Beyond the ashram, Megan Johnston discovers the growing number of places worldwide devoted to inner calm.
From floating star-gazing to mandala arranging, labyrinthine reflection to shaman ceremonies, the means to relax at resorts and spas are growing more creative and, in some cases, more esoteric.
A new type of meditation retreat is emerging around the world, offering menus ranging from beginners' relaxation classes to short-stay intensive programs. Many go beyond conventional floor-cushion techniques, offering a taste of esoteric practices. Guests are more likely to find themselves perched on an elephant than locked away in contemplation.
The trend is being driven by people reassessing their approach to life in response to global financial pressures, says the German founder of the hospitality group Healing Hotels of the World, Anne Biging.
While Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat, Pray, Love and the subsequent film have generated interest in spirituality and mysticism, overwork and everyday stress are driving the demand for relaxation techniques.
"You don't burn out if you take care of yourself - people are beginning to understand that," Biging says.
Despite meditation's austere roots, she sees a place for it in luxury lodgings that offer wellness packages. "It's not for everyone to spend time in cloisters or in ashrams," she says.
For those who prefer more than a little pampering, few specialised meditation retreats are as lavish as Ananda in the Himalayas. This grand estate and restored palace about 260 kilometres north of New Delhi overlooks the Ganges and combines practices such as mantra, candle, sleep and visualisation meditation with fine dining, palatial accommodation and a menu of 80 ayurvedic, oriental and European body and beauty treatments (anandaspa.com).
Less regal but equally impressive are the sleek grounds of Osho Meditation Resort, a couple of hours' drive south-east of Mumbai. Visitors wear maroon robes and practise active meditations such as whirling, dancing and archery inside the minimalist complex, which features imposing black marble pyramids and manicured Zen gardens (osho.com).
It is one of many hotels that draw on Eastern cultures and beliefs for inspiration.
A one-day Balinese cultural experience at Four Seasons Resort Bali, at Sayan, begins with meditation, then a temple tour and cooking class (fourseasons.com/sayan).
At The Farm on Luzon island in the Philippines, guests learn about the symbolism of mandalas through therapeutic flower-arranging classes, in which petals and leaves are floated in bowls of water (thefarm.com.ph).
Gardens, too, are conducive to contemplation. Many retreats, including The Farm, scatter meditation pavilions throughout their grounds. Closer to home, the Byron at Byron Resort and Spa recently opened a self-guided meditation walk through subtropical rainforest, designed especially to encourage reflection (thebyronatbyron.com.au).
For the archetypal cave experience, at least three retreats have meditation grottos - the Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat in Malaysia, Kamalaya in Koh Samui and the re-named Six Senses Sanctuary Phuket. The latter's cave is large enough for dancing and drumming circles, as well as group chanting, moonlight meditation and sensory meditation (thebanjaran.com, kamalaya.com, sixsenses.com/SixSensesSanctuaryPhuket).
Musical influences are obvious at one of Thailand's best-known health resorts, Chiva-Som, where visiting consultants lead sound and vibration meditation using harps, bowls and tuning forks. Guests at the InterContinental Montelucia Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona, can practise hour-long "hemi-sync" meditation, which uses audio signals to balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain - and, if they dare, they can lose themselves in an outdoor meditation labyrinth (icmontelucia.com).
The obvious destination for spa-seeking animal lovers is Anantara Golden Triangle Resort and Spa in northern Thailand. Its jungle spa experience begins with a 15-minute meditation. Then guests synchronise their breathing with the gait of an elephant while trekking into the rainforest. Yoga poses are practised while seated on the elephant's back, followed by a full yoga session in the jungle and a massage (goldentriangle.anantara.com).
Beginners looking for something simpler will find most health retreats and spas offer introductory classes. Trisara villas in Phuket has seaside meditation lessons for beginners, followed up by take-home self-guided CDs. Children can learn relaxation poses at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles while their parents receive private tuition from a resident yogi. In Cambodia, the traditionally styled La Residence d'Angkor in Siem Reap offers free twice-weekly morning meditation sessions with a monk, and the lush Chedi Club in Bali has free morning meditation with rice-paddy trekking, escorted by a butler.
Longer group retreats, such as those offered at Como's signature Shambhala Estate in Bali, allow the more committed to deepen and develop their practise. In March the resort will host a six-night specialist retreat with morning sessions, evening talks and discussion groups. And at Amanjiwo, an ultra-luxe resort near the Buddhist sanctuary of Borobudur, in central Java, Indonesia, a new annual holistic program includes visits to holy sites, individual consultation, reflection, lectures and journal writing (amanresorts.com/amanjiwo/home.aspx).
Five- and seven-day specialist meditation retreats are held every couple of months in the Hunter Valley at the Golden Door Health Retreat, Elysia. Mindfulness is encouraged during walking, breathing, speaking and eating, combined with top-notch pampering and facilities including a spa, sauna and swimming pool.
Elsewhere in Australia, specialist retreats such as Gaia Retreat and Spa near Byron Bay, Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat in the Gold Coast hinterland, Lake House in Daylesford, Qualia on Hamilton Island and the new Harmony Hill Wellness Retreat and Organic Spa in Margate, a short drive south of Hobart, offer meditation as part of their regular suite of services.
A handful of retreats are introducing meditation into clever spa treatments to enhance relaxation. The W Retreat and Spa Bali, due to open in April, will use meditation as a prelude to its "Bali Bliss" and "Scent Alchemist" massages. Before the bodywork begins, guests will meditate on special platforms and relax in hot-stone baths (starwoodhotels.com/whotels/index.html).
Further afield, spa-goers at Las Ventanas al Paraiso, Rosewood's rustic-luxury resort in Los Cabos, Mexico, prepare for their treatments with a twilight candle ceremony held in an open-air solarium. Guests relax while staff spread sage smoke, recite shaman prayers and ring crystal bowls (lasventanas.com).
At least one group of inventive hotels has devised its own rituals. In the sensory room of the Ritz-Carlton's Spa Village in Kuala Lumpur, guests are encouraged to explore "sounds, sights, smells, tastes and textures" while its sister resort in Bali has a free signature "starlight-gazing" service. Watching the night sky while floating in a pool and listening to a stirring soundtrack is about as luxurious as star-gazing gets.
If all this still sounds like too much effort, consider a new bespoke "sleep-in" and spa treatment package at Bedarra Island Luxury Resort in north Queensland (bedarra.com.au).
Spend a day in blissful seclusion while staff deliver provisions to your door, including a gourmet breakfast, barbecue lunch and canapes and champagne at dusk.
Any more relaxing than this and you'd be doing nothing at all.
