India’s famous luxury wellness retreat is an antidote to 21st century living

Not too long ago, retreat participants encountered views of Rishikesh while hiking to the Kunjapuri temple in the foothills of India’s Himalayas. They will guide you through the famous places of this city. I offered “The Beatles” because I knew that Rishikesh was the place where musicians went to meditate with Maharishi in his 1960s.

This was not a mistake, but the guide was looking for a better answer. Rishikesh is said to be the birthplace of yoga and is where Patanjali wrote his scriptures more than 2,000 years ago.

Today, it’s a place for a different kind of spiritual seeker (who may not be rock stars, but are often famous and reliably successful) who travel in search of change in their lives. It has become a landmark city. Their destination is Ananda in the Himalayas, a luxury wellness resort that regularly wins awards.

Like other retreats along the Ganges River, Ananda is centered around yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, and Vedanta (Hindu philosophy). Unlike other locations, this one takes place in a stunning natural environment and has luxurious facilities to match. The crowning jewel of the 100-acre site is the palace built for Maharaja Narenda Shah in 1895.

Today, the palace is the place where guests are welcomed with marigold garlands and ceremonial blessings, setting the tone for the ensuing experience. This mainly revolves around the group of buildings below the palace, built around 2000.

The building includes a restaurant with an indoor grand dining room and beautiful shaded terrace, a 25,000 square foot spa with 24 treatment rooms and a state-of-the-art gym, and most of the 70 guest rooms. (An exception is his one with historical charm, located in an old palace.) These are ready for a planned refreshment, but in addition to the magnificent space and comfort of the palace or the valley below. It has a private balcony with views. The majestic nature, almost always in sight, remains the center of the experience.

“More than 20 years after we first started our business, there stood only a palace at the end of time, surrounded by wild lantana and natural beauty. Back then, I had nothing but dreams. Ta–.[a] I envisioned what I wanted to achieve and where I wanted to be,” says Ashok Khanna, Founder and Managing Director, Ananda.

It continues, “As the world has changed, so have we. But deep within our hearts, we have always stood by those beliefs and principles.” “That was the philosophy. [that] He gave birth to Ananda in the Himalayas. My idea was to collect the ancient remedies, customs, and deep-rooted wisdom of Indian culture and blend them all with the best international practices. This location served as the inspiration for the wellness destination I had envisioned. ”

The focus is still on yoga and Ayurveda (both of which are considered sciences), but it’s become more laser-like. All guests receive a distance consultation to determine their program at the time of booking and an in-person session with an Ayurvedic doctor upon arrival. The idea is to pinpoint a guest’s dosha (body shape in Ayurveda) and understand everything from the food served to the oils used in spa treatments to fine-tune the schedule. Masu.

Our current approach is “clinical wellness.” Ankur Verma, director of wellness operations and training, emphasizes that the entire staff has a lot of experience with the latter. “We have a way to measure things objectively.”

From a guest perspective, Ananda was a mainstream destination spa, along the lines of, say, Six Senses with modern comforts. Over the past decade, it has grown into a full-fledged wellness retreat that sometimes requires some sacrifice.

I first visited about 12 years ago, just as this era was beginning to change. The general manager at the time pointed out the low-alcohol wines on the menu (8% or 9%, but still strong), the food being plentiful, and the desserts coming out to the bedroom at turndown.

Currently, guests enrolling in wellness programs, like most guests, are advised to abstain from vices beforehand. It contains no sugar, alcohol or caffeine, and the meals are almost entirely vegetarian. This is not only to optimize outcomes during a guest’s stay, but also to show that eating healthy can be fun.

“Spending time at Ananda should be an investment in changing your lifestyle,” says General Manager Aniket Sarkar. He emphasized that in their vision, “hospitality is about enriching the lives of those in need,” adding that almost everyone who comes knows they can make something better. “Every treatment and every meal is a step in that direction. This is an environment carefully selected to break old habits before creating new ones. We want to remind our customers that health is sustainable. I want them to feel that way.”

Guests who come for a thorough detox, panchakarma (holistic Ayurvedic rejuvenation), or weight loss program will be placed on a liquid or highly restricted diet, but the diet will generally not be overdone. It’s not simple, it’s light. We have a wide selection of spices from both India and abroad that will satisfy your needs. I never felt full, but I also never felt hungry.

We encourage everyone to take part in a group or private cooking class. This cooking class includes Ayurvedic principles – what to choose for each dosha, the wonders of ghee, and more – as well as general clean eating tips like choosing real vegetables over highly processed meats. Contains wisdom. Tips for making your food delicious.

Culinary director Chef Diwakel Barodi came from India’s luxurious Oberoi resort, where he created dishes using the obvious tools to make food taste good, like meat and salt. But getting from there to here wasn’t difficult, he says. “It’s the same cooking method. I just apply the new knowledge I’ve gained here.”

Either way, the breaks in your diet are welcome as the days combine slowness, rigor, expert guidance, and self-discovery. There’s yoga first thing in the morning, then meditation and philosophy talks at the end of the afternoon. Guests are given notebooks filled with journaling tips, and the schedule is built around personal consultations to help them learn to love, trust, and believe in themselves, from physical therapy to emotional healing.

With more than 15 wellness programs, from the promising basics of stress management and detox to programs that address timely concerns such as sleep deprivation, infertility, menopause, and something called androgenic hormone balance. Details vary widely. They say it became a crisis because “we were cut off from our natural way of life.” (The Diabetes Program is also in the research and development stage, and case studies have already shown that insulin can be withdrawn with comprehensive management.)

Of course, all of this takes time, and the effective minimum length of stay is a full week. Many programs require him to be 14 or 21 days or more. Guests often work remotely during extended stays and report increased productivity with Ananda’s framework, Sarkar said. They complete his day’s work in a few hours.

Of course, around 300 people support them, offering not only consultation and treatment, but also light cooking, cleaning, and even washing the fluffy white pajamas that everyone wears during their stay. That’s helpful. “We are here to help you prepare to create a lifestyle that puts your health first,” says Malati Mehrish, director of yoga and meditation. And while there’s always an individualized approach, “we’re trying to collect everyone’s data and document the results.”

She continues: “The changes we’ve made over the last few years have created a beautiful blend that’s perfect for today’s times. It’s the best therapy people want and need. Even more so in the 2020s.