RAAS DEVIGARHBLESSINGS MENU

THE BIRTH OF THE DEVI BLESSINGS AT DEVIGARH

“I permeate the earth and heaven and all created entities with my greatness, and dwell in them as eternal and infinite consciousness.”

Devi Sukta, Rigveda 10.125.8 (an ancient text of India)

Devi is the Divine Mother. She is the giver of life and India’s supreme deity, with myriad shrines and a tradition of worship stemming back for centuries. Her name means ‘goddess’. She represents all women of the world and holds the universe in her womb.

‘Devi’ comes from the Sanskrit root, ‘div’ – to shine; she is the shining one, and is also the manifest energy of ‘Shakti’, which means ‘feminine spirit’. Symbolic of the powerful primal cosmic energy which underlies the entire universe, Shakti is both responsible for all creation, and the agent of all change.

Here, at Devigarh, itself a sacred place of the feminine and an abode of the goddess, we are especially connected to Devi’s incredible loving kindness and creativity. So, inspired by Navaratri, a festival dedicated to her worship which occurs five times a year across

India (the beginning of spring and autumn are considered the most important), ila only bring you this bouquet of gorgeous blessing rituals. Each blessing zones in on a different goddess, and each goddess resonates with a different chakra and its particular petals.

Navaratri is a nine-night period of self-referral and celebratory rest, symbolic of the nine months a baby spends in the womb. It is about getting back in touch with your deeper spiritual self, allowing the Divine Mother to take you back to Source, so that you feel more connected, centred, courageous and composed.

ila only’s incredibly special blessings work to recalibrate the frequency of your entire system. They transmute a potent spiritual vibration to provide genuine sustenance and strength, whilst themselves remaining light, soft, enjoyable, even a little bit magical.

Prayer of the Earth 120mins INR 12,000

The Shaliputri Blessing: Nourish Your Beginnings

Chakra focus: This thoroughly grounding ritual cleanses Muladhara, the root chakra, located at the base of the spine and considered to be the foundation of the energy body. It is associated with abundance, deep rest, home, the earth and the colour gold.

In honour of: Shailputri, the Devi of the root chakra and daughter of the mountains, who, upon awakening, begins her journey upwards towards her Shiva. She is the first deity to be worshipped during Navaratri. She both anchors and sets direction.

The journey: Stabilising and calming, this Devi blessing helps to secure us in the world around us, giving us the strength and focus we need to move forward

and succeed. Gentle and soothing, the treatment combines a foot wash, frankincense smoke, crystal singing bowls and a slow, earthy massage to calm body and mind and create profound stillness.

The intent: A balanced Muladhara increases our inner wisdom so that we can start to hear our body’s innate intelligence. Its quality is associated with calm and order. It encourages us to attend to our need for nourishment, as well as enabling us to nourish others. It helps to anchor our spirit in the material world, and our body to the earth, so that we feel safe.

For when you are feeling: Lacking in energy, burnt-out or exhausted. Like you have lost your testing ground for truth and become disconnected from your root support and foundations.

BLESSINGS FROM BEYOND

All prices are inclusive of tax

Dance of Healing Waters120 mins INR 12,000

The Brahmacharini Blessing: Embrace Your Flow

Chakra focus: Swadhisthana – the water chakra – is about feelings, pleasure and movement. It is the centre of our emotions and all our desires and is associated with change, playfulness, creativity, sexuality and the lower abdomen.

In honour of: Brahmacharini, who personifies surrender and purity. She is about setting the right tone of devotion and understanding. She is both directional and flexible.

The journey: This flowing blessing focuses on bringing security to the second chakra so that we can feel joy, pleasure and intimacy without guilt. Choose between a feminine experience that awakens the spirit and strengthens our Shakti, or a masculine experience designed to revitalise and boost

male vitality. Both options include a warm coconut oil pouring over the chakras, a warm salt body scrub and a tuberose milk shower. This is then followed by an advanced adaptogenic abdomen wrap, fantastic for hormone balancing, and a wonderfully restorative body massage.

The intent: In recovering the second chakra we reclaim our right to feel, enabling the soul to be carried by our emotions and desires towards growth. Balancing this chakra also helps us to ‘let go’ and find a healthy balance so that we are less reactive.

