Shay Maclean, Ayupōtheca

While her Ayurveda clinic started in a small shed on a hinterland property, it wasn't long before Shay, founder and practitioner, realised Ayupōtheca needed an accessible space to welcome the local community and help people heal. Now open in a lush and tranquil corner of Habitat, we caught up with Shay for a chat...

Thanks for bringing your beautiful clinic to Habitat. What drew you here?

Thank you for having me. After covid and floods devastated our beloved rainbow region, I felt the need to create an accessible healing space, and with so many people already gathered here for health and wellness, the Habitat village seemed like the perfect fit!

Tell us what Ayupōtheca is all about and the services you provide?

Ayupōtheca is a bespoke Ayurveda clinic and herbal apothecary, nurturing people in their entirety. We believe healing can only occur when people create space for it, and Ayupōtheca provides that safe space for people to breathe, unravel, and even reinvent themselves, if they so wish. We offer a range of bespoke luxurious Ayurvedic treatments to remedy all that ails the mind, body and spirit – Ayurvedic massage therapy, including pregnancy and postpartum. Traditional anointing therapies for pain and disease of the spine, knees, abdomen, heart, head, nose, ears and eyes. Ayurvedic detox and cleansing programs. Holistic health consultations and herbal medicine prescriptions, helping people uncover the root cause of disease and remove it naturally.

How did you end up working in wellness?

I'm a huge mental health advocate. After witnessing my mother’s battle with postnatal depression, it became my life mission to understand and take away her suffering. Growing up with my father, who's a very natural man, we spent every moment in nature, often camping with indigenous tribes and learning the way of the land. Then at 19, I discovered Ayurveda, where I began to formally learn the universal laws of nature and how one can live by them for optimal happiness, health and longevity.

What makes Ayupōtheca unique?

We tailor each and every experience to the individual, to accommodate however they choose to show up on the day. There's no judgement here. We're also Byron’s very first walk-in luxury Ayurveda clinic! Of course, that's with exception of the long-established student clinic at the Byron Ayurveda Centre, where I actually studied for almost five years.

Talk us through the detox and cleansing programs on offer?

Ayurveda takes a very different approach to detoxification and cleansing to that of the west. It doesn't involve cold juice fasting, which quite often constricts blood flow and shocks the metabolism into producing quick but short-lived results. Instead, Ayurveda uses the power of the seasons, along with heat to ignite the metabolic fire to train the body to naturally burn off fat and toxins! This often yields more sustainable results, because the body chemistry becomes rewired through these ancient purification processes. We don't believe one size fits all, which is why we offer tailored one-to-one detox and cleansing programs, starting with an initial health consultation for a full case history, to accurately assess your current state of health. From there, we design a protocol to suit the individual based on their strength, age, lifestyle and budget. These holistic cleanses often include gentle cleansing diet, massage treatments, herbs, enemas, meditation, breathwork and yoga. All detoxes/cleanses are then followed up by rejuvenation programs for restorative purposes, making thorough protocols only a bi-yearly necessity!

You hold workshops too. Tell us about them?

We're all about building community and connection and workshops are a great way for people to learn and build a network of support. This is especially important for those suffering from chronic illness. We hope to hold lots of different workshops based around health, ritual and wellness and we look forward to welcoming everyone very soon!

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt doing the work you do?

Not to force anything or anyone. No one likes to be told what to do or that they’ve been living their life wrong. We all have our way of survival and it’s nobody's place to judge. I’ve come to realise there really is no right or wrong way. Whatever we are doing right now, that's the path, so let it take its course. With so much intervention these days and not enough space to breathe, it’s no wonder everyone’s burnt out, confused, and full of distrust in themselves and the world. Based on this, my practice has become very unorthodox, because it's soft and fluid in the attempt to accommodate all. I like to take the time to get to know people. I try and listen before I speak, because the saddest thing I see in clinics is how many people have forgotten their innate intelligence to know what’s best for them. They’ve been swayed every which way and told not to believe how they feel. I really hope to empower people to remember their magic, to trust themselves again, to feel and resonate once more. Amid the chaos of life, we've forgotten the way of nature, we've lost ourselves, and our true nature.

If you could give anyone a treatment, past or present, who would it be and why?

My mother. She’s endured an enormous amount of suffering in this life and without her I simply wouldn't be here today to offer my service to others.

When you’re not working, where can we usually find you? Floating in the middle of the ocean at sunrise. Surfing has held me and continues to hold me.

Top tip for someone looking to nurture themselves today? Cultivate stillness and space for you to surrender and be receptive in. A human always doing simply cannot be a human being.

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Discover Ayupōtheca in Suite 59, Building C5. They're open Tuesday to Saturday 10am–4pm. Or find out more on their Instagram or website here.