SWASWARA, GOKARNA UPDATE

My friend Dr Nandita Shah on SHARAN,  sometimes invites me down to Swaswara (www.swaswara.com) to help her with her 21 day retreat on health and disease reversal. My work is to help her plan the meals plus facilitate to maintain the very stringent rules she has on the quality and combination of the whole plant based food diet that she presents to the participants. She also enjoys me tweaking some of my international recipes to make them vegan and to give the menus a “Wow!” factor. Everyone LOVES the vegan pizza!! I dont complain as I have the help of so many chefs!

Swaswara Chefs

Vegan Pizza

Yummy "Be Free"food

Papaya and Mango Parfait

The food at this event is the main focus as the reversal of disease is achieved through a combination of whole plant based foods and a thorough education on the root causes of lifestyle diseases.  This is presented by a faculty of 3-4 teachers of which Nandini Gulati is also my co-author for our Be Free cook based on this style of cooking and eating. Its totally oilfree, sugarfree, lactose free and gluten free( hence the name Be Free)
In the evenings sometimes I take the participants on an Inner Journey through the Inner Silence meditation.

So this year, immediately after my return from Bhutan, I was glad to leave the unbearable heat of Delhi and take a straight flight to Goa. Swaswara’s vehicle was waiting for me as I set off along the Western Ghats, 3 hours south of Goa to the spiritual town of Gokarna.

Gokarna shop merchandise

Brahmins people-watching from their home

Cows and priests make up most of the population here

Something about this 3 hour ride I love. I put my ipod on, took out my tiffin that Lakhan had so lovingly packed for me (as I find it hard to eat airport or airplane food!) and there I was ready for a new experience. I love rural India. Each state, each region, is full of its own unique flavor. Suddenly as the the terrain changes, so does the architecture, the village homes, the language, the street food and even the animals on the roads. The cultural uniqueness of each State is so exciting………

Drivng along the Western Ghats, the rain was pelting down on the thick and lush vegetation of the region. With mountains combined with coconut palms, it was a very verdant journey. Here and there I got glimpses of the sea and passed by several villages with bright coloured churches,  mosques and Hindu temples, a statement of our spiritual melting pot and integration.

Ghat flora

This time there were 27 participants and Nandita and Mini Chandran (the GM) were waiting at the reception to greet me with a welcome drink . It was good to be back. Nandita was happy to see Id lost weight which meant I was following her diet principles!

Swaswara has really evolved into a very authentic Wellness Resort in India since I first came to visit during its inception. Without compromising on its offerings, it prides itself for sticking to traditional Indian methods of healing and is definitely not into compromising for the sake of commercialization. Being a traditionalist and a purist myself, it really speaks to me. Going through their naturopathy and Ayurvedic packages I got tempted to treat myself and signed in for their “Prana” Ayurvedic package for 14 days.

Dr Dayanand, the resident Ayurvedic doctor here, seems to have been here forever. We caught up on our news and I asked if he could help me with my bones and muscles!!! And bingo he knew exactly what I needed. A relaxation first, then a boost to my circulation, he said.  After that he would look at rejuvenation and the opening and flexing of my joints and cells and finally a strengthening of my bones and muscles. Sounded good. I had a fracture sometime ago as well some minor aches and pains, from sitting long hours in transatlantic flights, which needed attention!!

Dr Dayanand and colleague

Next morning I was given my package details and my weight, blood pressure and pulse rate were established. Gentle and graceful Kerala therapists Kesia and Mangala both recognized me from previous years and welcomed me with a prayer to the God of Health, Dhanwantari which they sing in very melodious sweet voices.

I started my first morning with a rejuvenating and relaxing massage with hot medicated oil for an hour. At Swaswara I love their open air bathrooms. This morning as I rubbed the channa scrub on my body to get the oil off I noticed and tree/bush in my bathroom garden with full blown ripe chikoos ready for the plucking.

Chikoos ripe for the plucking

The monsoon had brought with it earthworms, caterpillars and centipedes that were crawling around everywhere.  It was so beautiful to be so close to nature. Even my villa had its own garden space with lemon grass and an orange tree growing in it.

My villa

My main treatment started on the second day with Dhanyamla Dhara which involved pouring hot medicinal water over my body for 1 1/2 hours to prepare my body for detoxification and relaxation. Two days of this treatment supposedly improved my lymphatic circulation and reduced swelling in different parts of my body and also liquified my adipose tissue!

