The Ultimate Reset: An Ayurvedic Journey to India
By Cherri Briggs, Founder & President
A Different Kind of Post-Holiday Wellness Retreat
If you think these explorations sound a bit indulgent, you’re right. We were nothing but pampered and stimulated with all the decadent food, service, and scintillating experiences. Thankfully, diving and hiking are great exercise but not enough to compensate for the nonstop amazing food, wine, and other indulgences. So, we decided to clean up our acts, reset our bodies, and go to India.
If you want a serious tune-up, try a couple of weeks of the ancient Ayurvedic purification treatment, Panchakarma. We had done this before at retreat centers in the US, but kept hearing about the original Indian treatment centers in Kerala, south of the Himalayas. I spent weeks researching and discussing with the experts, and we decided to get serious and do one of the most intensive and original three-week treatments at Kalari Kovilakom.
This is NOT a spa and would not be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s hard to call it a holiday, but it definitely is the ‘real thing’ and does the job. Every day is packed with two-three treatments, two different types of yoga classes, and walks in the morning and evening of a couple of miles. The food is key to the cleansing process and is designed by your Ayurvedic doctor on day one. It is not gourmet; it is the ultimate health food for the purification and rebalancing of your body.
Participants are given white cotton clothing to wear throughout their stay, sandals, and a strong code of behavior: no smoking, drinking alcohol, or talking during meals. Discipline is the order of the day. All the Ayurvedic doctors are top professionals in their fields, having completed a minimum of eight years, including all the modern medical training.
You start the treatment with your doctor analyzing your dosha type: Vata (air), Pitta (fire), and Kapha (earth). Everyone is a combo of the three. He can tell from your health history and pulses where you may need rebalancing, and your program starts to address the issues, which may be addressing an existing condition or one that he sees coming down the line. Prevention is the best cure…so go soon! For those who want a less strict, demanding program, we recommend Shreyas Retreat, Six Senses Vana, and Ananda in the Himalayas.
I suggest you plan your trip between late January and mid-March as, you can easily add on a visit to see the tigers in one of India’s spectacular reserves. I’d be happy to advise you personally and then connect you with one of our new partners who has a specific specialty in India on par with EXPLORE’s Africa expertise, but I can get you started!