Why Practising Yoga In The Yoga Capital Of The World Feels Otherworldly

The Ganga ghat calls you to stay. To sit under the stars, with the river shimmering black under the night sky; listen to unplugged bhajans, jam along if you like; enjoy the wind in your hair; think nothing, do nothing, and be present in the moment.

Rishikesh is an easy destination to reach for Delhiites. Get into a comfortable car, sit back, relax, and you will reach your destination in no time, with a mandatory dhaba-chai pit stop in the middle. I had been to Rishikesh before, yes, but not for what the place signifies: the "Yoga Capital of the World". This time, however, I came to experience the Rishikesh I had heard so much about, and returned a changed person.

While wellness retreats may seem fancy to some, these are pockets of escape that actually open you up and bring you closer to how you should be. A luxury holiday is often about getting spoilt - you eat all the junk food, stay in bed for as long as you like, and maybe do experimental things that are beyond the scope of your personality.

But a wellness retreat works the opposite way. It teaches you to take a step away from your messy, high-paced lifestyle; to actually take a deep breath (or two or three); calm your mind and pause your racing thoughts; eat the cleanest sattvik food that tastes spectacular; and do things that align you closer to your mind and body. That is exactly what I experienced on this trip.

I stayed at Maharishi Ayurveda Retreat, a cosy wellness resort in Tapovan, Rishikesh. The guiding guru and visionary behind Maharishi Ayurveda is His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ji, founder of the global Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement, whose disciples included The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, and several other high-profile followers.

^{Photo Credit: Maharishi Ayurveda Retreat, Rishikesh}

From yoga sessions to jyotish consultations and from wholesome sattvik food to being within walking distance of the Ganga ghat, the place packs everything under one roof.

During my stay, I took a Vedic pulse consultation, where the Ayurvedic health expert can tell how your body works simply by checking your pulse. This allows them to offer diet and lifestyle consultations that can help you live a happier and healthier life.

^{Photo Credit: Maharishi Ayurveda Retreat, Rishikesh}

I even had a jyotish consultation, where a Maharishi Jyotishi expert prepares your kundali and offers insights about you, your personality, and surprising big and small details about your lifetime - from birth to death. The consultation comes with some tips and suggestions for things to be mindful of in the time to come.

I personally am not much into astrology, for I do not like to delve into my thoughts about knowing and fixing the unknown. So, when I asked Jyotishi ji about the same, he nodded along and said, "Of course, if there will be rain, we cannot stop it for you. But the least we can do is advise you to carry an umbrella when it does." That sounded like wisdom.

^{Photo Credit: Maharishi Ayurveda Retreat, Rishikesh}

For lunch and dinner, I enjoyed the sattvik meals at the retreat - including delicious dal, rice, ragi rotis, sabzis (dry and gravy), salad, curd, buttermilk, gulab jamun, and kheer. Everything was light, comforting, wholesome and flavourful. For breakfast, we had a wholesome South Indian spread, poha, sandwiches, parathas and fresh fruits.

^{Photo Credit: Maharishi Ayurveda Retreat, Rishikesh}

We started the second day early with a yoga session, and although I had not done yoga in ages, I found myself moving effortlessly and gracefully, leaving me amazed by the impact of just 24 hours in Rishikesh on my body. I think it was the vibration of the place and the calming of my mind that resulted in a wonderful alignment that would have been physically impossible for me to achieve otherwise.

Our instructor taught us some easy asanas that really helped open up the body and made us feel more energised. It was the perfect start to the day.

^{Photo Credit: Maharishi Ayurveda Retreat, Rishikesh}

All active and awake, we were craving a chance to dip our hands into the Ganga, and off we went to the ghat, just a short walk away. The water was refreshing, and the spiritual energy was picking up around me and inside me.

Back at the retreat, after a quick shower, we sat in on the Maharishi yagna performance in the mandir inside the retreat. The elaborate and beautiful Rudra Abhishek involves ceremonial bathing of the Shivling with sacred offerings while chanting powerful prayers to Lord Shiva.

^{Photo Credit: Maharishi Ayurveda Retreat, Rishikesh}

After a light and filling breakfast, we left for our massage session - one of the top highlights of the trip. I have had plenty of massages in different spas by now, yet I had never experienced an Ayurvedic Abhyanga massage before, and it was surely on another level.

Masseuses in traditional 5-star spas are often quite careful and gentle, doing their best to make you feel comfortable during the massage. However, in an Ayurvedic massage, while the masseuses were the sweetest, their approach and the massage type and style made me feel like I was a baby being massaged, an Indian tradition many babies go through for its multitude of benefits.

I felt like the Abhyanga massage is what a massage must have felt like as an infant.

It was a four-hand, synchronised full-body massage treatment where the body was wrapped with the finest-quality medicated warm oils, followed by smooth, gentle movements rubbing the oils deeply into the tissues. This massage was therapeutic as well as highly rejuvenating. Different oils were used for the head and body massage.

The massage was followed by a steam therapy to open up the skin pores, enhance oil absorption, and flush out toxins.

At the retreat, we also attended an Ayurvedic cooking class, where we were taught how to make healthy and tasty beetroot quinoa cutlets.

^{Photo Credit: Maharishi Ayurveda Retreat, Rishikesh}

In the evening, we sat down for a beautiful musical session of tablas and flute - soulful music that filled the glass room on the roof of the property as it drizzled outside.

The evening, of course, involved witnessing the beautiful Ganga Aarti.

The trip concluded with a visit to the famous Beatles Ashram. More about it here.

So, the next time you are in Rishikesh, explore the flavour bombs of desi sattvik cooking, walk up to the Ganga ghat, bow down to the Shivling, glow after a massage, and find your way back to yourself.