by JayasankaranKK
This AI-generated image is for illustration
It was my cousin who gave Rebecca the idea.
Meera had spent two weeks at an ayurvedic retreat in Kerala, India and returned extolling its benefits.
My wife thought we should make the trip as well.
Kerala looks a lot like Malaysia, except it’s about 19 degrees in the morning, after which the temperature climbs steadily to 33 degrees by noon. As there’s little cloud cover, it’s dry heat that can make your head spin.
Even so, the temperature begins falling after 4; but then again, it was January – we are told it gets brutal in July.
The place encompasses 14 acres, a lot of which is still being developed. When we got there, the guests were mostly foreigners (Ukrainians, surprisingly). By the time we left, the guests were mostly Indians but from various countries – the US, the UK, Malaysia and the like.
The place is meat—and alcohol-free. It uses only vegetable salt—10 times less sodium than table salt—and hardly any oil in cooking.
Anything processed is a no-no and only ancient grains like millet are used instead of flour. Milk, even yoghurt, and other dairy products are frowned upon.
Nothing is mandatory so, after two days, we skipped the early-morning martial arts exercises and went for walks around the place. We were almost always accompanied by the retreat’s dog – an amiable mutt called Princess – and two courteous guinea fowl that seemed determined to make up for an ill-tempered goose that was prone to homicidal fits of rage if approached closely.
On those walks, we noticed that the place grew its own food. Or tried to.
Certainly, there was all manner of fruit – papaya, jackfruit, mango, banana, breadfruit, watermelon, etc.
The meditation and yoga classes before breakfast were always interesting because, at the very least, they stimulated our appetites. We also learned how to “breathe” properly.
Every day, we had our weight and blood pressure monitored by a doctor – there were three in attendance. What was surprising was that both began dropping, after two days in my case.
Indeed, I went off my regular BP meds on the doctor’s advice because my readings became too low (95/65). For the rest of my stay, I was entirely off meds and my readings were either normal or slightly low.
Rebecca has always had low blood pressure so it wasn’t a problem. It’s a family joke that when she’s stressed in her job, her BP climbs to “normal.”
Through a screening method that seemed inexplicable to me, we were given different modes of detoxification which, to put it delicately, necessitated numerous trips to the bathroom.
The results were amazing. Both of us lost a significant amount of weight: Becky lost over 3 kg while I lost about 4.3 kg. One suspects a lot of that might have been water but we both looked and felt better.
The record weight loss in two weeks there, however, belonged to a guy from Tamil Nadu but it was pointed out that he had a stomach the size of a small country: you could say it was the base effect.
Neither of us are early sleepers but I was generally asleep by 9 every night there. Becky usually reads until 10 or so but both of us were up by 5.30 every morning. For me, anyway, this was a one-off. It hasn’t happened since.
And, lest we forget, the treatment also consisted of over an hour of daily massage. In my case, it was done by two men who pounded on me using enough medicated coconut oil to float a tanker or two.
It was only embarrassing the first time but the matter-of-fact manner in which they worked soon dispelled any discomfort.
The hot bath that followed made me relaxed and sleepy and my skin felt a lot better.
The problem now is maintenance. It’s trying to hold on to those gains in the face of Malaysian food.
And I think I’m losing.
WE