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Soukya: India's Unique Retreat Tetchy, that was the word. I was feeling tetchy. The day before, I had arrived at Soukya, a holistic health centre near Bangalore in India. I was welcomed with a blessing, drifting incense and a glass of ‘tender coconut’. After driving from the airport through busy city streets, past technology parks and factory outlets, it felt like being held in a warm embrace and feeling my feet planted firmly on the ground. Along a paved stone path, through beautiful gardens, I found my room - colonial-style and elegantly simple with a private garden. And, as I do from time to time, when I remember, I thought how very lucky I am. There was no television or radio in the room and thirty acres of grounds for only 20 guests. In this space, you can focus on yourself, uninterrupted, and start the healing from within. So what was wrong with me? Why the tetchiness? Was I the most ungrateful woman on the planet? Having pondered this by the infinity pool for a while, I realised the problem was simply that I wasn’t busy. I had nothing to occupy my mind. Except me. The only sensible solution was to slow down, let go and allow myself to be looked after. So I did. Soukya is not a spa; it’s about integrated medicine, uniting ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy and allopathic or conventional Western medicine and taking the most effective elements of each to create personalised wellbeing programmes - a unique retreat offering. In the middle of the lawn is an open door. It symbolises the open mind, body and spirit that will enable you to benefit from the treatments on offer and make the changes to embrace a healthier lifestyle. My stay began with an extraordinarily comprehensive health evaluation. A naturopathic doctor probed my medical history, my lifestyle, personality and current state of mental and physical health. A hypochondriac’s dream, no ache or pain is too insignificant to mention. After this hour-long confessional, I met Dr Issac Mathai, the debonair founder of Soukya and a world-renowned holistic physician, who counts Sarah Ferguson, Sting and Tina Turner among his clients. He took my pulse, three fingers on each wrist, and observed that my lungs were not fully open; I wasn’t breathing deeply enough, which was affecting other parts of my body. How did he know? I asked. ‘Chinese Pulse Diagnosis - or magic,’ he replied, a twinkle in his eye. As a result of the evaluation, my bespoke treatment package included three hours of ayurvedic and complimentary therapies a day, daily yoga, meditation, some homeopathic medicine and a pared-down diet plan for my tedious IBS. The yoga was a revelation. Classes were held in an open-sided hut, with a black floor to absorb negative energy and walls decorated with shimmering glasswork. We were encouraged to tune into the body, holding the positions and feeling their impact on the muscles and breath. I’ve always been a bit of a clock-watcher in classes before, but, for the first time, the movements absorbed me and made sense. My treatments were a combination of therapeutic and relaxing. Hot and cold stomach packs to stimulate the liver, invigorating massages using pouches of aromatic herbs heated over a flame and deeply blissful reflexology and hot stone therapies. Each morning began with Dhara – warm oil poured in a steady stream onto my forehead. From time to time, one of the therapists smoothed it gently through my hair – the reassuring touch of a mother. My time in the therapy centre felt like a genuine indulgence, but the treatments worked very deeply. I felt the effects for some time afterwards and was asleep by 10pm every night. At times, I also felt quite emotional. All quite normal, the doctor assured me in my morning feedback sessions. At last, I felt myself slowing down, even walking and speaking more leisurely. In the restaurant, young waiters with gentle smiles spooned food almost tenderly onto my plate. Each dish was vegetarian, low salt, low fat and with delicate overtones of turmeric, tamarind, coconut and any number of traditional Indian herbs and spices. I ate more slowly too, concentrating on the flavours. As well as seeking treatment for more serious conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and post-op rehabilitation, many people come to Soukya to detox and lose weight. Over a week, I shed three inches round the waist without trying – it’s easy when there’s no unhealthy food to tempt you! With so few guests and 116 staff, the level of personalised, professional attention is extremely high, but this isn’t about putting your body in other people’s hands for them to fix. I left armed with a personalised yoga chart, homeopathic remedies, recipes and the reassurance that I could email whenever I wanted. Soukya offers you the support to fine-tune your lifestyle - and then it’s over to you. Soukya International Holistic Health Centre, Whitefield, Bangalore |
