Visitors will need to forget the idea that yoga should be hot or fast or dynamic to get the most from Ananda. The word means bliss in Sanskrit, and early-morning classes take place in a wooden pavilion in silence. Convinced that each of us can achieve wellbeing if we are given the right tools and space, hotelier Ashok Khanna and his wife Neelam spent a decade searching for a location that would facilitate their message.
In the foothills of the Himalayas, with the silver ribbon of the Ganges glinting below, they found a maharaja’s palace surrounded by 100 acres of sal forest. It was in these hills that hatha yoga is said to have originated, while Ayurvedic medicine has been practised here for millennia. At the marbled spa, there’s a gym, sauna, steam rooms, a cold plunge pool, foot bath, 25 dark-wood therapy rooms and staff so attentive that a fresh towel envelopes you each time you emerge from water. A wellness journey begins with a trip to an Ayurvedic physician, who checks the pulse of each visitor to gauge their dosha (one of three body types identified by the Ayurvedic system: vata, pitta and kapha), adjusting their plan accordingly.
The prescription, which covers everything from the herbs and oils used in the spa to the food eaten in the restaurant, is sent to all the people you will come into contact with – but staff will turn a blind eye to those who pluck something from the pudding table. Ayurvedic treatments are both pampering and toe-curlingly intense. Each one begins with a ritual foot wash and sung prayer. Designed to regulate sleep patterns, abhyanga, a strange and sensuous four-hand massage, involves two therapists working on the body at once. Meanwhile, during choornaswedana, the body is pounded with hot poultices to eliminate toxins. They are balanced with daily meditation sessions, plus unmissable yoga nidra with Sandeep Agarwalla that takes you to another form of consciousness.
