If you prefer a bit more secluded yoga practice in the convenience of your own back garden, then check into a Tree House Villa at Shangri-La Villingili which comes complete with its very own yoga pavilion overlooking the tranquil sea.
Best of the Maldives: Yoga – Taj Exotica
My first ever outdoor yoga session in my life was in the Maldives. I had been introduced to the discipline back during my West Africa travels with one lesson in Togo, but then it was 25 years later when Lori and I did the sunrise yoga at Four Seasons Kuda Huraa. I’m not quite an avid practitioner though Lori and I have a weekly lesson. Lori is well into it, has done some special yoga retreats and did several yoga sessions during our last Maldives tour. I always check out the resort spa and scan the treatments and classes on offer in every visit. And I have never come across the range of yoga sessions offered by Taj Exotica.
Taj features and over water yoga and meditation pavilion (see photo above) as well as two breath-taking over-water couple spa suites and the Heat, Hydro and Relaxation Pavilion, with its welcoming sauna, generous relaxation deck and waterbeds.
We have been studying yoga for over a year now and no two sessions are the same. I’m regularly surprised by the entirely new collection of poses that our teacher Vivian Campbell introduces to us each week. Yoga seems to have no end to the variety of not just poses, but also different styles and technique variations. Taj reflects the diversity of this ancient art with its own equally diverse menu of sessions…
- Asana, Prananyama, Mudara, Banda
- Balanced – 90 minutes
- Advanced – 90 minutes
- Abhilaya – 60 minutes
- Advanced Surya Namaskar – 60 minute
- Gentle – 60 minutes
- Dynamic – 60 minutes
- Pranayama – 60 minutes
- ·Shatkarma
- Laghoo Shankhaprakshalana – 90 minutes
- Kunjal Kriya – 55 minutes
- Jala Neti – 45 minutes
- Meditation
- Yoga Nidra – 25 minutes
- Yoga Nidra Advanced – 50 minutes
- Hirdayakasha Dharana – 50 minutes
- Ajapa Japa – 50 minutes
- Antar Mouna – 40 minutes
“Yoga is almost like music in a way; there’s no end to it.” – Sting
Best of the Maldives: Yoga Finish – Thudufushi
I always have thought that the best part of yoga was “Savasana” (ie. “Corpse Pose”). Completely relaxing at the end of a hard session with the aroma of some essential oil. That was until I did a session at Thudufushi.
Lori and I did a session there (offered daily for free). Lori has gotten me into doing yoga in a private session each week. I’ve always preferred “lazy yoga”, aka Thai Massage, where the focus of the treatment is on muscle stretching (in a variety of contorted moves), but you just lie back and relax. My joints have always been a bit tight with all my weight training for sports and now getting older. But Lori insists I practice the yoga because she “doesn’t want to be putting my shoes and socks on for me in my old(er) age”.
Thudufushi holds their yoga sessions right outside their Serena Spa. And at the end of each session, the therapists come out and provide a final, soothing bit of stretching and massaging. Above, spa therapists Nantin and Narcy are working on Lori and Claudia Galeazzi , our yoga instructor.
Namazzzzzste!
10 Smile Inspiring Services
World Smile Day today. And if there is one place in the world that knows how to put a smile on your face it is the Maldives. If the sheer other-worldly aquatic beauty alone doesn’t do it, then the service obsessed resorts will find some special touch guaranteed to get your grin on…
1. SUNGLASS CLEANING – Four Seasons Kuda Hura [ABOVE]
2. FOOT WASHING – One & Only Reethi Rah
3. GREETING MASSAGE – Anantara
4. ICE CREAM SERVICE – LUX South Ari Atoll
5. BIKE RETURN – One & Only Reethi Rah
6. PILLOW MENU – Anantara Kihavah Villas
7. SNACK SERVICE – Gangehi
8. BUTLER BRIGADE – Jumeirah Dhevanafushi
9. TREE MOVING – One & Only Reethi Rah
10. FACE MIST SPRAYING – Kanuhura
Tropical Anti-Depression
This cartoon could have been my wife Lori 20 years ago. We had been living in the UK for a few years at that point and the grey, dreary British winters were taking their toll on her psyche. Eventually, she gave me an ultimatum, “Bruce, either take me on a sunny holiday or put me in psychotherapy. The choice is yours, but might I suggest that either way you are going to pay and you might enjoy the holiday a bit more.” And thus started our nearly annual trips to the Maldives laying the groundwork for Maldives Complete.
