Yoga at dawn and 'spiritual' massages for Duchess in India: Secret trip ahead of Australian tour

Yoga at dawn and 'spiritual' massages for Duchess in India: Secret trip ahead of Australian tour - Camilla has flown to the Soukya International Holistic Health Centre in southern India ahead of a tour of Australia and New Zealand - The Duchess of Cornwall is understood to be staying in the centre's £3,500 a night presidential suite

With a three-week tour of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand ahead of her, the Duchess of Cornwall clearly felt in need of a little pampering.

And it seems a face mask and a glass of wine in front of Downton Abbey wouldn’t quite do the trick.

Instead, the duchess has flown to southern India for a secret week-long retreat at a ‘holistic heath centre’.

Return: The Duchess
of Cornwall, seen
on a visit to India
in 2006, has returned
to the country ahead
of a tour of Australia,
New Zealand and
Papua New Guinea

There, she can take advantage of customised dawn yoga sessions and ‘spiritually healing’ ayurvedic massages.

Camilla arrived at the Soukya International Holistic Health Centre in Bangalore on Saturday with a party of ten, which is believed to include members of her family as well as a personal assistant and her Scotland Yard bodyguards.

Prince Charles, famously an advocate of alternative remedies, is not among the group.

It is understood that Camilla is staying in the centre’s £3,500-a-night presidential suite.

Measuring 2,500 sq ft, it boasts three bedrooms, a fruit garden, an open air shower and its own lotus pond. The duchess enjoyed a four-night stay in the same suite when she and Charles visited the country for the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Although the couple were on an official visit, that trip, like the current one, was paid for by her husband and did not cost taxpayers, aside from the cost of her Scotland Yard security team.

The retreat claims to be a ‘unique facility that helps restore the natural balance of your mind, body and spirit’.

It is set within a 30-acre organic farm and guests follow a strict ovo-vegetarian diet, paying around £140 a day for a range of different treatments.

They include ‘hydrowashes’, reflexology, and a ‘four-hand’ Ayurvedic massage carried out by two female therapists.

On her first visit Camilla was said to have tried abhayanka, a massage with medicated oil, and shirodhara, where warm oil is poured on the forehead.

One insider revealed that the last time the duchess stayed she undertook daily dawn yoga and meditation sessions.

‘She could do the difficult asanas [poses] with ease. It seems she has done yoga before,’ they said.

Camilla was also said to have had several ayurvedic massages.

These start with the therapist reciting an ancient prayer to invoke healing and involve ‘vigorous’ massage strokes using scented oils.

Spiritual: Prince Charles and Camilla are seen near Jodphur on a visit to India in 2006

A spokesman for the clinic has declined to comment on their royal guest.

But Clarence House confirmed that the duchess was out of the country on a private holiday.

A spokesman said: ‘The Duchess of Cornwall is on a private holiday.

'She will fly on to meet up with the Prince of Wales for the start of their Diamond Jubilee tour to Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand next weekend.’

It is believed that Camilla will meet the prince in Singapore.

WHAT IS AYURVEDIC MEDICINE?

Relaxation: A woman receives a mud spa treatment at the Soukya Holistic Health Centre in India

Ayurvedic medicine is a system of healing which has been practised in India for thousands of years and has been steadily gaining followers in the West.

High-profile fans include Madonna and Cherie Blair.

Ayurveda, which means ‘science of life’ in Sanskrit, is based on the idea that all matter is composed of five elements – air, fire, water, earth and space.

These combine in the body as biological forces, or ‘doshas’, called vata, pitta and kapha.

Ayurveda views the balance of these forces in the body as good health and their imbalance as the cause of disease.

The aim of the holistic healing method is to rebalance the body and restore health and wellbeing. Ayurvedic medicine also treats specific physical and mental health problems.

Treatment for general ailments can include massage, yoga, meditation, aromatherapy or herbal steams (to rid the body of toxins), or the prescription of Ayurvedic drugs.

Proper hygiene, diet and lifestyle are considered essential for good health.

But safety concerns have been raised about Ayurveda, after a study in 2008 found that a fifth of treatments contained levels of toxic metals and chemicals up to 10,000 times higher than the accepted limit. ( dailymail.co.uk )