The emphasis throughout is on healing through softness rather than force. Friendships and connections often form organically, too. With guests ranging from LA escapees to those at the forefront of climate-change solutions, I found myself among a fascinating, sophisticated and international crew. It was fun to meet at the Alchemy Bar while we made our own sugar-and-orange body scrub and other natural products.
It is impossible to find a bad treatment at Vana; each is its own layered journey, expertly and quietly delivered. The reflexology is powerful and ideal for anyone who is touch-shy but craves full-body benefits. Therapists deliver authentic Ayurvedic massages, which feel especially invigorating after a long flight (beware: you’ll wear a lungi, with little room for modesty unless you opt for more western-style disposable underwear). The Watsu – a ‘back-to-the-womb’ massage in water – is wonderfully muscle-relaxing. It is also worth noting that Vana is the first retreat in the world where therapists have trained at Men-Tsee-Khang, the Tibetan Medical and Astro Institute, and are allowed to practise outside the traditional Tibetan medical setting, with the blessing of the Dalai Lama, who has visited Vana several times. These rare treatments use divinely scented oils, herbs and gentle touch to nurture your energy, emotions and nervous system as much as the physical body.
Each time I come here, I seek out the much-loved and respected Dr Dimple. Calm, kind and astonishingly intuitive, she reads my physical, emotional and mental landscape with striking accuracy. Her insights are often delivered with disarming simplicity. “Exercise is your lifeline,” she told me on my last visit here. On a previous occasion, she observed, “You are not meant for the highway. If you go down there, you will face inevitable crashes. It’s much better for you to stay elevated and up with the satellites. Your antennae are very sensitive and attuned.” I left her care feeling understood and re-aligned; her distilled truths resonated with me long after the needles were removed. Shortly after departure, I received personalised lifestyle notes by email to take home.
Guests can also take home Vana’s exquisite cookbook. The food here is conceived not as a discipline but as intelligent, genuine nourishment based on sustainable, earth-conscious principles. Much of the produce comes from the retreat’s own vegetable and herb gardens, and drinking water is purified on site to eliminate plastic waste. Nature is ever-present and honoured, be it restorative walks in the majesty of the surrounding landscape or immersive excursions to nearby Rishikesh, where guests are taken away from the increasingly commercialised main ashram to witness the evening aarti in a more secret, local setting. It is a reminder that this serene sanctuary remains deeply rooted in a much wider spiritual world that connects earth and people as one.
