Cocoa Beach is a magical composition of cool lake side bandas filled with scents of herbs and spiced oils and that fresh air swept off the lake. It’s the instant remedy for total relaxation. Taking the massage touch one step further, Cocoa Beach offers Eastern Ayurvedic therapies and western-based wellness massages packed for everyone. “Health is an important aspect of our busy lifestyles today,” says Josh the resident entertainment manager, as he introduces me to the hotel spa.
Ayurvedic massage dates back 5000 years, on the same time span that the ancient Egyptians built their architectural wonders, the pyramids. In the same sense of great pioneering works, anything ayurvedic is one of the most precise and studied sciences of ancient times.
In the books of the old sages, ‘ayur’ means life and ‘veda’ means knowledge or science. Together, ayurveda translates into the science of life.
One of the strongholds of ayurvedic therapy is Kerala province in India where people flock looking for alternative health solutions. Introducing the ayuvedic therapies at Cocoa Beach are the husband and wife duo from Kerala, Nimro and Nuren Bindra.
I’m really happy walking in the reflexology pool, filled with pebbles shining in the water sandwiched with the sea and sand. The pebbles massage the soles of the feet, stimulating the nerves to work better. All the body’s nerves pass through the feet and hands. One of the easiest ways of getting your nerves working on par is by prodding the areas connected to the body organs and walking barefoot on the sand or stones. It’s not an instant therapy but one that becomes a lifestyle of good habits.
Ayurveda is a deep science. At the core of it is that every individual is compost of the five elements – akashs (sky), vayu (air), agni (fire), jala (water) and prithvi (earth). Every atom in our body is a composition of the five elements which combine into three basic energies which give us our personality traits. The three energies or ‘doshas’ are vata (air), pitta (bile), and kapha (phlegm) which have to balance for us to be healthy. Things within our reach which ayurveda stresses upon are food and diet, and exercise besides letting go of anger, fear and stress.
“Ayurveda,” explains Nimro “is long-term process of treating the whole person. Anything can be treated by ayurvedic therapy, even paralysis. But it takes time and dedication.”
Accompanied by his wife, Nuren, the duo treat holiday makers at Cocoa Beach with everything ayurvedic. I go in for the Oriental Bliss – a combination of an Indian head massage, Abhyangam and reflexology.
The two-hour spell of gentle strokes with a herbal treatment oil is so good I don’t want it to stop. Next I’m put in a specially made cabinet with a herb-made infused vapour drifting around the body and then something so relaxing that everyone should try it out once, is the warm oil pouring out of the casket hanging above the head.
That evening my appetite whetted, we take the five course gourmet meal under the stars on the sandy beach. The sumptuous beach-meal of ngege, followed by a coconut and fish soup and then the ice cold lime sorbet to clean the palette readies the appetite for the main dish of a red snapper topped with jumbo prawns. The last bit of space left is filled with ice cream and banana in cinnamon. The night is still young when we hit Coco Bar for some Karaoke and a nice little walk to the edges of the lake to digest some of the night’s feast.
It’s time to head back to the city but not before I go in for a face massage, which is truly the best seller here. In minutes, everything evaporates from the brain and relaxes the face muscles as Nuren strokes in the fragrant essential oil and finishes off with a coconut back scrub. It’s hard to tear myself away from the spa.
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