I recently went to a naturopathy retreat near Mumbai called Nirvana Naturopathy. It is nestled between the Sahyadris on 3 sides and a pristine lake on one side. A sense of calm sets in as you enter the campus. Huge trees provide shade as one walks down the cobbled path lined with many tropical flowering plants. A bird flies by chirping and then you hear many more birds. The stars every night, are bright and clear above the calm lake. The sunset each evening behind the mountains is almost spiritual. The dance of colors that the sun leaves behind; hues of purple, a carpet of orange, a tinge of red, a fading yellow, and a growing blue, all set the sky ablaze. “In the lap of nature”, would be the perfect way to describe Nirvana.
The mornings at Nirvana start when it’s still dark outside.
At 5:00 comes the morning knock, and the guard does not go away till you respond with a good morning.
At 5:30 the Shuddhi Kriyas start which include a bunch of exercises that help in detoxification like Jal Neeti, Oil Pulling, Gargling and more. Any morning stuffiness flies away after these Kriyas.
At 6:30 starts the morning yoga which helps you get ready for the entire day.
At 8:00 am comes breakfast, at noon comes the lunch, at 4 pm comes the evening snacks, and at 7 pm it is dinner time. Depending on your unique blend of health issues will be your unique blend of food. Some people get fruits while others get paneer. The chefs at Nirvana try their best to make healthy food as tasty as possible. Over a week one eats everything from khichdi to tom yup soup, from pani puri to moong ka cheela, from bhindi to broccoli, and if you are lucky you can even be treated to an apple milkshake. I felt the food was always enough and tasty and left me feeling light.
The treatments are from 8:30 to 12:00 and 2:00 to 5:30. Again depending on your underlying conditions you will get a unique prescription of treatments. There are a variety of massages and you are treated like royalty through hot stone massage, full body massage, potli massage, salt-glow massage , de-tan massage, shirodhara and more. Other treatments include steam, sauna, acupuncture, ozone, anema, mud baths, wraps etc. With each passing day, your body relaxes more.
At 5:30 pm is the evening meditation, which was one of my favorites. We sat on the outside deck facing east and once the mediation was over, we were all asked to turn around. Each day we opened our eyes to the setting sun and did tratak.
At 8 pm would be lectures by the doctors.
At 10pm, it was lights out and doors locked.
While everything in Nirvana is worth it, the two things that affected me the most are:
Yoga – I have done yoga before in multiple in-person and online classes. While it always makes me feel good what I experienced at Nirvana was different. I have been trying to touch my toes for years and here, just through a bit of stretching, I was able to achieve it in the first sitting. I didn’t know my body could twist and turn in so many ways and to such an extent. The yoga teacher was excellent and knew how to push one’s limits while still encouraging them. The 30 mins quickly became the most painful 30 mins of my entire day, but also the 30 mins I looked forward to the most. Toward the end, I would go to the yoga hall with a hop skip jump and enter it smiling.
When on the first day I told my teacher that I have a lot of anxiety issues, he told me to just work within my body and not think of the mind. I didn’t believe him then. At the end of a week, I had self-experienced proof in my hand. I felt better in my mind than I have in ages. Somehow the 30 minutes of yoga every day and all the supporting treatments throughout the day, did more for my mental health than any counseling, medication, or meditation has done in the past. I felt more confident in my body and mind. I stood on the ground firmer and walked lighter.
People – In my blogs, people usually are not the good parts. By and large, I see other people as species who I need to protect myself from. They bring in hurt, which I then need to go into nature and isolate myself, to heal from. So when I entered Nirvana, I wasn’t thinking about making friends. Quite the opposite, I wanted to leave from there unscathed. But surprisingly this belief of mine was taken for a toss, wrung, broken, and turned around. I met people from all walks of life and all age groups.
I met a lady who not only radically accepted me for who I am, but found ways to celebrate my simplicity every time she met me (In this mostly materialistic world that runs on outer appearances to find someone like-minded made my trust in my life philosophies stronger).
I met an older lady with whom I shared the unbearable intensity of my PMDD mood swings in passing and forgot about it, only to find out that not only was she intently listening but connected me to one of her friends who was extremely helpful for her in a low phase. Before leaving she gave me little nuggets of wisdom which immediately helped.
I met cancer survivors who shared their stories with strength, acceptance ,and a radiant smile.
I met people who have successfully walked away from their fields of education and are today massively successful in their fields of choosing, from artists to singers to educators.
I met a young girl, dealing with the first blows of life. As I saw her struggle and fall and struggle again to rise, I was reminded of my younger self. Seeing her happy and chirpy as she left was one of the highlights of Nirvana for me.
I met a couple who even in their 60s are one of the youngest couples I have met. They haven’t let their age define their sense of adventure and I felt younger every time I sat with them.
I met another couple who are like fireworks together. While they have been married for multiple years, they still behave like high school sweethearts, cheerful, playful, and loving. They made sure to not leave anyone in the newly formed group behind, not only in loving but also “phirki lene mein”.
I met someone who made sure to pull up a chair for me on an already full dinner table. Not only did they hold space for me at the table but they also held space for me to talk to, to walk, to stargaze, to share anything and everything.
I met someone so friendly and outgoing that whether they miss Nirvana or not, Nirvana will surely miss them.
I met someone, as everybody was going for the sunset lake meditation. I decided not to go as some of my social insecurities had crept up. I had decided to isolate myself and deal with it. But as I went up the deck to watch the sunset, I met someone with whom I could freely discuss the perils and merits of living abroad and we shared a beautiful sunset together. As everyone else returned from their lake meditation I didn’t even remember what my insecurity was about.
Lastly, I met someone so sweet and caring, that they remembered to turn on the main outside power switch every time I walked in my room, poured in Tumeric milk for me as well, as they poured one for themself; remembered to check my schedule along with their own; shared food and life struggles alike and took the time to just sit and look at the night sky.
At Nirvana, I got many more opportunities to share genuine smiles with everyone, from the doctors to the chefs to the staff. Usually around people, I have my guard high up but here within 7 days, my guard melted away without effort. Each moment of the day was filled with tremendous love and caring. I came here to heal physically and mentally but I’m going away with much more powerful emotional healing. I have not felt this alive and even happy in almost the last half a decade.
I realized that there are some people on the planet who can hurt you, but there are many more who are waiting to heal you.
Apart from humans I also met some animals. There is a cat and 3 kittens at Nirvana. The kittens haven’t gotten used to human contact and are shy. As I gave them treats each day they warmed up and mewed at me. Nirvana also has a Gaushala. It is one of the better Gaushalas I have seen. We got the chance to feed and pet multiple cows, see them being milked humanely, and also talk to the baby cows. There are also countless birds, from Sparrows building nests, to mynas, to woodpeckers eating fruit, to the little purple and black birds humming near the flowers. I even saw a snake slithering away into the countless trees.
As I sat ready to leave Nirvana I was very emotional. I wasn’t just leaving Nirvana, I was also leaving Mysore where I had found lifelong friends a decade ago, I was also leaving Atlanta, where half a decade ago I found friends who made life in another country so easy. It felt like I was experiencing the going away of the most cherished days of life simultaneously. Then, I remembered the advice of an old friend – “Don’t be sad that it is ending, be happy that it happened”. I am so grateful to have met people who make goodbyes difficult. I walked out of Nirvana with a thinner waist and a fatter heart.
Resources – https://www.nirvananaturopathy.com/
