Spa & wellness
Above: The Ananda Hotel in the Himalayas prioritises wellness and long-term relaxation.
Above right: A temazcal ceremony involves participants sitting in a sweat lodge for therapeutic benefi ts.
Below: Wellness retreats ask guests to dedicate time to deep relaxation and grounding.
5,000
The number of years since yoga and Ayurveda were created in the city of Rishikesh, India.
Yogabasics
gratitude and self-love, daily yoga classes and an emotions-led body-exfoliation treatment that represents the conceptual scrubbing away of the past. It culminates in the ancient temazcal ritual, which Chapa describes as being the resort’s “most important”. Meaning ‘steam house’, a temazcal involves a two or three-hour spiritual session that begins with the guest setting intentions with a therapist and channelling them in four different spaces designed to symbolise the four natural elements: earth, air, fire and water. “Each one will heal different parts of your life,” explains Chapa. “There could be wounds or fears that you have, or things that you need to get out of your mind to connect and to live a fulfilled life. It connects with your energy and helps identify the parts you need to relieve from your life – and when you leave the treatment, you’re a different person.”
Out with the old
One of the greatest aspects of pursuing wellness on holiday is the lack of outside distractions in order to truly prioritise the self: in the beautiful surroundings of a seaside resort, a sweeping mountainscape or a verdant bucolic retreat, guests can fully commit to a treatment – and may indeed be more receptive to
them. Moreover, the results tend to speak for themselves: Chapa explains that the impact Chablé Yucatan’s spiritual therapies have on their guests is immediately tangible. “A lot of people arrive a little bit closed off, and when they ask for a temazcal, they don’t know what to expect – they don’t trust it until they experience it,” he explains. “It’s so amazing to see how they change afterwards: they’re smiling, they’re hugging their therapist.”
As Natarajan notes, the very choice to visit a retreat such as Ananda or Chablé Yucatan signifies an intention to rest your mind. “Any leisure – whether a short break, a long holiday or a wellness retreat – is a recognition of the need to refresh and rejuvenate not only the body but also the mind and spirit. Holidays comprising only physical activity don’t provide any relief to the buzzing mind; mental well-being is time dedicated towards mental relaxation and grounding.” So even before they arrive, guests will be ready to embrace the programmes on offer.
Indeed, the effect of the therapies will continue for months after the guest has left the resort. “On a mental and emotional level, it will liberate you in the long term; you will feel like you can start fresh,” Chapa says. “Our guests are looking for mental and emotional relief, so they want to continue the resort experience in their day-to-day life, to be more connected to their spiritual well-being.” Similarly, long-term change is also the aim at Ananda, with therapists examining an individual’s range of health issues not in isolation but as a manifestation of something deeper. “Rather than looking at the human body as a set of physical organs, the holistic approach looks at entire health system and in the interplay of physical with the mental and emotional,” explains Natarajan. “The approach is all- encompassing and more sustainable, if carried out by experts in a safe and nurturing environment.” Such an environment has always come naturally to luxury spa resorts – except now it leads not only to an enjoyable time away, but a new way of living. ●
42 Hotel Management International /
www.hmi-online.com
Ananda; Chablé Yucatan
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