Ayurveda, an Indian health philosophy more than 5,000 years old, is in the midst of a renaissance. Ayurveda seeks to balance mind, body and spirit through food, yoga, meditation and treatments. Reinvented by the current explosion in spa and health tourism, its potions, decoctions and cures can be found almost anywhere, from the shelves of the Body Shop to a beach resort in Mexico.
But it is in Kerala, a long strip of tropical lushness at the base of the Indian landmass, that the real revival is happening. Like coconuts sprouting after the monsoon, a flood of ayurvedic resorts have opened in Kerala. Plush, palatial and catering specifically to foreigners, the resorts offer tourists the chance to experience the health discipline at its source.
Although born in the Himalayas, it was in this tiny southern province that ayurveda evolved and is still practised en masse. Calmer, greener and less ruffled than the rest of the country, Kerala's cardamon-scented hills contain a myriad of plants used in ayurvedic preparations.
Like India herself, the treatments can be a little weird, but are always wonderful. Herbal smoke is blown through a coconut shell to cleanse ears, steam baths are taken in Tardis-like capsules and foot massages are performed by a therapist who hangs from a rope. What about a rice-pudding wash? Or the ultimate in blissful spa therapy - shirodhara - where warm herbal oil is poured over the forehead in a rhythmic stream?
Traditionally, these treatments were the domain of sanatoriums lining the misty slopes of the Western Ghats, claiming to cure anything from cancer to paralysis, aiding weight loss or slowing down the ageing process, all holistically, but with time and infinite determination. Ayurveda is not about quick-fix solutions: doctors say even the Rejuvenation-Detoxification course takes at least three weeks, during which time the patient must stay out of the sun, out of air conditioning, out of the bar and on a strict diet of meditation, gentle yoga and easily digested food. And the process must be annual.
'But any practice is good practice,' says Dr Sreenarayan from Kairali Ayurvedic Resort near Palakkad. 'A few days is not ideal, but it does give the guest a taste of what true holistic living is like.' Repackaged for foreign palates, ayurveda can be taken in relative luxury and in accord with busy lifestyles. 'The most important element for any health resort is to de-stress the guest,' says Sreenarayan. 'That's more than half the job.' He says stress and the bodily strain caused by eating the wrong food, constant air travel, too much or too little exercise, pollution and so on are the primary causes of disease.