heritage-resorts-stories-2019

| WELLNESS
"EXPERT-LED MINDFUL
PRACTICES AT ICONIC
LANDMARKS IN THE WILD
SOUTH, AT SUNRISE AND
SUNSET, WILL CONNECT
PARTICIPANTS TO NATURE
AND THE ELEMENTS."
E E L
T H
T O N A T U R E A N D
I P A N T S
. "
E M E N T S
T P A R T I C
I L L C O N N E C
T , W
S U N S E
I S E A N D
T H , A T S U N R
S O U
I L D
I N T H E W
L A N D M A R K S
" E X P E R T
I C O N I C
- L E D
M I N D F U
S A T
L P R A C T
I C E
MAURITIUS WELLNESS
FESTIVAL
From 3rd to 5th May 2019,
Heritage Resorts will host the
Mauritius Wellness Festival,
the first of its kind in the Indian
Ocean. This three-day festival,
destined to become an annual
event, will bring together
wellness experts from around
the globe and local wellbeing
teachers and therapists, to
deliver a holistic experience to
wellness travellers, focussing
on our connection with nature,
awakening our senses and
practice and learning.
The central hub of the
festival, will be the Heritage
C Beach Club, transformed into
a ‘wellness village’ beside the
sea. Offering activities from
sunrise to sunset, participants
will awaken their senses through
music, dance and the arts –
with live creations by artists,
music energy vibes corners,
fuelled by healthy finger food
to power participants through
long intense days, eaten from
banana leaf plates (as customary
at Indo-Mauritian weddings).
Practice and learning sessions
will include yoga, tai chi, qi gong
and meditation, expert wellbeing
talks – including raw cuisine talks
and tastings by Marie Sophie L .,
a raw food chef and naturopath
from France – and personal
development workshops – on
subjects such as nutrition, stress
and sleep.
In the evening, wellness goers
gather around the firepit for
live music from local bands
such as Patyatann, who play
locally-made instruments.
INTO THE WILD
Expert-led mindful practices
at iconic landmarks in the wild
South, at sunrise and sunset, will
connect participants to nature
and the elements.
A short mindful walk from
Gris Gris, along basalt cliffs
overlooking a surf-pounded
shore at a gap in the coral reef
on the islands’ southernmost
tip leads to La Roche qui Pleure
(“the rock that weeps”), where
waves crash and rumble over
creating an illusion of tears as
they retreat. This is the setting
for a sunrise journey through the
five elements of nature – the fifth
being you – led by local teacher
Danyal Lefevre, who trained in
Sivananda yoga as part of his
spiritual journey in India.
A late afternoon nature hike
leads to a grassy platform with
extraordinary views over a
lagoon many hues of blue, coral
gardens and enticing islands
from UNESCO-World Heritage
listed Le Morne Brabant, an
imposing basalt monolith on a
peninsula fringed by white sand
beaches. Sacred to the islands’
Creole community, its’ caves
were once a refuge for runaway
African slaves (maroons). As the
golden orb of the sun sinks in
the sky, it’s time for a nourishing
sunset yoga session with one
of the top ten holistic health
icons worldwide, UK-based
Julie Montagu, who teaches yoga,
nutrition and self-care for the
modern world.
The colours – red, brown, violet,
green, blue, purple and yellow –
which correspond to the seven
chakras – are accentuated
during a sunrise sensesawakening
meditation and yoga
session at the islands’ geological
wonder, Seven Coloured Earths
of Chamarel, undulating lunarlike
dunes of multicoloured
volcanic sand caused by
mineral oxygenation.
A technical trail leads through
the valley to breathtaking
Chamarel Falls, the islands’
highest, whose rainbow spray
tumbles 90-metres over a
cliff face, for an unforgettable
balance-focussed yoga session at
its base. Seven Cascades, often
celebrated as the most beautiful
hike in Mauritius, will also be
included in the programme. One
session will be led by Jeannette
Fuchs, a German yoga teacher
trained in Bali, whose practice
uses the principles of yin and
yang, drawing on experience in
different styles of yoga, to help
develop potential.
For a mindful experience
(re)connecting to your true
nature, there’s a barefoot
walk communicating with
the centuries-old trees in the
nurturing forest in Black River
Gorges National Park, led by
renowned local energy healer,
Sophie Sew, which ends with a
meditation in a sacred space.
Breathing designed to connect
with the vibration and energy of
nature, is the theme of a mindful
walk in the Jurassic-like scenery of
the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
in the Heritage Nature Reserve,
sheltering rare endemic birds.
It’s led by Dominique Lonchant
from France whose life-changing
breathing method, based on
powerful pranayama yoga, takes
us back to our natural state,
and ourselves.
The entrance fee to the festival
costs Rs 3,600 per day, or
Rs 8,600 for a three-day pass.
www.mauritiuswellnessfestival.com
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