We all know regular yoga practice alleviates stress and improves strength and flexibility. How about dashing off to an exotic locale and rolling your mat on the coastline or a deck overlooking the mountains? Sometimes it is nice to broaden your horizons. Don’t you think so? Stressed urban dwellers look for an escape and yoga retreats are the best form of escapism.
Privacy, seclusion and solitude are what we look for after months of hard work. A retreat can help in many ways. It surely is a powerful way to come back relaxed and refreshed. Depending on your goal, there are several retreats in India. From offering serenity or invigoration, to ancient traditions or innovative approaches, India is home to many such places.Shreyas Resort in Bangalore is an ashram-style retreat that emphasizes on the traditional holistic benefits of yoga. Organic vegetarian cuisine, infinity pool, spa and yoga, this center beautifully merges natural beauty with modern luxury. If Ayurveda is your cup of tea and you want to discover more about the many benefits of traditional Indian healing wisdom, head to Ayurveda Yoga Meditation Resort nestled in the Niligiris. The setting is perfect- a green tea plantation surrounded by eucalyptus forests. If you are someone who needs personal attention, this is the place to be. They emphasise on individual attention and targeted treatments for an array of health conditions. A typical day at the resort would be filled with yoga, volunteer work, organic farming etc.
Wanting to learn from the monks and scholars themselves? Head to Yoga Vidya Spiritual Retreats in Kerala. They have art retreats, detox retreats and yoga teacher training programme. If you are looking for alternative health treatments, the Soukya Holistic Health Centre is your answer. Located in Whitefield, a suburb of Bangalore, it is a luxury wellness spa that focuses on alternative health treatments. If that is not an incentive enough, Prince Charles' wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall spent four days at this very wellness spa.
The sign on the entrance of this retreat says, Please Leave Your World Here’. And they mean it. Kalari Kovilakom in Kerala is self-styled palace of Ayurveda. Say good bye to meat, caffeine, leather accessories and alcohol till the time you are here. Housed in a 150-year old palace, it has been carefully restored to give a taste of both history and luxury.
If you don’t want to go down South, Ananda in the Himalayas, ahead of Rishikesh is your best bet. It is an epitome of luxury wellness. From its location and setting in manicured grounds overlooking the Ganges, to its kind and gentle staff and its programme of Yoga, Ayurveda and Vedanta, you would not want to come back.