REVIEW: THE BEACH HOUSE RESORT

How would you describe it? Rejuvenating, comforting, supportive, healthy and happy.

Who’d love it? Anyone who needs some personal time to relax and improve their health (mental and physical). Many of the guests I met had experienced some kind of trauma. They came to The Beach House to feel good again. Others wanted to get their eating habits back on track and develop a healthier relationship with food.

How were the rooms? Exactly what the doctor (and patient) ordered. They’re newly renovated, so the decor is bright and fresh, helping to create a calming and revitalising atmosphere. The bathrooms were spacious. The bed was deliciously soft. I had a mountain of cuddly pillows to choose from. Seriously speedy Wi-Fi and Pay TV were also available. I couldn’t have asked for more.

How was the food? It’s hard to judge, as I was on a detox diet, haha! Healthy ingredients aren’t always the most palatable. But, I must admit, the fruit juices were absolute heaven, delivering a serious flavour punch. The vegetable broths reminded me how food tastes without chemicals and additives – probably a good thing!

What was the vibe like? Calm and content. It’s easy to achieve a sense of inner peace here. The staff were gentle in nature, offering sweet smiles when guests needed a boost. We were all mildly comatose due to our low-cal meals, daily yoga classes, meditation sessions by the beach, and blissful massages.

How was the service? Delightful. No request was too inconvenient. Help was always given swiftly and kindly. The staff were very compassionate. Hungry guests can be moody ones. The staff never let a snappy comment dint their positive demeanour. The only slight challenge was the sheer number of staff – there were so many doctors and personnel, communication between them (and the guests) wasn’t always 100% seamless. Having said that, it was wonderful to know every support resource I could possibly need was ready to help me through my detox.

What were the highlights? The experience as a whole – it was delivered with professionalism, careful consideration and attention to detail. Having signed up for the juice cleanse / detox retreat, I was supported with an incredible amount of resources and guided through my journey in the best, most holistic way possible. I felt as thought it wasn’t just about eliminating a few toxins and kilos of fat from my body. The process was committed to improving my physical, psychological and physiological health to support my total well-being. After staying at The Beach House, I knew I’d made many positive changes, from the inside out.

What’s different about the place? When you come to The Beach House, you stay at The Beach House. There’s no escaping this little hideaway, which is brilliant. It meant I could totally focus on what I was there to do, away from any stress and distractions. The team kept me busy for five days with daily one-on-one yoga classes, a variety of massages, educational talks about health, a library of reading material, walks on the beach, meditation in the ocean-front huts, regular colonics and the best Wi-Fi I’d accessed in India. I was never bored. The Beach House is also unique because it personalises programs to suit individual guests. Before arriving, I had to fill out a detailed questionnaire which had an impact on my meals, hypnotherapy sessions, nutrition talks and beyond. I really felt like my stay was made just for me and, for this reason, it made an immensely positive impact on my life.

How would you rate the overall experience? 8.5 out of 10 sun salutations.

Resort Details:
Sernabatim Beach Road, Colva, Salcette, Goa, India
Tel: 0832 669 7733
www.thebeachhousegoa.com

SIMPLE ROOFTOP WORKOUT FOR HAPPY TRAVELLERS

I’m often asked what I miss most about home. Strangely enough, it’s the thing I resented most before I left home – routine. But, after four straight months of living out of a suitcase and travelling between cities, I’m craving structure. Why? Because it’s so much easier to foster a healthy lifestyle when you’re surroundings and schedule are stable.

Finding time and a safe space to exercise can be a serious challenge for travellers, especially in crowded cities (hitting the pavement in Mumbai while thousands of curious locals watch on isn’t an attractive option!). After a while, not getting your heart rate up can leave you feeling lethargic and downright miserable.

A few weeks ago, I found myself in that exact physical and mental space; unfit and unmotivated. So, I recruited my hyper-energetic husband and favourite workout apps to help me get my mojo back. Here’s how I maintain my basic fitness and inject a whole lot of positive energy into my travel life. I hope these tips help you feel happy and healthy, too!

#1. Find a secluded rooftop

Whenever I move into a new hotel, I ask the staff if I can use their open-air rooftop for my workouts. At sunrise and sunset, there’s no place I’d rather be. Hotel rooftops tend to have spectacular views of a city, especially if they’re located in the heart of the action. This means you can enjoy a private workout with an inspiring outlook and take awesome pics when you’re done.

#2. Get a skipping rope

Skipping is one of the best forms of exercise for travellers. Not only is it one of the most efficient cardio sports, burning a lot of calories in a short amount of time, it also improves your balance and tones your legs, arms and core. Plus, the equipment needed is uber portable – perfect for those of us with a little wanderlust. My hubby made me a skipping rope out of some spare chord we had in our Land Rover. If you’re not into DIY, you can buy one off eBAY for around $5.

#3. Download the right Apps

Two FREE apps have been my lifeline to health and well-being while travelling. The first is the internationally acclaimed 7-Minute Workout app. Not a day goes by when I can’t spend seven minutes on my own health. As long as I have a wall and step nearby, I have no excuses not to do a 7-Minute Workout. If I can’t access a rooftop, the exercises can be performed in my hotel room (using the bed for step ups and tricep dips).

