While Ananda’s main draw is its extensive Ayurvedic program, practitioners here also utilize a wider range of therapies. During my five-day tasting period (depending on your goals, a seven-day stay is recommended, , or 21 days ), after an introductory session with Dr. Chandan, the spa curates a custom schedule of massages, yoga, physical therapy, mental health therapies, facials and even hot oil baths. Early in the door, Dr. Chandan and I discussed my dosha: the energy that affects our personal well-being, which is the foundation of Ayurveda. (If you happen to be interested, I’m pitta, which means – much to my disappointment – that the Ayurvedic diet encourages me to avoid excessive consumption of spices, pickles, alcohol Or caffeine, also known as my primary food group.)
Photo: Maxime Coquard
The treatment assigned to me expanded to TCM – I have acupuncture , Cupping and Moxibustion – traditional Tibetan techniques, as well as more modern hypnotherapy, Reiki and physical therapy. Each treatment begins and ends with ritual chanting (usually in Sanskrit) and a dab of mystical spice applied to the crown of the head. The ceremony is not related to a particular religion or teaching, but serves as an example of Ananda’s dedication to eudaimonia, which is Aristotle’s simple “living very good” principle. Call it a hodgepodge of equal opportunity in health.
212121
