What happens at a traditional Sri Lankan Ayurvedic retreat?

A traditional Sri Lankan Ayurvedic retreat includes personalised holistic healing practices that try to balance the body’s life energies (doshas) with herbal medicine, food limits, and specialised massage work. It usually starts with an in-depth discussion with an Ayurvedic physician, who figures out your physical make-up as well as your mental temperament.

After that, guests enter a fairly strict daily routine, often with Shirodhara, where warm herbal oil is poured in a steady rhythm over the forehead. There are also steam baths flavoured with local leaves, plus synchronised deep tissue oil massages. The whole programme is focused on purging not only the body but the nervous system too, so alcohol, caffeine, and processed foods are strictly not allowed. In their place, you receive ordered medicinal meals that are plant-based.