THE Retreat

Yoga, meditation and divine healing in a blessed corner of Punjab. Maybe this is what the world needs right now.

- AMIT DIXIT

The ALARM BEEPS AT 5AM.

The Punjab winter is punishing. The shower, thankfully, is warm. At 5.45 am, we emerge from our cottages, and walk under a still-dark sky studded with stars to the meditation room. It’s unlit, cosy, like some primal womb. Blankets have been provided and we warm up with some breathwork before settling down for yog nidra—a conscious, guided relaxation of the body where the mind remains alert and aware throughout—followed by a round of meditation. By the time we finish, the sun has risen. The soul is nourished. Now the body must be attended to. So, there’s yoga, followed by a piping hot breakfast (oh, those veg cutlets). After a break, there’s a round of pranic healing.

In the evening, almost the same routine is repeated.

It’s really as simple as that. Or is it? Inside the mind are a million mad thoughts. Voices that refuse to shut up. Visions more persistent than your Instagram feed. Meditation? Easy yet difficult. Luckily, there’s help at hand.

Location,

LOCATION, LOCATION

I was in Hoshiarpur—a scenic, rural corner of Punjab within kissing distance of the Bhakra Nangal Dam in Himachal Pradesh— at Citrus County Firdaus, a chic homestay noted for its large-hearted Punjabi hospitality (the good effects of which you then work off by cycling, etc in the nearby forests and ravines). Every few weekends, the farm stay transforms into the site for a yoga and meditation retreat conducted by Divine Soul Yoga, an entity backed by the corporate might of the Hoshiarpur-based Sonalika Group.

* Set at the foot of the Shivaliks, Hoshiarpur is the citrus bowl of Punjab