Wellness goal · Care considerations
Post-viral fatigue retreats
“I was ill six months ago and I still am not right.”
After illness
What to know before you choose
Convalescence used to be a recognised stage of getting better. This is the part of the tradition worth reviving.
Read more about after illness
The Ayurvedic rejuvenation programmes were built substantially for this: people who were no longer ill and were not yet well. That intermediate state has almost disappeared from modern medicine, which discharges you and expects you to resume, and a great many people never quite do.
The correct programme here is a rebuilding one — rasayana in the Ayurvedic system — and the mistake, made constantly, is to book a purification instead. A depleted body has nothing to spare for a detox and comes home worse.
Pacing is the whole discipline. The good houses will hold you back rather than push you, and the guests who do best are the ones who let them.
Where to stay
Houses suited to this kind of journey
Programme approaches
The traditions that address it
What to expect
What a programme for this actually does to your fortnight
A good trip starts with realistic expectations — these are the routines you are likely to meet.
- 01
A programme that is lighter than you wanted, deliberately.
- 02
Rest scheduled as treatment, and a physician who will cancel a session if you look tired.
- 03
Graded activity — a little more each day, and stopped before you reach your limit rather than at it.
- 04
A strengthening diet rather than a restrictive one.
- 05
A slow return plan for home, because the relapse usually happens in week three back at work.
Questions