Wellness Tourism Package
Anyone who grew up in India during the sixties and seventies would tell you that virtually every weekend in those days was a wellness holiday. Come Saturday, the neighbourhood maalishwali (or wala as the case may be) would arrive at an appointed hour and for a pittance, rub down assorted family members with warm oil, easing aches in elderly joints, ironing out stiff muscles and smoothening dry skin and rough elbows. In southern India, the weekly oil bath was (and still is) virtually a ritual – the deep head and body massage involved left one toned, deliciously relaxed and come Monday morning, ready to take on the world!
These home traditions of wellness stem from ancient concepts of holistic health.
Now worldwide, there is an upsurge of interest in alternative systems of healing and therapy, a realization that there’s more to complete health than simply being ‘unsick’.
Enter wellness holidays, an umbrella term for more than just a soothing massage. For some, it involves briefly unshackling themselves from stressful lifestyles to be pampered to bliss. For others, it’s a way to connect with their inner selves. What better destination than India, home of yoga, Ayurveda and spirituality, for a total wellness experience that recharges body, mind and soul?
The most popular wellness centres in India typically exist in regions with a tradition of holistic healing. An array of treatments on offer includes preventive, curative and restorative therapies that are wonderfully tempting to the world weary (who after all, need this holiday, right?).
The abode of the gods and a sacred repository of herbs with amazing healing properties, the Himalayas are a natural setting for wellness. Fresh air, sparkling streams and forested mountain slopes are enough to melt most of your aches away.
Ananda in the Himalayas, located in Uttaranchal, is among India’s premium wellness centres, combining gracious, landscaped surroundings with health-and-beauty packages that include yoga, meditation and herb-based therapies.
Consultants help visitors explore and understand their state of physical and mental health and recommend appropriate therapies and diets (all natural, all vegetarian).
Balancing rituals help to recalibrate the body’s energy centres, reviving natural healing powers that are compromised by improper lifestyles. Choose from Indian Rose Ritual, Tibetan Experience and Chakra Well-Being. Earth-stone therapy involves being gently scrubbed and massaged with stones that have been nourished with pure, herbal oils. There’s also a special balancing massage for expectant mothers.
Fitness specialists offer assessments and recommend physical exercise options. Additionally, healers, therapists, doctors and teachers from around the world visit Ananda to conduct workshops and offer personal guidance.
At 4700 ft above sea level in Uttarakhand lies the Satvik Resort, built into a mountain slope with fabulous views. This “Vedic retreat” helps you cut off from the busy world. With no TV or radio, the only sound to awaken you is birdsong. Yogasana and pranayama sessions, diet and massages are custom designed according to individual body types. The emphasis is on achieving physical, emotional and mental harmony. Sitting quietly on a yoga mattress and gazing out upon the morning sun lighting up undulating alpine meadows, that goal seems eminently achievable.
Not every wellness holiday needs to be spent in seclusion. Many travel organisations customise group packages that are part-vacation, part-wellness in scenic destinations. Picture yourself in a Maharaja’s palace in Rajasthan, or a beach resort in Goa. Typically, a day begins with an early morning session of yoga and meditation, followed by a trek to a nearby place of interest and a picnic lunch. Evening activities could include a host of New Age-style stuff like aura-cleansing, trance-dance, chanting and Q&A sessions on health and fitness. Women-only tours of this nature are an increasingly popular trend.
Kerala of course, is the Big Daddy of Indian wellness holidays. While Himalayan ashrams have been around forever, it was only a couple of decades ago, when this tiny, coastal state opened up for tourism that the world awoke to its tremendous tradition of herbal medicine and healing therapies. Apart from Ayurvedic institutions, many resorts now offer luxury spas and facilities for the famous ‘Kerala massages’, an umbrella term for several, highly specialized healing therapies. Throw in a boat-ride down stunningly beautiful backwaters, a glimpse into the state’s fabled cultural treasures and you have all the makings of an unforgettable holiday.
All too often, a holiday becomes so hectic that another break is required to recover from it (and that doesn’t include having to get rid of excess calories!) A wellness holiday offers a bouquet of benefits – it satiates your wanderlust, detoxes the body, and sets your spirit free!
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