Mountain Yoga at COMO Shambhala Retreat at Uma Paro, Bhutan

At Uma Paro, COMO Hotels and Resorts’ luxury property in Bhutan, guests can partake in mountain yoga under the auspices of the COMO Shambhala Retreat. This is the resort’s centre of health and wellbeing offering sophisticated, bespoke treatments, including massage and Ayurveda.

The company has a proven track record in providing the highest standards of yoga tuition, as pioneered by COMO Shambhala in Singapore, Bali, and at Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos. In Bhutan, the yoga teacher is Isabel Sebastien, who works in the Vinyasa Flow tradition. Isabel has trained in Viniyoga, Pranayama and Meditation in Australia, as well studied Ashtanga Yoga with Sri Pathabi Jois, and latterly with TKV Desikachar, both in India.

In addition to Isabel’s regular complimentary classes (four times a week), COMO Shambhala Retreat at Uma Paro hosts occasional retreat weeks with visiting teachers, such as Rodney Yee, America’s pre-eminent teacher from the Piedmont Yoga Centre in California.

For many guests, the opportunity to practice yoga in this Himalayan kingdom is a privileged experience for both the absolute beginner and the more experienced. Not only has this once closed country only recently opened up to foreign visitors, but Bhutan is an ancient Buddhist kingdom where yoga and meditation is part of many people’s daily lives. It therefore has a resonance that’s unique.

The location and altitude is beneficial. Uma Paro stands at 2,300 metres on a 38-acre hilltop site overlooking the Paro Valley. The altitude lowers blood pressure and pulse rates, allowing clients to lose weight more easily and sleep more soundly.

Correctly managed - altitude sickness has to be avoided by taking things slowly - yoga in the Himalayas can be an intense experience. Likewise, it is an uniquely powerful place to meditate, practicing pranayama (a breathing technique) with that cool, fresh, unpolluted mountain air.

The yoga bale overlooks the Paro Valley. There is nothing quite like a sun salutation as this spread opens up before you at the start of the day. The view includes forest of blue pine and distant terraced fields. To the south lies India, with Tibet to the north. Explore deeper, as all guests will do during the course of their stay, and discover towering, snow-tipped ranges. Monasteries cling to cliffsides and rivers snake through valleys.

At Uma Paro, Isabel leads two morning Yoga Weeks a week. This includes a walk to a beautiful prayer-flag covered promontory. The hour’s practice includes yoga, breathing exercises and a walking meditation.

COMO Shambhala Retreat also encourages guests to partake in further complimentary treatments, to help ease and loosen both muscles and mind after a group or private yoga session. This might include a massage or a Bhutanese Hot Stone Uma Bath inspired by the local version of So-ba Rig-pa (the Tibetan system of medicine and therapies), which is recognised by the government as Bhutan’s official medical and therapeutic tradition. Guests can also enjoy a Herbal Bath, or the Five Elixirs Bath, using herbs from high altitude fields sourced by Bhutan’s National Institute of Traditional Medicine.

To get there is easy enough, just a short hop from Bangkok, Calcutta, Delhi or Kathmandu, serviced by Bhutan's national airline, Druk Air (bookable through the hotel). There are 20 rooms and nine villas, and cuisine is healthful and organic, with a specialised COMO Shambhala menu for those who want to engage in a more comprehensive retreat. Packages can be made to order, incorporating up to two sessions of yoga practice daily.

Uma means ‘Living House’ in Bahasa Indonesian national language. Developed by COMO Hotels and Resorts, Uma properties are located in unspoilt, inland locations. They are also ecologically aware. Every aspect of an Uma resort is infused with indigenous attributes, from design to cuisine to local staff knowledge. The intention is to immerse guests in the textural richness of the resort’s carefully chosen region – from culture to religion and landscape – offering the dual experience of escape and adventure. This is complemented by the holistic core of the COMO Shambhala philosophy, featuring yoga and Asian-inspired therapies. Other Uma resorts include Uma Ubud, in Bali.

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