The Theory Of Everything

What happens when christina ko’s typical resort retreat becomes a jam-packed holiday to heal mind, body and spirit

THE PLAN WAS SIMPLE: to park myself somewhere under the sun and to move my body only in the interest of achieving an even roast. Exercise? My stomach, perhaps, digesting all the delicious island delights.

Distance and cost have long rendered the Maldives a destination for honeymooners looking for that once-in-a-lifetime splurge, but as airlines make the atolls more accessible, and hotel groups expand their footprints in the area, so too have the offerings become more diverse, catering to the ultra-rich who see the Maldives as simply another weekend getaway.

That’s why the folks at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa have different ideas to mine: you-must-try-everything ideas.

The Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong gets me there late in the evening, and my schedule – laid out in my perfectly appointed and newly renovated one-bedroom Water Villa accommodation – makes it seem like relaxation is not on the agenda. Breakfast is pencilled in for 7.30am, and at 9am we have yoga.

Yoga is what I do on my lunch hour, between work meetings. It’s hardly the first thing I want to do upon my arrival in paradise. But this is yoga on the water – on a stand-up paddle board, to be exact. It’s hard on the core, but not hardcore, and given the punishment for losing your Warrior II stance is a plunge in the ocean, it’s kind of fun, too.

Not as fun, perhaps, as the subsequent spa session, a Kuda Huraa Healing Waters massage, in which you are laid face up and rather sacrificially on cushions filled with warm water, facing the ocean, while a therapist kneads you into submission. The spa menu suggests it will “leave your spirit floating”, and while I’m not so in touch with my spirit self that I can verify that, after 60 minutes cradled in a water bed that takes the form of my silhouette, my body is definitely floating on cloud nine.