Experience Ayurvedic healing in India

Kerala in south west India is the home of Ayurveda. Bernadette Fallon visited

If you're going to try an Ayurvedic spa you might as well go to the home of Ayurveda to do it, right? And that's how I found myself heading to the southwest coast of India. To the state of Kerala, famous for its beaches, backwaters and lush green vegetation, and also the birthplace of Ayurveda.

 

Ayurveda is a traditional Indian medicine system, deeply rooted in the country's ancient philosophy. It places us as humans within the wider body that makes up nature, and has found its way to the Western world through complementary therapies and alternative medicine - you can now find Ayurvedic treatments everywhere from Mumbai to Milton Keynes. It's a philosophy that is particularly relevant to our busy lives today, offering a chance to unite physical, mental and spiritual health, and directing us away from the imbalances of contemporary life to the pathway of natural living.

 

Before I leave for India I fill out a ‘Prakruthian' analysis, which is basically detailed questionnaire about my body, answering questions about my skin, fitness levels, appetite, dreams, bowel movements and much more. It's quite involved, but then these people are about to unite my physical, mental and spiritual health!

 

Ayurvedic luxury

I'm travelling to the Leela Kempinksi Kovalam Beach in Kerala, which offers the chance to try an Ayurvedic spa in luxury surroundings; it's a five star hotel in 65-acres of lush green gardens overlooking the Arabian sea - a private beach is a five-minute meandering walk through rolling lawns and palm trees. Accommodation is graded from garden and sea view pavillion rooms to deluxe club accommodation and suites housed in a stylish building with private restaurant and pool; club guests can also use the main hotel restaurants, bars and pools. Two infinity pools looking out to sea are among the Leela's most impressive features, and in the morning guests breakfast around the pool's edge.

 

Yoga and spa

The Ayurvedic treatment centre makes clever use of its scenic surroundings and is partially open; I take a yoga class every morning just a few feet away from waves breaking on the beach. Yoga fits perfectly into the Ayurvedic philosophy, the word yoga comes from the Sanskrit root 'yuj' which means to join or unite.

Ayurveda packages to the Leela range from one day right up to the required Panchakarma of 40 days; however most guests come to enjoy the luxury of the beachside resort with an Ayurvedic sampler as part of the deal. This includes an Ayurvedic consultation and treatment; with the add-on option of a specially designed menu based on your body type and recommended food groups. Yoga packages are also available. And while there are a certain number of medical ailments that can be treated in the centre, including arthritis, insomnia and migraine, most people come for the general ‘wellness and prevention of ailments' package, designed to relax, rejuvenate, purify and detox the body.

 

The experience

 

Everything in this Ayurveda centre is carried out with precision. It's a calm marbled space, and candles flicker in the gentle sea breeze that blows through from outside. On arrival I'm presented with a pair of slippers on a tray (used then to carry my shoes away). I meet my doctor who briefly explains the principles of Ayurveda. The philosophy identifies three body types or ‘doshas', and these are related to the fundamental elements that make up the universe; Vata is made up of space and air; Pitta water and fire; and Kapha water and earth. We are all born with some of the characteristics of all three types, and the combination we inherit at birth is called our prakriti. To remain healthy through life we need to maintain our original prakriti as much as possible.

 

He tells me I am primarily Vata and explains I will have a body massage with oils and herb pouches, a facial massage, and finally ‘Shirodhara' - the dripping of a steady stream of oil onto my forehead while my head is being massaged. This is designed to relax the nerves and balance the Prana Vata, the dosha that exerts control over the brain.

 

‘Have I any information to add to that I've already given?' he asks. I tell him I've been deaf in my left ear for the past 24 hours, the result of taking three flights in three days. And I've got a bit of a cold and a tightness across the top of my head.

And so the treatment starts. The massage is deft, the oils sensuous, the therapist skilful, and I feel nicely relaxed. The facial massage is a bit deeper than others I've had and I like it. But it's the Shirodhara at the end of the treatment that totally wows me.

 

The oil runs in a smooth unbroken flow onto my forehead and back into my hairline and gradually I feel I'm reaching a semi-trace-like state, halfway between sleeping and waking. I'm suspended between the real world around me and this new space my mind has moved into. I couldn't say how long I'm lying there, because I seem to have lost the ability to count time, but suddenly the oil stops flowing.

 

I sit up and am instantly given an answer I have been looking for. It arrives in my head fully formed, perfect and simple, and I suddenly have a plan for some goals in my long term future. I feel blessed to have been handed this knowledge. And then I realise I'm not deaf any more, nor does my head hurt.

 

Accommodation

Stay at The Leela Kempinski Kovalam Beach from £175pp per night (based on a Garden View Pavilion Room, valid until Sept 2010 excluding Christmas period). Stay with all meals included from £377pp per night (based on a Garden View Pavilion Room for a minimum of two nights, for weekend stays a 10% surcharge will be applied, valid from Dec 09 - April 2010 excluding Christmas period). All deals subject to availability.
 
To book contact Leela on central.reservations@theleela.com; or book through tour operators Cox & Kings, Greaves or Thomas Cook.
 

Getting there

Etihad Airways flies three times a day to Abu Dhabi from London, with a daily onward flight to Triruvananthapuram (Trivandrum). Return fares from London Heathrow to Trivandrum start at £445.80 in Coral Economy class, including taxes, and £3,045.80 in Pearl Business class including taxes. For further details visit www.etihadairways.com or call 0800 731 9384.

 

To read more about what to do in Kerala, how to get there and what you need to know before you go, see our travel feature here

 

Top spas: read more

See last month's spa review - a Thai experience without leaving the country

 

---

 

You might like this ...

 

No time to pamper - try a speedy facial at Cowshed

Your ultimate guide to beating stress

Take a trip to a tropical paradise - our favourite destinations