IMAGES: MARCO DIANI


teaching guests to become more attuned to what their bodies need. More specifically, combining foods for optimal digestion. For example, this can mean not eating fresh fruit with dairy or grains, since they digest at different speeds. This helps avoid gas, bloating and other digestive woes. Elsewhere, guest speaker Dr Therese Augsburger,


a psychiatrist who once ran ayurvedic retreats in the Swiss mountains, puts the teachings into a Western context: “Ayurveda opens the mind to the bigger picture,” she says. “The Western approach is goal- oriented — it’s a straight line or an arrow. Ayurveda is a circle, a journey. It can frustrate us in the West, as we like a manual. We need to open our minds to something larger than us.” Nuggets of Eastern wisdom are delivered in


bitesize chunks as you sip herbal tea. “Yoga is controlled trauma teaching the body to deal with trauma in our lives through breathwork,” therapist Chiara Napolatano explains. And after a visit to nearby thermal springs to soothe muscles and relax the body, ayurvedic treatments go deeper, aiming to work on people’s emotions. “Abhyanga nadi, a full- body massage, improves arterial circulation, taking blood and nourishment from the heart to the limbs, but it also works on a subtle level, releasing emotions from the heart,” Chiara reveals. “The effect is not always immediate — things might emerge the next day or in your dreams.” The day ends with a sleep ritual before bed, where


a hot water bottle is tucked under the covers and a flask of hot milk is placed on the beside table with a quote from spiritual guides such as the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi: ‘When I run after what I think I want, my days are a furnace of stress and anxiety; if I sit in my own place of patience, what I need flows to me, and without pain.’ A sound bite of ancient wisdom for the modern world. Technology will always have its place, but we also


need to slow down and reconnect with our inner selves (and indulge in warm almond milk laced with cardamom and chamomile before bed).


HOW TO DO IT: One-week retreats, full-board, from £1,650 based on two sharing. datuwellness.com


14 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL


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