Today is National Depression Screening Day 2016 in the USA. So if you have been feeling a bit more down than you probably should be, look out for the many seminars and events being held to provide information and guidance. There many effective ways to address and treat depression these days…even if you can’t make it to the Maldives.
Best of the Maldives: Bedroom Fountain – JA Manafaru
Art can be anything that inspires the senses. We are most familiar with visual art, but gastronomic delights can be truly artistic in the depiction of creative flavours. One medium of art we are especially familiar with is “sound art”. Not music, but actually composing artistic creations out of sounds that may or may not have any music or rhythm whatsoever. Our son, Chase (himself a veteran of a dozen visits to the Maldives with our family) is a sound artist. He recently released a work “Four Points” based on recordings around the UK shoreline. Our playlists are filled with his pieces and others he has recommended.
Most people will have enjoyed sound art in a spa where ambient pieces are often featured to paint a soothing acoustic environment. A common theme in such pieces is the sound of water. Be it gently curling seaside lapping the shore or a trickling brook or even a rainfall, something about flowing water is viscerally calming. Some resorts feature ambient recordings on their in-room sound systems. But JA Manafaru produces a live performance soundscape in their beach suites with a waterfall situated right behind the bed.
The feature reminded me of our recent stay at Shangri-La Villingili. On the second day we had quite an extensive rain shower for a few hours. But, Lori and I just flung open the French doors to the room and took a dreamy nap lying in bed with the sound of warm rain falling a few feet from us.
Best of the Maldives: Mixed Media Bed Art – Anantara Kihavah
The Maldives mattress medium just gets more and more sophisticated. The latest artistic talent to showcase is Anantara Kihavah Villas’ mixed medium artistry (thanks Paola). I’m particularly fond of their use of the pink bougainvillea, the underwater scene is especially a propos, and their towel palm tree is the first I have seen using towels in a pictorial rendition.
These bed decorations are ultimately a form of performance art. As evanescent as the blossoms which compose them.
Best of the Maldives: Swimming Platform – One & Only Reethi Rah
Today is International Frugal Fun Day. When I think of frugal fun, I think of my childhood of bicycling down to the local pond and swimming in the muck filled water. Maybe not the tropical paradise of the azure blue Maldives lagoons, but on a blistering August day just as satisfying. The best part was the raft you swam out to for jumping, diving and just messing about. One and Only Reethi Rah might not be the most frugal resorts (quite the contrary, in fact), but it stills brings that retro-chic nostalgia of a swimming raft. A bit more opulently kitted out with a parasol, lounger and refreshment cabinet.
Best of the Maldives: Mud Bath – Taj Exotica
Mud Pack Day! Yes, I’m not messing with you…it really is. So a skin-soothing shout out to Taj Exotica who have one of the most extensive mud pack treatment on offer at its Jiva Grande Spa. Something dirty to pack into your next Maldivian holiday.
Best of the Maldives: Turkish Refreshment – Ayada
Today is International Coffee Day. And for those who want to celebrate with a cup of extra high test, the quintessence of caffeinated elixir is considered by many aficionados to be the Turkish concoction where the consistency is more stew than broth.
The Turkish even have a traditional saying which underscores the sanctity of this buzzing beverage – “Bir kahvenin kirk yil hatiri vardir.” It means “A cup of coffee commits one to forty years of friendship.” It is used to remind us that friendships should not be taken lightly and we should invest in them for a long term commitment.
And an afternoon refreshment at Ayada’s lounge is just the place to leisurely enjoy that friendship. Packed with Ottoman ottomans and the Turkish delights of Turkish Delight, you can also partake of a wide range of teas and shisha as well.