“Do What Makes You Happy”

SHAPE deputy editor, Jay Jayaraj, talks about her relationship with yoga as she reviews the Chateau Spa and Organic Wellness Resort at Berjaya Hills.

Three days and two nights at the Chateau Spa and Organic Wellness Resort at Berjaya Hills in Pahang, away from the daily city-life commotion. Relaxing spa treatments at the La Sante organic spa. Organic food for your meals. The highlight? This property has a no-child (below eight) policy so you can truly savour your break.

Sounds like a getaway I don’t want to miss. And then, I see the ‘catch’ in the itinerary for this Wellness Gateway Spa Package review; four yoga sessions in three days! That means I have one in the evening on the day of my arrival, two sessions the next day, and one in the morning before my checkout on the third day. Now, I’m an active person, and so the yoga sessions, which are technically workout sessions in my book, shouldn’t put me off. But it this review obligation does bother me.

Keeping an open mind

I have a love-hate relationship with yoga. I love the dreamy idea of the mind-body healing that it presents. In fact, I’ve read quite a bit to know that yoga benefits are indeed real. Testimonials from friends and acquaintances on how yoga has helped them to be better at what they do, are also reasons why I still have some hope left in me; that one day, I’d be able to truly embrace this ancient Indian practice without judgement. In practice though, it’s one of the hardest things I’ve done. Yoga tires me out deeply, and completely. And, by the end of a session – or even half way through it, I often find myself regretting my choices, and even get a tad cranky! I hate that I’m not feeling that ‘freedom’ my yoga-warrior friends experience. But, I also hate building that barricade to my movements and thoughts during a session, simply because it doesn’t make me feel like myself. So, four yoga sessions aren’t enticing.

The property