Our Ayurvedic retreat

  We drove right through Kochi, but left the busy streets behind after Tripunithura. Here the area started to appear a little more rural, with, as far as we could see in the dark, larger houses on more spacious plots. We were also perceptibly heading uphill. After an hour, we were at our destination. We were met by Unni, the owner, and one of his staff. The latter took us to our room. Basic, but with all the amenities. A couch to sit on, a spacious double bed, A/C and ceiling fan, and a bathroom with shower and toilet. The next morning, we would be woken at 6.30am for the seven o'clock yoga session. Goodnight. We drank another glass of the ready-made ‘herbal water’, read a bit in the books we brought, and went to bed.

   Punctually at seven o'clock, the yoga session began. I have done some yoga in the past, but that was about five years ago. And for Simon it was completely new. Of course, we did not want perform less than the youngsters who took the poses quite flexibly, but pretty soon we had to conclude that we were struggling quite a bit. Fortunately, this morning session was mainly one of stretching and breathing. The yoga continued for an hour and a half, and at nine o'clock breakfast was served: semolina porridge with nuts and sultanas. My conclusion after the first yoga session: we would either be fresh as a daisy and reborn on Tuesday, or totally wrecked.

   Later that morning, two more young ladies arrived at Hinterland. They turned out to be from Sweden: Hannah, who has an English father, and Andrea, who is originally from Colombia. They had also travelled around a bit, and had come to India for the wedding of a close friend. At four o'clock, the afternoon yoga session began. This one lasted for two hours. It was not only longer than the morning session, but also quite a bit more challenging (what, even more challenging?!). We had to  tie ourselves in various knots, both arms and legs. In hindsight, we got a bit carried away then. We put too much pressure on our stiff muscles and aching joints. So much so for Simon, in fact, that he decided to skip the morning session at 6.30am the next morning because of pain in his knees. Since the massages gave his knees special treatment, he dared to do it again in the afternoon. But we also adjusted our efforts to our age and stiffness. We cannot -and do not have to- do everything like the other participants who are the same age as our children. And certainly not like Karen, the yoga teacher. She more supple than I have ever been and never will be.

   By listening to our bodies better and monitoring our limits, we managed to participate in the afternoon session without being sore from head to toe afterwards. The last morning we were also able to get up on time and participate again at 7 o'clock. No, wrecked we were not. Nor reborn, but the daily rhythm in Hinterland felt good.

Ayurveda

   Ayurveda is an Indian aproach to life, that has been around for more than 5,000 years, practised mainly in Kerala. It includes yoga (exercise), diet (nutrition), herbal medicine (healing), massages and steam baths (wellness). Different herbs (blends) can be applied in various ways: Internally in the form of tea, potions or pills, and externally in the form of ointment, oil or just the pure plant. The starting point of ayurveda is always the person as a whole being, physically, mentally and spiritually.

   Sunday morning after breakfast, a meditation session was scheduled at 10. This was followed by our first ayurvedic massage. This involves being massaged with warm herbal oil from head to toe. A head massage is also part of it, so my hair got quite oily. Well, here in India, it is not a big deal if your hair gets greasy. In fact, Indian ladies are in the habit of oiling their hair anyway. Then it doesn't frizz and becomes wonderfully soft. I had asked for some extra attention for my stiff shoulder and neck muscles, so I was treated a bit more extensively there. After the massage, we had to let the oil soak in for at least half an hour before we were allowed to shower. Seated in a soft shawl, we had a nice read in our books, and just before the one o'clock lunch, showered extensively with a huge amount of soap to wash the greasiness off the skin a bit.

   We repeated this ritual twice more, with different application, over the next two days. During the second massage, for instance, I was given a supple cotton pillow completely saturated with hot oil on my neck and upper back. This had a fantastically beneficial and relaxing effect. For the first time in a long time (and this includes the time before we went to India), I could move my head without any pain in my neck! Unfortunately, during the evening yoga session, when performing the shrimp pose (prawn pose), I felt the muscles crawling back into their old familiar cramping position.

   Fortunately, I had another massage treatment coming up. In it, I was given a treatment with herbal stamps: various herbs are tied together in a cotton cloth. This is then saturated with hot oil, and this is patted on your body. And also the facial massage with scented rose oil was wonderfully relaxing. And the scalp massage.... never realised that you can create relaxation in that part of the body, too.

   Apart from the massages, an Ayurvedic doctor also came by. With him I discussed my osteoarthritis and the radiating pain in my hips and legs, for which we have not yet been able to find a cause and solution in the Netherlands. Simon talked about the pain in his knees, which was acting up again due to trying too hard at yoga exercises (yes, it is a clear sign that we are getting old). Simon was given various ointments and leaves to relieve his knees. I was given capsules and a potion for the aching joints, and for both of us herbs to help with weight loss (because that is indeed also necessary and helps against the aches and pains). Of these, we have to draw tea every night and drink it on an empty stomach in the morning.

   Everything in ayurveda is pure nature, so we are open to try it. And if it helps against the pain (osteoarthritis is unfortunately not curable), I'll be  only too happy. It seems to me that there's no harm in trying.

   Rainwater is collected in basins in several places on the grounds. But there is also a swimming pool, a fitness garden, a library and you can rent bikes to explore the area. However, the weather was not that great when we were there. Heavy rains caused the paths to turn into little streams (the drainage was good though). As a result, it was also on the cool side, only 25 degrees. Without the sun, it was also just a bit too chilly for us to splash in the pool. And we had our own books with us, so we enjoyed the scarce free time just fine. Nevertheless, the resort was fully equipped.

   When we rode back to St Albert's in the taxi after three nights and days, we were not totally wrecked, thankfully. Unfortunately, not completely reborn either. But enriched by another wonderful experience.