VIVEK SAHNI: CEO- Kama Ayurveda
I’ve been to many places that have resonated with me, but the most recent has been Vana in Dehradun. I’m not really a spa junkie, but I had heard great things about this wellness retreat.
Vana
In need of a few days of quiet before getting back to work after New Year’s celebrations, I decided to visit alone (a first for me). I arrived in time for dinner and ate by myself in the dining hall.
The dining area at Vana
The next day, my wellness programme began. After a Buddhist meditation session, a lady came and sat next to me at morning tea and introduced herself. She was a gastroenterologist from the US, who was working on natural ways to heal the gut. Soon, another lady joined us. I learnt that she and her husband had been in skincare for 30 years. One evening, out of the blue, a friend of mine told me that the head of the Chinmaya Mission was at Vana, and I was lucky enough to meet him. We discussed Vedanta, and it was illuminating: I discovered a whole new way of meditating. We had conversations about beauty, skincare, and natural healing techniques for the stomach.
Poultices
By the end of my stay, I had had so many wonderful experiences— both physical and mental, and mostly unexpected. Vana is beautiful; it is a healing space, not just a spa. Its treatments (I tried a Tibetan one for the first time) are fantastic and the food, delicious. I realised that it is possible to sit for dinner at 7pm and not get up until 10pm, and talk without the need for a drink or anything else. It was truly an extraordinary time.
