Loving ayurveda at a hilltop hideaway with DATU Wellness in Italy
Lucy Gillmore reviews an ayurveda retreat in Tuscany, where she discovers dreamy views, a holistic smorgasbord and how to let her heart rule
Winding up a steep, tree-lined track in the dark to a lantern-lit hilltop hideaway in Tuscany was a magical start to what I hoped was going to be a gentle ayurvedic reboot. Dropping my bag in my room I was ushered back across the cobbles to the dimly lit dining room, where groups of poncho and pyjama-clad guests were slurping soup and chatting animatedly in a mixture of languages.
“Datu was so much more than an ayurvedic retreat. Each day was topped and tailed with light sadhana and the sleep ritual, but in between there was a changing programme of meditation, chanting, sun salutations by the pool and breathwork, interspersed with spa treatments”
A decade ago, like many in the West, ayurveda, to me, meant luxurious spa treatments not an ancient Indian philosophy and 5,000-year-old, tried-and-tested natural health system. I had happily dabbled in ‘ayurveda-lite’ until, wanting to delve deeper, I’d travelled to India for a Panchakarma, a hardcore ayurvedic cleanse in Kerala – with not a Scooby about what I was letting myself in for.
So, when I heard about this one-week ayurvedic retreat in a fairy-tale medieval 'borgo' in the Tuscan hills, allowing time-poor Westerners to experience Eastern spirituality and healing without having to get on a long-haul flight - it sounded like the perfect middle ground and, for me, it was the chance for a much-needed refresher course.
That first night I skipped the sleep ritual, a guided meditation, after supper, wanting to settle into my room and unpack after the long journey. Scattered through the restored honey-hued stone buildings of this 12th-century hilltop village, rooms are typically Tuscan in style with terracotta tiled floors, shuttered windows and a smattering of antique furniture, many with dreamy views over the surrounding hills.
In the wardrobe I found the Datu ‘uniform’, stylish Kurta pyjamas and poncho, a scarf and robe for spa treatments, designed by India’s the flame store in collaboration with Datu’s founder Constantin, ensuring we all wafted around the grounds for the week looking like a Conde Nast spa shoot.
Beside the bed was another evening ritual; a flask of hot almond milk laced with spices to aid sleep and an inspiring quote of the day, chosen by Constantin; words of wisdom from12th-century Persian poet Rumi, novelist Victor Hugo – and Winnie the Pooh.
I woke early the next morning and padded across the tiled floor to find the day’s schedule slipped under the door. At 7am there was sunrise ayurvedic tea and Agnihotram, the traditional Hindu fire ceremony to dispel negative vibrations, and Dr Ramadas, cross-legged by the pool, as mist swirled down below in the valley and the sun rose.
After breakfast I had my initial consultation with him. Dr Ramadas is the director of the Vaidyagrama Ayurveda Hospital in Tamil Nadu in India and very different to the doctors I’d met in Kerala who focused rigidly on the physical - my pulse jumping like a frog, the state of my tongue... I told him that I was struggling with anxiety, and he began talking in what I at first thought were riddles.
He told me the mind is the priest, not the god; it is the priest of the soul. The mind has to surrender to the divine, not struggle to control everything. I needed, he explained gently, to learn to surrender control. There is no anxiety if we accept that the soul is divine. I had to let my heart rule, not my head.
It felt less like a medical consultation and more like a therapy session. But before I had time to fully digest that my problem was the ego, it was time for the candle meditation in the Cave, the 12th-century wine cellar next to the restaurant, then yoga in the first-floor Piano Room with its soaring beamed ceilings and windows framed by sheer white drapes.
As the week progressed, I began to realise that Datu was so much more than an ayurvedic retreat. Each day was topped and tailed with light sadhana and the sleep ritual, but in between there was a changing programme of meditation, chanting, sun salutations by the pool and breathwork, interspersed with spa treatments such as Abhyanga nadi which works not just physically to improve arterial circulation but also on a subtle level on the emotions too. There were cookery lessons with the chef, Asia Kostka, who taught us how to make the golden milk, herbal teas and kedgeree, and excursions to nearby thermal baths.
Ayurveda is a helpful hook on which to hang Datu. Constantin gathered most of the doctors and practitioners from across India and the lilting music, as you wander through the gardens transports you to an eastern land, but Datu also incorporates other holistic philosophies and therapies into the wellbeing mix. Such as shiatsu and colour therapy. Armed with coloured crayons and paper in the library Bombay-based graffiti artist Avantika Mathur instructed us to draw around our hand and then colour it in. Creating a picture of who we are, and then sharing with the group, led naturally to introspection and reflection.
Datu - in a good way - is the Constantin show, the inspiring team hand-picked by him, the week perfectly choreographed. After years as a successful media producer, organisation is one of his strengths. He is the creative mastermind behind it and the perfect advert for Datu, having undergone his own life-changing journey.
One of the highlights each day was the satsang or fireside talk before supper. Some focused on practical advice (Dr Ramadas discussed the ayurvedic diet) others the spiritual. Suyash, who spent 12 years as a monk, explained that we are all yogis. And that yoga is controlled trauma, helping the body to deal with trauma in our lives.
There was so much to think about, to contemplate. Essentially Datu provides a snapshot of eastern wisdom in a dreamy Tuscan setting, a holistic smorgasbord - and the perfect introduction to ayurveda.
I left with a handful of the night-time quotes to use as bookmarks, one of my favourites from American writer Joseph Campbell
‘We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.’
