In today’s modern, fast-paced and hectic society, with distractions aplenty, opportunities to gain a sense of calm and peace have become rarer and difficult to obtain. Happiness has become a supreme value, proving that there is an irrefutable correlation between happiness and physical wellbeing, with levels of happiness impacting cardiovascular health, immune systems and life expectancy.
Drawing inspiration from the foundations the brand is built on, including peace, wellness, and escapism, Aman has introduced a series of thoughtful and slightly alternative holistic experiences and therapies for those seeking to re-ground themselves, rediscover their happiness, and take the opportunity to renew their optimism. Designed to leave guests feeling sanguine, with a refreshed positive outlook on life, each experience will guide guests back on a path to happiness and take place in environments that naturally lend themselves to healing.
Laughing yoga at Amankila, Bali
Laugh your way to good health with hasya yoga, or “laughing yoga” (Credit/pixabay)
Proving the adage that laughter really is the best medicine, Amankila in Bali offers guests Hasya, or laughing yoga. This practice is based on the belief that voluntary laughter provides the same psychological and physiological benefits as spontaneous laughter, strengthening all immune functions, bringing more oxygen to the body and brain, and fostering feelings of positivity. Sessions are offered three times a week and are led by Pak Eka, a natural Hatha and Hasya yoga teacher, and begin with warm-up techniques that include stretching, clapping and body movements (asanas). All of these help break down inhibitions and trigger happy feelings and thoughts. Breathing exercises are then undertaken to prepare the lungs for the activity, and are followed by a series of laughter exercises that combine methods of acting and visualisation techniques with playfulness. The session concludes with laughing meditation—a period of unstructured laughter where participants sit or lie down and allow natural laughter to flow from within, which in most cases leads to real and contagious laughter.
Hasya yoga is available at Amankila three times a week, throughout the year.
Energetic Emotional Pain Release and hypnotherapy at Amankora, Bhutan
Amankora accommodation comprises five lodges across beautiful landscape (Credit/Aman)
Specialising in stress reduction, sleep management, and improving levels of happiness, Tim will also offer life-transforming hypnotherapy sessions to Amankora guests. Known to calm the brain’s level of activity down to healthy levels, hypnosis allows harmful, negative beliefs and behaviour patterns to be released, making room for new, positive, beneficial ones to take their place. Effective with everything from depression through to relationships, phobias, weight management and smoking, hypnotherapy is the most powerful and gentle way known to humankind to make deliberate, beneficial life changes.
The Energetic Emotional Pain Release experience will be available between October 16 and November 30, 2017.
Discover the Meaning of Life at Amankora, Bhutan
Neyphug Monastery, Bhutan (Credit/Aman)
Led by His Eminence the 9th Neyphug Trulku Rinpoche of Bhutan’s fabled Neyphug Monastery, the Meaning of Life retreat at Amankora will encompass eight nights across four of the resort’s lodges. Guests will be fully immersed in ancient wisdom to awaken and rejuvenate the exhausted mind. This highly revered Buddhist reincarnate will lead lectures, meditation, yoga and temple visits, whilst simplifying the most complex of Buddhist philosophies with the objective of allowing guests to implement them in their everyday lives.
The Meaning of Life retreat is available from September 10–18 and will include one 60-minute spa treatment per person as well as several yoga, meditation and lecture sessions.
Caribbean Stars Lullaby at Amanyara, Turks and Caicos
Tibetan singing bowls have been used for centuries for healing and meditation (Credit/Pixabay)
A restful night’s sleep is fundamental to an overall feeling of happiness and wellness. At Amanyara, Aman’s soothing retreat on the rocky coves of the Providenciales, Caribbean Stars Lullaby is the ideal therapy for those who want to improve their sleep habits and this essential body function. Taking place at the resort’s spa or in the privacy of the guests’ pavilion, the experience is guided by an aquatherapist who encourages guests to completely surrender to the element of water while floating under the stars and reconnecting with nature. Incorporating the principles of Zen Shiatsu, guests are gently aligned through a series of rotational movements, muscle stretching and reflexology carried out on the feet. Inside this receptive space, the use of sound therapy with Tibetan singing bowls complements the treatment and creates a blend of vibrations that resonates through the body, deepening the sense of calm.
Castaway digital detox aboard Amandira and Amanikan, Indonesian archipelago
The sister vessels can be taken out together (Credit/Aman)
We are more globally connected than ever before and mobile technology allows for much flexibility, from staying in touch with far-flung relatives to running a business on the move. However, with this constant connection also comes the inability to ‘switch off’ and the distractions from the important things in life.
Amandira and Amanikan are Aman’s custom-built traditional Indonesian pinisi cruisers that expedition through the Indonesian archipelago to Raja Ampat and Komodo National Park. These sailing boats journey to some of the most remote parts of this wonderland of islands. Surrounded by extreme natural beauty and dotted with deserted private islands—which guests are able to explore—many of these destinations have little or no connectivity, allowing guests to be forced into a digital detox and enabling them to truly unwind, disconnect, and reground themselves. Itineraries aboard both boats can be completely tailored to the interests and desires of the guests, who can charter these extraordinary vessels separately or in tandem as their own personal guides.
Dining under the stars, exploring the region’s incredible diversity of marine life, and being surrounded by nothing but azure waters and the sounds of dolphins leading the way, makes for the most natural way to rediscovering a more mindful and balanced life.
Did you know your body can’t tell the difference between real and fake laughter? It only knows that it feels good afterwards, despite how silly you may feel!