4-1206-Niche Markets.qxp - Travel World News

THE PROFITABLE WORLD OF NICHE MARKETS
India: Peace of Mind and Body
India’s Ancient Arts impact Modern Lifestyles. Wellness Tourism Expands
across the Sub-Continent.
By Helen Kitti Smith
SOUKYA
Soukya, a residential holistic health and integrative medical center on a 30-acre organic farm in the tranquil, unpolluted countryside.
India’s sages of yore, her ancient rishis, bestowed
an extraordinary spiritual legacy on civilization
some 5,000 years ago. Their wisdom was transmitted
through oral teachings that, over millennia,
were passed from teacher (guru) to disciple
(sisya). Once finally codified, the legacy
came to reside in four distinct volumes. These are the
Vedas. They form the backbone of Hinduism.
Ayurveda and Yoga are two highly-developed “sister”
systems that derive from this legacy. Their goal is to
guide the individual to rediscover the essential spirit
within through balancing the vital energies that comprise
all life forces. World-renowned Yoga Teacher (Yogacharya)
B. K. S. Iyengar states: "It is through the body that you
reach the realization of your being a spark of divinity.
How can you neglect the body which is the temple of the
spirit?”
Today, these two systems thrive around the world. They
underpin what our industry terms “wellness tourism.” It
is almost redundant to state that destination spas and
luxury boutique properties the world over offer ayurvedic
modalities and yoga workshops.
But for the real essence, there is no more unique undertaking,
no more exclusive experience ever, than to engage
in these both at their very source. This is where you, a
savvy travel agent on wellness tourism, will knowingly
suggest that your clients be booked shortly on “A Passage
to India” with all due respect to E. M. Forster.
Ayurveda
Ayurveda is considered the world’s oldest and most
comprehensive healthcare system. In Sanskrit “ayus”
translates as “life” and “ved” as “knowledge.” A rare combination
of philosophy and science, ayurveda is a brilliant
tapestry that defines life in equilibrium. Its warp and
weft focus on spiritual health. Its texture upholds the
fundamentals necessary to sustain mental and physical
health.
The Atharva Veda, one of the four Vedas, is specifically
about ayurveda. It contains references to anatomy, physiology,
surgery, herbs, diseases and cures. The Rig Veda
is concerned with the real nature of health and disease,
and includes herbal treatments and natural remedies. It
defines the use of specific spices, their medicinal and
therapeutic values, and is the genesis for Indian cuisine’s
spiciness.
In Ayurveda, the five great elements of creation - fire,
water, earth, air, space – comprise the macro-cosm. Their
Sanskrit name is the “pancha-mahabhutas” or five great
elements. These very same elements co-exist in the
micro-cosm that is each human body. They comprise its
cellular and physiological structure. Three other elements
(called “tri-doshas”) reflect these same elements of
creation. They govern an individual’s state of being.
They are “pitta”, the fire element; “kapha”, the water and
earth element; and “vata”, the air and space element. Tridoshas
are influenced by three qualities or states of mat-
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DECEMBER 2006 • TRAVEL WORLD NEWS • 3