I also began really liking their closure ceremony to each session when they blessed me with a tika on my forehead and offered me some herbal saffron oil to apply over my face with anti-aging and fairness (YES!!) properties.

Meanwhile Naditas programme was getting deeper into the subject of the benefits of adopting a whole plant based diet and also looking at the psychology of eating. Why we eat the way we do, what triggers our eating behaviours, raising our consciouness to be kinder to the environemnt and animals etc. The mornings were filled educational lectures with several references to Western teachers who have pioneered this movement and a very thorough understanding of lifestyle diseases. My co-author for our cookbook, Nandini Gulati dealt with interesting issues like the hunger scale and loving your body.

Lots of cooking classes for the participants were held to help them tweak their favourite recipes to be oil

free vegan.  The evenings were spent watching educational videos and expressing talent in a beautiful paltform of sharing.

The fourth day of my treatment started with Patra Pinda Sweda. This involved strong pounding all over my body with large pouches filled with herbs and dipped in piping hot oil. My body immediately went into shock at the strength of the pounding. I spoke to Dr Dayanand to ask the therapists to reduce the strength of the pounding but he assured me that I would be more comfortable with it the next day and that this strength of pounding was necessary to allow the herbal and medicated oil to open up my blood vessels in order to increase circulation. I wanted to trust the doctor! He explained that this treatment helped all neurological disorders, paralysis, low back ache and that heat and pressure working together benefitted the skeletal muscles improving flexibility and mobility. And so be it!

My herbal pouches

So for the next three days I surrendered to the table and three therapists took over my body. He was right I got used to it and in fact began to enjoy it. My body too felt the impact of this treatment in strange ways. I felt a tingling sensation all over my body throughout the day, I felt nauseous, slightly woozy and wanted to go into my cocoon and rest. I now understood why during Ayurvedic treatments they don’t encourage physical activity and recommend rest and relaxation

On the sixth day, my absolute favourite treatment started.-Thayladhara. Those who are familiar with, and love Shirodhara, imagine your whole body being treated to a hot oil pouring by two therapists on both sides of your body! It is the most beautiful sensual feeling ever. Like a piece of warm silk flowing over your body the treatment allows the oil to penetrate on its own rather than through massage. A third therapist was responsible for keeping the oil at the right temperature.

Thayladhara treatment

This treatment brought my body back to balance and I began feeling normal again. I regained my energy and was totally available to the treatment. All my irritation and doubts about the treatment were gone. How I wouldve loved for this treatment to carry on.......! Dr Dayanand told me this part of the treatment improves circulation to muscles and lubricates the joints thus helping to relieve complaints of arthiritis, osteoarthiritis. Not that I suffer form any of this but at my age its nice to keep all our joints flexed and are circulation flowing.

Meanwhile Dr. Nanditas programme was getting into deeper space with participants reducing, and in some cases, dropping their insulin take, experiencing weight loss, and getting off their medication. The success of the programme was creating a high. Participants were so happy to see their own progress that unbelievable bonds were forming between them whilst sharing their experiences. Some started swimming after 15 years, others climbed hills during the walks. It was lovely to see such joy.

After three days of Thayla Dhara, we started the Shastika Shali Pinda Sweda . This is a process of sudation where a special rice called Nyavara is cooked in herbal decoction and milk ( in my case fresh coconut milk was used) and the bolus was packed with this rice and further dipped in hot herbs and coconut milk before applying over the body.
At this stage my body was ready  for some physical emaciation and generally was ready to have my muscles and joints strengthened.

This time the pouches were not hitting hard on me but rather slow long strokes were rubbing my body down creating a gooey "kheer" like decoction on the table which felt much like being treated with a creamy "payasam"!!!! Nonetheless the oil form the coconut milk lubricated my skin and left it feeling smooth and soft.

I call it the "payasam"treatment!

After  four days of SSPS  I was all set to handle my busy travelling life again.  My body felt totally rejuvenated, my skin felt well hydrated and soft and my energy level soared.

Nandini and I created a "Swoscars" night for the participants as a farewell dinner celebration. I created a special vegan menu with chocolate ice cream as a dessert and Mini, of Swaswara decorated the place with beautiful greenery from the gardens of the resort.

Recheda Potatoes

Goodbye Swaswara

It was hard to leave this beautiful experience!

Id like to thank Dr Nandita Shah, Mini Chandran and Shilendren M of Casino Group for all their support. And do I have any recommendations? None at all. Its a great place perfect for what it stands for.