The next day, I found myself in a differ-
ent world. A 45-minute cab drive uphill
brought me to the nearly 2o-foot-high
gates of an impressive 1 9th-century
palace with a carefully manicured rose
garden and lush lawns. The region’s
maharaja, or prince, lives in a section
of this palace; in 2oo1, another part of
it was converted into the reception area
for Ananda Spa, an Ayurveda and yoga
refuge. Now Indians and
international wellness
travelers alike come to de-
stress and reset at Ananda.
Upon check-in, I was
greeted with a mala and
handed an aggressive spa
schedule that included pri-
vate yoga and meditation
classes, Ayurvedic mas-
sage, yogic and Ayurvedic
cleansings, hydrotherapy,
aromatherapy, and
a facial. I changed into
a white kurta—the deli-
ciously soft, pajamalike
“uniform” that Ananda
guests live in—and pro-
ceeded to a meeting with
one of the private yoga
instructors. She promptly
asked about my yoga expe-
rience and what I hoped
to achieve at Ananda. Then
it was off to one of 24 spa
rooms for a detoxifying
salt scrub. Feeling fresh,
I stopped in to see the Ayurvedic doctor,
who checked my pulse and asked ques-
tions about my appetite, digestion, and
moods, among other things. He deter-
mined that I was experiencing an excess
of kapha—the constitutional element in
Ayurveda that is responsible for feelings
of heaviness, slowness, and sleepiness.
I carried this new diagnosis to the chef,
who put me on a customized, kapha
detox diet. My first meal: green pea
and mint gazpacho and sweet-and-sour
tomato curry with spinach-braised yel-
low lentils. This was easy to surrender to.
The next few days delivered an intense
detox experience, with 6o-minute hatha
yoga sessions; 3o-minute pranayama
sessions that called on several tech-
niques, including Kapalabhati Pranaya-
ma (Skull Shining Breath); a 55-minuteChoornaswedana massage, which started
with a blessing, as all Ananda massages
do, and involved sesame-based oil and
Ayurvedic herbs; an Ayurvedic enema; and
a 3o-minute meditation technique called
Trataka, which is the practice of staring
at something in an effort to calm and
focus the mind and withdraw your senses.
At first it was hard to relax, but I slowly
started to welcome all the pampering,made easier by the incredibly kind and
attentive staff, and was able to ease into
downtime, curling up with a book on the
pristine lawn, without feeling guilty or
wanting to check my phone.
A couple more days of treatments and I
was glowing. Tension in my shoulders had
melted away, and my head was clear. As I
waited for my flight back to Delhi, I noticed
a lightness that I had never experienced. My
time at Ananda and in Rishikesh had lifted
not only the burden of stress, but also the
weight of trying to control all aspects of my
life. The Ganges and a concentrated dose
of asana, pranayama, meditation, and self-
care had taught me how to go with the flow.
(For more info, visit anandaspa.com.)ABOVE One of the serene yoga, meditation, and reading
pavilions at Ananda Spa.24 PHOTO COURTESY OF ANANDA IN THE HIMALAYAS
february2016yogajournal.comlive well
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