Suitcase Series: Lyndall Mitchell founder of Aurora Spa Group and ASPAR

This week we caught up with Lyndall Mitchell the woman behind Australia’s award-winning urban spa group, to find out what she never travels without, her packing tips, and what her most memorable trip has been so far…

A sought-after commentator on personal wellness and the industry in general, Lyndall Mitchell has been featured in major media such as Australian Financial Review, Today Show and The Sydney Morning Herald along with appearances on Channel 7, Channel 9, Foxtel and ABC.
Recognising that wellness is best approached from multiple angles and avenues, Lyndall’s early vision was to create a wellness ecosystem that offered numerous gateways for people to create their own personalised wellness lifestyle. In the early 90s, she held senior roles at Camp Eden – one of the ﬁrst progressive health retreats in Australia – designing and delivering the optimum living program and witnessing countless transformational changes in her clients during their stays.

Inspired by her time working at Camp Eden – one of Australia’s leading wellness destinations – Lyndall packed her bags and moved from Queensland to Melbourne in 1997 to open Aurora Spa Retreat. Her goal was to bring the immersive wellness experience to people’s doorstep, transporting the beneﬁts of an annual retreat into the everyday. Going on to win multiple industry awards and accolades, Aurora Spa Retreat was renowned as Melbourne’s premier, luxury spa destination and in its success inspired the launch of Aurora spas within Gold Coast’s Palazzo Versace and Melbourne and Sydney’s Qantas First Class Lounges.

With access to leading-edge industry research, Lyndall designed and developed the acclaimed ASPAR brand, a collection of botanically active skincare, body and spa products to provide consumers access to spa-tested formulations at home. Today, Aurora’s iconic ASPAR product range is available nationally, online and through speciality retailers and continues to be featured in Qantas’ ﬁrst-class lounges. The signature ASPAR range will be showcased at the Aurora Spa & Bathhouse boutique and within the InterContinental Sorrento’s hotel rooms.

Following the success of Aurora Spa Retreat and ASPAR, Lyndall began to apply her deep knowledge and experience to expanding the ecosystem with publishing, coaching and speaking.

Lyndall has co-published four books on wellness; Ignite, Restore, Shine and Chaos to Calm. Each book is a treasure trove of practical tips, tools, strategies and expert advice to help people reach greater levels of wellbeing. While each volume can stand alone, the fullness of Lyndall’s approach is revealed as a progressive journey across the four books. Her
co-authored books have been translated into many languages and continue to be global best sellers.

She is also a practising wellness coach. Throughout her career, Lyndall has witnessed the beneﬁts of bringing care and calm to every day to avoid burnout, regardless of busy schedules, and in 2015, she joined forces with fellow industry coach Shannah Kennedy to found The Essentialists. As co-owner of The Essentialists, Lyndall has toured Australia with her ‘Masterclass of Wellness’ and ‘Chaos to Calm’ workshops, introducing hundreds of executives to practical wellness skills and strategies, helping them reduce stress and live more mindfully.

Present day, she continues to offer private coaching to a limited number of clients, including individuals, senior executives and entrepreneurs from a diverse set of organisations such as Deloitte, Macquarie Bank, Seek, L’Oréal, Commonwealth Bank, Baker & McKenzie and Saatchi & Saatchi, as well as universities, schools, government organisations, ASX listed companies and privately-owned businesses. Drawing on various inﬂuences – predominantly ACT, mindfulness, positive psychology and neuropsychology – Lyndall helps her clients to clarify what is important to them, create a clear future vision and guide them toward a fulﬁlling, healthy and happy life.

Lyndall currently lives in Melbourne with her husband and two daughters and is passionate about empowering all generations with the tools for living a fulﬁlling, healthy and happy life.

In this week’s Suitcase Series, equipped with Dream Clean Antioxidant Toothpaste we take a sneak peek into Lyndall Mitchell ’s travel psyche…

What’s been your most memorable trip, and why?

Visiting 60 spas in 6 weeks around the world. It was such a wonderful experience to see the culture of spas and wellness in so many countries.

What’s your favourite ever hotel?

I love 7132 in Vals in Switzerland. What I loved most about this hotel is it adjoins my favourite spa in the world (Therme Vals) and I could bathe all day (and night) and then walk to my room.