as a non-invasive answer to botox.

The treatments suite is a huge area upstairs from the pools and sauna and is an interior-designed haven of dark chocolate walls, softer-than-soft carpets and an air of tranquility.

For the next hour and 15 minutes my mind and body were in total peace. My facial began with a relaxing foot massage before all sorts of fine smelling lotions and potions were applied. During the treatment a mask was also put on my skin. I felt so relaxed that I even fell asleep during the facial, the first time that has ever happened to me.

It was pure bliss. My skin felt and looked fantastic after the treatment. Immediately after I headed off straight to the sleep retreat where I continued my snooze for another 20 minutes.

When I woke up I was ready for lunch so we headed to the Waterhouse Bistro, just off the treatment rooms. Here we tucked into a tasty lunch washed down with tropical smoothies.

Our day of relaxation was not over yet. We decided to treat ourselves to a session in the spa’s Rasul mud room. This is a fantastic treatment you can do with friends (up to a party of four).

It’s inspired by an ancient Middle Eastern custom of herbal steam and mud bathing.

After entering the treatment area we exfoliated our skin with a scrub before washing it off in the shower and then applying the mud all over our bodies ( we wore swimsuits to spare our blushes) .

We then entered the mud room where we sat for 30 minutes and chatted as the room got hotter and steamier while the mud hardened to our skin. Suddenly, showers opened above our heads and we were doused in warm water which washed the mud from our skin.

For the final part of the treatment we showered again before applying a luxury body butter to soften the skin. It was the perfect end to a brilliant day.

I have visited many spas in the region as well as London and Rockliffe is definitely up their in my top three favourites list.

We left feeling relaxed, rejuvenated and ready to face the new year with ease.

Rockliffe Hall Hotel, Hurworth, near Darlington, County Durham, has a range of treatments and spa day packages. For more information visit www.rockliffehall.com or call 01325 729988.

YOGA RETREAT

If ever there was a way to align body and mind while escaping the hustle and bustle of everyday life then a yoga retreat is it.

Not only can you tone up and chill out but going on a retreat in the countryside feels like a holiday in itself and is a great way to make new friends. I went along to a weekend yoga retreat at Deneholme House in Allendale, Northumberland.

The house, which is used for all sorts of outdoor pursuits, is nestled on the edge of the village and backs on to woodland with fields and hills showcasing the beautiful Northumbrian countryside, only a short stroll away.

I have practised yoga intermittently over the years and I am no expert so I was pleased to discover the classes were suitable for beginners as well as more experienced yoga devotees.

The yoga and meditation weekend, organised by North East-based Prana Holidays, was hosted by Jambo Truong, an experienced yoga teacher and health practitioner based in Newcastle.

We arrived at Deneholme House on a Friday evening after work and were shown to our rooms before meeting the rest of our classmates for a coffee and a chat. It was then straight into yoga. It was hard to unwind at first. I had deadlines and stresses of the day running through my mind but eventually they were swept away by soothing music and my body began to relax.

That night I had the best sleep I’d had in months.

There was no rest for the wicked though. We were up at 7.30am to get ready for an 8am yoga class. It felt strange doing yoga at this time in the morning but I and the rest of the class were surprised by how much it woke us up.

Jambo also gave us a lesson in Pranayama, a technique used in yoga to control your breath. It was difficult at first to grasp but with a little practice we got the hang of it.

We just had to remember to use what we had learned when we carried out our yoga moves.

After an hour-and-a-half session we were treated to a vegetarian cooked breakfast. Next on the itinerary was a workshop on Ayurveda, a form of alternative medicine.

I’d never come across this so was interested to discover more. Jambo explained the basic principles without too much mumbo jumbo so we could understand what it was.

Ayurveda stresses a balance of three energies and people can be either be vata (wind/air), pitta (bile) and kapha (phlegm) or a combination of two. Whichever energy group you fall into can determine your health and wellbeing and the knowledge can be used to treat ailments.

We all filled out questionnaires about our bodies, personalities, health and digestion to discover which category we fell into. This was fun and I was surprised by how accurate the results were.

The two-hour session flew by and it was soon time for lunch. In the afternoon there was a relaxation and massage session where we paired off and practised massage techniques on each other. Again, this was very informative.

There was a couple of hours of free time before we had another two-hour yoga and deep relaxation session.

That evening both my mind and body were completely relaxed and I enjoyed yet another undisturbed night of blissful sleep.

The following day we woke to glorious sunshine. After a morning yoga class before breakfast we decided to go outside into the fresh air where Jambo taught us about the different yoga methods and philosophies and how we could apply them to our everyday lives to help with a host of problems.

May of the group opened up about the difficulties in their own lives and it felt like a real bonding session. Despite being strangers everyone felt at ease enough to divulge personal information.

There was time for a short yoga session after lunch before everyone had to go back to their everyday lives.

The yoga retreat was an amazing place to unwind and de-stress. Not only did we do exercise but we relaxed, bonded and chilled out, all in such a beautiful session.

To find out more visit www.jambotruong.com or contact him on 0779 5631597, or contact Pauline at Prana Yoga on 07969 887561or visit www.prana-yoga.co.uk.

The treatments suite is a huge area upstairs from the pools and sauna and is an interior-designed haven