A sanctuary named for a midwife

Maiaveda is a boutique Ayurvedic retreat and spa upstairs at the Old Flour Mill in Kyneton, founded by Marye O'Brien in 2011. Eight practitioners, seven days, by appointment.

Rated ExcellentBased on 111 Google reviews

Rated Excellent5.0 from 43 TripAdvisor reviews

As featured onWatch the segment of Marye on Sunrise

2011The year Maiaveda opened, upstairs at the Old Flour Mill
8Practitioners, seven days, by appointment
4.9From 111 Google reviews
5.0From 43 reviews on TripAdvisor

Marye O'Brien, a head and shoulders portrait in the bush

The name

Where the name comes from

The name Maiaveda is a tribute to two lineages that shaped my path: my grandmother's healing hands and the ancient Vedic sciences. My grandmother was a village midwife in a small province in Malta, a quiet force of care and courage. She had eight children and 33 grandchildren, and she chose to leave her medical instruments to me, a passing of the torch from one generation of healers to the next.

When it came time to name my business, I wanted to honour her and the wisdom that had changed my own life. Maia is the Latin root for midwife, or mother. Veda comes from the Sanskrit word for knowledge, as in Ayurveda, the science of life, and the root of yoga and Vedic healing.

Before Maiaveda

What I was doing before

Before founding Maiaveda in 2011, I worked in community services and media. I studied Media Arts at RMIT, which led to a global media distribution company and six years overseas, setting up networks in Asia, the United States and Europe. I fell in love while working in the United Kingdom and married, and when I was pregnant with our first child we moved back to Melbourne to be close to my family. I then built a career in community service management in local government.

Alongside that I was living through some deeply personal things, including the stillbirth of my second child, and a period of workplace bullying that left me with a PTSD injury. That breakdown and that loss became a dark night of the soul, and out of it I realised I was being called to a different kind of work: less about external expression, and more about healing, presence and service.

The Old Flour Mill

Why Kyneton, and why upstairs at the Old Flour Mill

Maiaveda found its home in Kyneton almost by destiny. In my early days of practice, a friend from yoga teacher training had just opened a loft style yoga studio in the newly renovated Old Flour Mill. She started coming to my home in Woodend for Ayurvedic treatments, and as our friendship grew she invited me to set up in the same building.

Yoga and Ayurveda are sister sciences, both rooted in Vedic wisdom, and having both under one roof felt right. The building itself is one of a kind: an 1859 bluestone steam flour mill. Upstairs became Maiaveda.

Marye on Sunrise, Channel 7, live from Woodend.

What they don't see is the invisible scaffolding behind every session: years of trauma-informed training, supervision, ongoing professional development, and personal healing work that allows us to hold space safely.

Marye O'Brien

Behind the room

What a guest would never notice

Guests notice the warm oils, the quiet space, the feeling of being cocooned and deeply held. I'm proudest of the behind-the-scenes systems that keep Maiaveda ethical, chemical free and safe.

And you won't see the sisterhood of our team: the quiet check-ins, shared learning and mutual support that keep us regulated, resourced and able to show up fully for you. All of this exists so guests can simply arrive, rest and be held.

The practice

Who we are

Maiaveda is a boutique retreat and spa in Kyneton, in Victoria's Macedon Ranges, about an hour from Melbourne. We bring together the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda and modern spa rituals, in personalised treatments.

There are eight practitioners across Ayurvedic therapies, remedial and relaxation massage, facials, reflexology, yoga therapy and more. Our retreats and in-house programs are designed for individuals, couples, groups, and NDIS participants seeking respite.

A brass statue of Lord Dhanwantari, patron deity of Ayurveda, under hanging crystals

Treading lightly

Natural products, natural cleaning
All-natural, Australian-made products in our spa therapies. We're proudly chemical free, and we clean only with natural products.
Less in the bin
We recycle what we can and keep our water use low.
Nothing printed we don't have to print
We send e-vouchers and point guests to our online menu, so less paper ends up in landfill.

Country

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Taungurung, the Dja Dja Wurrung and the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live, work and collaborate. We pay our respects to all First Nations people and Elders, past, present and future. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded.

From here

Where to next

What people say after they leave

4.9 from 111 Google reviews. 5.0 from 43 on TripAdvisor.

Yesterday I had the most amazing facial and massage with Claudia. From the moment I walked in I felt instantly nurtured, the whole experience made me feel taken care of. What an amazing place, the products used are beautiful and the ambience throughout was so relaxing. I would definitely book again the next time I am in Kyneton.