The first two days are blissful.
You rest and explore the wonders of Kerala’s charming Fort Kochi, while you get to know your fellow travellers over delicious local cuisine.
Yoga and meditation classes — which continue daily for the entire retreat — help to ground you in your body while you adjust to this new place.
Magical First Moments
FORT Kochi
On Day 1 and 2: We all gather for the official welcome, brief orientation and a rejuvenating yoga and meditation practice before we set out on a guided tour taking in important local landmarks and unmissable historical and spiritual sites, you get a taste of the true Keralan hospitality.
Your guide Nishan is friendly, warm, and relaxed as you walk or ride in a local tuk tuk to see the oldest European church in India; the stunning Dutch Palace; and the famous, vast Chinese fishing nets that need four men to cast them.
Then you go deeper into local life. You visit a Brahman family, and observe a Kolam demonstration made using sparkling powders believed to invite Goddess Laxmi to bring luck and prosperity.
A stop in Jewish Town, a colourful mix of street markets and quant and quirky shops, will give you a chance to buy anything from antiques and clothing to delicious Indian spices!
As you walk the streets of Fort Kochi, perhaps stopping for a coffee in the quaint township, you wonder if you really are still in India.
The area’s gorgeous buildings are rich with a Portuguese influence, and there is a sense of calm and certainty. You feel that within yourself, too, as you prepare to head to the Ayurveda Centre for ten days of detox, healing, and letting go. With plenty of fabulous hands on treatments and sweet relaxation thrown in, of course!
A Glimpse Of Ayurveda Life
Ayurvedic treatment
On Day 3 to 12: And then on day three, you truly arrive.
You settle into the Ayurveda Centre and…it’s hard to believe it’s real. Set in a quiet and utterly beautiful tropical environment, overlooking lush rice fields, it’s a hidden paradise.
The centre radiates peace and gentleness; you feel supported and utterly cared for. You immerse yourself in your daily yoga and meditation practice, alongside holistic treatments tailored by an expert Ayurvedic doctor, specifically to suit your unique needs.
Along with your specialised diet, treatments might include…
Cleansing and detoxifying treatments such as enemas, purgation, steam baths, and warm herbal baths (Ayurvedic style)
Shirodhara — warm herb-infused oil poured on the forehead
Healing and renewing with Pinda Swedana Therapy — warm cloth boluses are prepared with herbs, milk and rice, and massaged into the entire body.
Medicated oil therapies such as Kati Basti, to stabilise ligaments, discs and bones in the spine
Abhyanga massage; a luxurious full body massage using oils specific to your Ayurvedic dosha (your unique constitution)
With each day you feel your body and mind growing in energy and health.
The treatments and perfectly balanced Ayurvedic meals allow you to heal. Your body feels lighter and your skin shines.
And there is an even more profound shifts happening, as you are free to acknowledge and transform deeper blockages within yourself.
Lets Go Cruising
relax on a houseboat
You have come back to yourself. So, what better way to celebrate this wonderful realignment of life than to spend one of your last days and nights in India on the water.
You float unhurriedly on a houseboat through the backwaters of Kerala, and in between yoga and meditation practices (and more tasty food!), you take in local life at the river’s edge. The sunset takes your breath away.
And, for the first time in as long as you can remember, you feel wholly alive and joyfully connected with the cycles of life around you.
