From The Latest Issue: Your Body Needs A Holiday

I was in Rishikesh. The water was freezing, and as I lowered myself into an ice bath, my brain seemed to stop working for a minute. The usual noise of work, deadlines and everyday life seemed to fade into the background. I was entirely in the present. This was at Shoonya, the “Festival of Nothingness,” where the initial shock of the ice gave way to an unexpected clarity. By the time I stepped out, I was surprised by how calm and grounded I felt.

The experience made me wonder what spending more time in environments like this could do for our mental and physical well-being. Most of us know that the traditional 9-to-5 is largely a myth. Work spills into evenings, weekends and holidays, while our phones ensure we remain connected long after we have left our desks. A weekend away can offer a pause, but a pause is not necessarily a reset. A massage or a quiet night in a luxury resort may help us unwind, but what happens when we return to the same routines that left us exhausted in the first place?

This is where the idea of wellness travel is beginning to change. For many travellers, it is no longer enough to simply get away; they want to return home feeling better equipped to handle life. Travellers are seeking Ayurveda and yoga retreats, sleep programmes, forest walks, digital detoxes, movement-led holidays and immersive experiences that go beyond relaxation to encourage recovery, restoration and healthier habits.

A Holiday That Changes Your Habits

Rita Gupta, 60, and her husband, Bijoy Gupta, 63, a lawyer from Birpara in West Bengal, have experienced this change firsthand. They have travelled across the US, Europe, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, but wellness centres in India offered something they had not found in conventional holidays.

Their first experience was at Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Ayurvedic Science and Research Hospital on Kanakapura Road in Bengaluru, after Bijoy began experiencing back and shoulder problems and Rita struggled with gut issues. The programme included massages, Panchakarma, enemas and Ayurvedic medication. They returned feeling better and decided to try another approach.

At Patanjali in Gurugram, the experience was more intensive. Their days began at 4am with herbal drinks and yogic practices, followed by yoga, mud packs and treatments. Food was tailored around different ailments, while therapies included steam baths, acupuncture, acupressure and other traditional techniques.

The real impact of these experiences was visible in their everyday habits afterwards. “We became more disciplined and sincere in daily exercise,” said Rita. “We learnt self-control where food is concerned and became aware that nothing is more important than our health.”

That may be the most significant distinction between a wellness retreat and a conventional holiday. The objective is not necessarily to return home feeling pampered, but to return with a greater awareness of how you live. According to Hyderabad-based Mordor Intelligence, a market research and advisory firm, India’s wellness tourism market is expected to grow from USD 28.87 billion in 2025 to USD 43.76 billion by 2031. The growth reflects rising interest in Ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy and mental wellness, building on India’s long-standing tradition of holistic health.

The New Rules Of Wellness

Today's wellness traveller is also becoming more conscious about what a holiday is expected to achieve. Rishabh Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of The Wellness Co., sees this as a shift from wellness as an indulgence to wellness as an investment.

“People are looking for results,” he said, whether that means better energy levels, improved sleep, stress management or weight management. The emphasis, he believes, is increasingly on what a person can take back into everyday life.

This is where the distinction between a spa break and restorative travel becomes clearer. A spa treatment can certainly be part of a wellness journey, but preventive wellness asks bigger questions: Why am I constantly exhausted? How am I sleeping? What am I eating? Am I moving enough? What habits are contributing to the way I feel?

Personalisation is becoming central to this approach. At The Wellness Co., Jain said wellness experiences are increasingly designed around an individual’s health, lifestyle and goals, combining diagnostics, nutrition, exercise and recovery therapies. Modern modalities such as Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), red-light therapy and cryotherapy are being placed alongside more familiar wellness practices. Rather than positioning ancient and modern approaches as competing systems, wellness destinations are increasingly exploring ways to complement one another.

“There are no miracles when it comes to longevity,” said Jain. A retreat can provide the structure and expertise to begin making changes, but meaningful recovery requires consistency once the traveller returns home.

That idea is echoed by Abhilash K Ramesh, Executive Director of Kairali Ayurvedic Group. At Kairali, the focus has traditionally been on therapeutic Ayurveda, but the growing interest in prevention has led to shorter wellness and rejuvenation programmes as well. The shift reflects a larger change in how people think about health. Instead of waiting until something goes wrong, travellers are increasingly using wellness stays to assess their lifestyles, understand their bodies and make changes.

According to Ramesh, the average length of stay at Kairali has risen from around 9.9 days to approximately 12.3 days, suggesting that guests are increasingly willing to devote substantial time to their wellbeing rather than squeezing wellness into a weekend.

The Value Of Subtraction

Restorative travel, however, does not always require diagnostics or intensive therapies. Sometimes, the most powerful intervention is simply removing the noise. Sundeep Bhatia, Co-founding Partner of Delhi-Fun-Dos.com, which is a popular food, travel, and lifestyle blog focused on Delhi, travelled to Dharamkot in Upper Dharamshala for a 10-day Vipassana retreat after a difficult period in his life. The experience involved silence, no gadgets, simple food and almost 10 hours of meditation each day. It was an extreme form of digital and sensory detox, but what Bhatia discovered was the value of doing less. Away from notifications, conversations and the pressure to document a trip, even small details of the natural world became more noticeable.

At a naturopathy retreat in Himachal Pradesh, Bhatia later found a different kind of reset. His days were structured around customised food, yoga, oil massages, mud baths and meditation. The programme helped him understand how closely his sleep was linked to his lifestyle and an overactive mind. He returned with a greater awareness of his diet and routines, and began sleeping better.

This is perhaps where restorative travel finds its strongest purpose. The destination provides the pause, but the real value lies in what happens after. The appeal of restorative travel, then, is not simply that it allows us to escape. It creates a temporary environment where healthier choices become easier.

The best wellness holiday may therefore not be the one that leaves us feeling like a different person after a week. It may be the one that sends us home with a better understanding of how we want to live.

Where To Go, Depending On What You Need

• Sri Sri Ayurveda Hospital, Bengaluru: Ayurveda-based treatment alongside modern medical facilities, including specialised cancer care. srisriayurvedahospital.org

• Jindal Naturecure Institute, Bengaluru: Drugless naturopathy with yoga, diet therapy and natural treatments for lifestyle and chronic conditions like diabetes, obesity and arthritis. jindalnaturecure.in

• The Wellness Co. Retreat, Karma Lakelands: Preventive health programmes with diagnostics, nutrition and therapies including cryotherapy, HBOT, etc. karmalakelands.com/the-wellness-co-retreat

• Kairali Ayurvedic Group, Kerala: Ayurvedic programmes covering concerns like stress, digestive health, and musculoskeletal issues. kairali.com

• Dhamma Sikhara, Dharamkot: A 10-day Vipassana course involving silence, meditation and a technology-free routine. dhamma.org/en/schedules/schsikhara

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