LLM – Luxury Lifestyle Magazine writer Bindu Gopal Rao discovers a retreat where you can connect with yourself holistically and make the most of “me time”.
Driving from Ahmedabad’s airport to Nimba Nature Cure is well over an hour and the highway is dotted with greenery and lots of colourful bougainvilleas. As I arrive into the 30-acre retreat, there is a sense of calm and quiet that is unmissable. The name Nimba incidentally comes from a proverbial tree believed to give you perfect health.
Holistic health
I am welcomed at the retreat by Richa Agnihotri, chief business officer, who makes me comfortable with a glass of fresh watermelon juice. “What makes this retreat different is that we not just focus on the body and the mind but also on the soul. Hence we have a lot of techniques like past life regression that helps people deal with the excess baggage they are carrying unknowingly from their past lives.”
I am also handed over a welcome note that has a list of the timings of the various activities as well as restaurant and library hours. There is also a daily schedule of activities – some are recommended and others compulsory for you to follow. Outside food is a strict no-no and in case you have any packaged food, you will have to discard it at the reception (your bags are checked for it).
The idea is to follow a disciplined regimen that focuses on your health and is customised per your requirements. While the minimum stay at the retreat is seven days, you can also check it out for three days to understand what it entails and sign up again at a later stage. Typically, people come in with the objective of relaxation, weight loss or detoxification, but there are several others that largely come here for lifestyle disease management.
The retreat also offers advice on how these lifestyle changes can be made part of your daily life once you go back home so that the health issues do not reoccur. A personalized consultation is offered to each guest post which an entire custom treatment is designed based on the objective as well as the current health condition. These treatments include naturopathy, Ayurveda, yoga and other holistic wellness treatments.
The retreat
There are 48 cottages that are spread across the retreat and these are available in three categories – Amukha, the base category that has a set of three cottages in each block, Sumukha, the mid-level category that has also a set of three cottages in each block and Pramukha the super deluxe category that has individual cottages that have a foot massager and Wi-Fi facility in the room.
I stayed in Sumukha and the room has not one, but three balconies surrounded by trees. Being an avid birder, I was thrilled to see bulbuls, drongos and sunbirds from my balcony itself. The rooms are furnished simplistically and have an attached bathroom as well as amenities like a television and kettle. However, this is not a place where caffeine is encouraged so you have special herbal teas and a night special tea as part of the in-room amenities.
All meals including a snack at 4pm is at the inhouse diet center (this is how the restaurant is called) Annapoorna. Food is an important aspect of the wellness philosophy at Nimba and hence the food is largely organic with much of the produce coming from the in-house organic farm. All meals are simple and wholesome vegetarian fare that includes whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables.
Guests with specific health conditions like diabetics are given a separate diet as per the doctor’s instructions. Likewise, during your consultation if you have specific diet needs, they are also taken care of say for instance if you want a Keto diet or a gluten free diet.
The experience
When you are at Nimba, it is important to immerse yourself into the schedule here. While this may seem slightly harder on the first day of the stay, you will find your mind and body adapting to the pattern and help you achieve the wellness goal you are seeking. The range of treatments offered includes Raga therapy, a music-based treatment where the in-house expert actually sings for you as well as a variety of yoga therapies like aqua yoga, power yoga and therapeutic yoga.
The fundamental premise of the center lies in naturopathy that relies on using the power of nature for holistic healing. There are regular physiotherapy sessions too as well as Ayurvedic treatments that are done by expertly trained masseurs using traditional oil. The center also offers many kinds of restorative care treatments that address respiratory disorders, gastro intestinal disorders and Muscular Skeleton disorders.
Hydrotherapy is also offered as part of the treatment options for guests that need these specific treatments. The whole idea of the space is to give yourself a platform to reconnect yourself with nature and spend time with yourself. After all health is wealth.
Factbox
Address: Ahmedabad – Patan Highway Rd, Baliyasan, Gujarat 382732, India
Phone: +91 83473 13333
Website: nimba.in
Images courtesy of Nimba Nature Cure