I also love this app because it talks me through the whole circuit like a PT and forces me to keep up an energetic pace with its countdowns. When I started using this app, my posture and technique were pretty off. But, after watching the demo videos, I was able to go about things the right way and get the most out of my workouts.

My second favourite fitness app is Simply Yoga. I usually opt for the 20-minute workout but there are lots of options depending on how much time you can spare. Like the 7-Minute Workout, this app teaches you how to correct your posture and technique with video tutorials. It also helps you time your poses so your body reaps the maximum benefits from your yoga session.

#4. Workout!

For me, 100-200 jumps with a skipping rope, one round of the 7-Minute Workout plus and a 20-minute yoga session are enough to keep me feeling happy and healthy. I can handle 30 minutes of exercise a day. If you’re a fit freak of nature like my husband, tackle 2-3 sets of the 7-Minute Workout (see video below) along with the skipping and yoga. This will take around 45 minutes and leave you feeling truly spent.

Happiness Health Check

It’s the start of a New Year and there’s no better time to do a “Happiness Health Check”. Before I started this exercise, I knew things weren’t quite right. Despite having a hubby, career and opportunities many would kill for, I wasn’t jumping out of bed in the morning. That’s not to say I’m unhappy – just so-so. But I want life to be better than that. I want to feel excited, energised and inspired. I want to feel really happy most of the time (the idea of being happy all of the time just freaks me out).

I sat down and thought about the main ingredients that make up my happiness (see list and notes below). A couple of them would probably make everyone’s priority list. However, others are only on my radar because I’m a middle-class, educated woman in her late 20’s living in a developed country…my basic needs (e.g. food and shelter) are well and truly met.

It’ll be interesting to see what makes up people’s “happiness recipes” in different parts of the world, at different ages and at different levels of society. I have a feeling our road trip from Singapore to London will be a bit of an eye-opener.

Relationships 3/10

• Must make more time for friends and family (especially my UK family – need to get over my fear of Skype). Work is an unhealthy #1 priority.
• Have no idea who my neighbours are…or the name of our gardener. My husband knows their life stories.
• Need to be more passionate with my husband and show him how much I love him (outside of the bedroom).
• Thank God I have great work colleagues, though I can’t remember the last we escaped office for lunch and talked about stuff beyond work.

Personal Development 6.5/10

• Emotional intelligence is seriously lacking. Selfishness, stress and senseless arguments reign supreme.
• Progressing up the corporate ladder at a good pace. Could always be achieving bigger and better things faster.
• Improving my income year-on-year, but spending hasn’t increased. Thanks mum for teaching me not to buy things I don’t need (actually, this mantra has become deeply ingrained my psyche – the thought of spending money on anything terrifies me).
• Need to stop, celebrate and reward myself for kicking goals. Otherwise, why am I working so hard? Argh! But spending money makes me feel so guilty!

Health 5.5/10

• Due to corporate role (10-14 hour days), I live in front of a computer followed by a TV screen. How the heck to people “do it all” and achieve this “balance” nonsense? And, I don’t even have kids!
• Only walk an average of 7000 steps per day. Exercise for 90 mins 1-2 times per week. Need to get a daily routine going.
• Sleep is up and down. In bed for 7-9 hours each night, but feel like I’m slightly awake most of the time. Come at me deep sleep.
• Wouldn’t mind losing 5kg. Hit my mid-20s and learnt what belly fat was. Now it won’t go away.
• Need to look in the mirror and at the scales less. Both have become obsessive habits that do nothing for my self-esteem.
• Mental health could be better. If I improve the other areas of my “happiness recipe”, hopefully my mental state will get better too?

Opportunity 7/10

• Feel free to achieve and do almost anything I want (within reason). Aquarians need freedom like oxygen. Thankfully, I have a tolerant and supportive husband.
• Want to explore and express my true identity, but fear being judged (am I too controversial to be accepted and liked by most?). Wish we lived in a world without fear of being judged. I love the crazies, why can’t everyone else?
• Thanks to my home country and wonderful mum, everything I’ve needed and wanted has been within reach.
• Still feel like I don’t know how the world “really” works – wish I had access to this knowledge.

Contribution 3/10

• Use to be heavily involved in community service. Haven’t for years and miss it. Just need to find the right cause. Would love to be involved in anything that supports women.
• Want to make a different and contribute something unique to the world – it’s just so darn hard these days! Hopefully, a brilliant idea will strike me soon.

I have some work to do. It looks like I’m literally “feeling average” (total = 5/10).

One happiness ingredient I didn’t list was “control”. Yet, they way I live and act, you’d think it was my greatest source of joy. Why am I so addicted to it, when it’s encouraged me to push people away, fear personal growth, obsess over my appearance and focus work, work and more work?

This year, life will be about letting go of control, opening myself up to relationships, and enjoying life’s infinite possibilities. I want to learn more, move more, give more and grow more. I want to make time for unconditional fun.

Thoughts for the day: What parts of your life need to be a priority? How are you going to make more time for them in 2015?