For when you are feeling: In need of deep, deep nourishment and to be held in loving hands. This blessing is really lovely for couples.

Shining Jewel Puja 120 mins INR 12,000

The Chandraghanta Blessing: Radiate Your Beauty

Chakra focus: This illuminating ritual helps us to shine from within. It focuses on the solar plexus energy centre, Manipura (‘beautiful, shining jewel’ in Sanskrit) – our seat of health and vitality, ruled by the sun and associated with laughter, energy, will and self-esteem.

In honour of: Chandraghanta, who is the goddess responsible for justice and discipline in the world. It is said that those who worship Devi in this form gather eternal power and strength. By her blessings sorrows are dispelled, obstacles removed, and the warrior within is evoked. The sound of her bell always protects her devotees from evil spirits.

The journey: This elevating treatment floods the body with vital energy and inner warmth. An energising body scrub, bio-energy mud wrap and a prana vitality massage help to restore positive feelings, renew strength and leave the skin brilliantly luminous.

The intent: A healthy third chakra exhibits energetic vitality. It gives us a firm grasp of who we are, filling us with personal power, autonomy and responsibility. It allows the unfolding of our unique destiny and soul’s purpose, enabling us to take on challenges, undergo risks, and dispel negative energies.

For when you are feeling: As if you would like to reboot your inner fire and vitality. A balanced third chakra allows us to step out of the familiar and face the challenge of uncertainty. It helps us bind raw energy into power, direction and transformation.

Smiling Heart Offering120mins INR 12,000

The Kushmanda Blessing: Love And Be Loved

Chakra focus: This beautiful blessing balances Anahata, the heart chakra – seat of compassion and generosity and the centre of the entire chakra system. It is the incredible force behind our relationship with ourselves, and with others.

In honour of: The deity Kushmanda. Her name is a combination of three words – Ku, Ushma and Anda. Here ‘Ku’ means little, ‘Ushma’ means warmth or energy and ‘Anda’ is egg – together they mean, the one who created this universe as a ‘little cosmic egg’. The Goddess is very happy in this manifestation. It is believed that when the universe did not exist, there was complete darkness everywhere. Then the Goddess smiled and darkness was eliminated. So, Devi Kushmanda is

believed to have created this universe with her divine smile.

The journey: Encouraging you to come to a place of openness, this tender combination of foot wash, scrub, massage and heart-work uses rose oil and warmed rose quartz to restore equilibrium and gently reconnect the body and mind to stillness. Crystal sound therapy in Omega 432 aligns our heart with the universal heart beat.

The intent: A balanced heart chakra helps to free us, giving us the space we need to heal, and awakening us to unconditional love. It develops strength and immunity and nurtures peacefulness.

For when you are feeling: In need of some true care. Perhaps you feel unaccepted (maybe even by yourself) in need of approval, or suspect that perfection is the only way to earn love. Healing the heart means attending to the most sacred aspects within ourselves.

A Pure Expression120 mins INR 12,000

The Skandamata Blessing: Align With Your Truth

Chakra focus: Vishuddha is the throat chakra, the keeper of your authenticity, whose 16 petals are reflected on the face – so when we nurture the face we directly nourish Vishuddha, the natural channel for creative expression and Self communication.

In honour of: The fifth manifestation of Durga, Skandamata, known as the Goddess of Fire, who is wise, caring and the giver of all knowledge. She rides atop a lion, her son, Lord Skanda on her lap, and possesses four arms, two of which carry lotus flowers. For those selflessly devoted to her she awards all the treasures and achievements of life.

The journey: This gentle and multi layered facial uses a synergistic blend of oils to awaken the blissful

higher energy of the whole body, as well as rejuvenating your skin and the five sacred spaces located on the face and head. Ancient marma massage purifies surface tensions and harmonises the mind, promoting deep relaxation. Oils of Holy Basil, Spikenard, and Vetivert ensure elevated vibrational healing, balance the adrenals (closely connected with the throat and thyroid chakra) and warm and ground your spirit.

The intent: The throat chakra is linked to transparency, honesty and intuition; when aligned your mind and body sing the same tune and you embody the purity of living your truth. This treatment also promotes restful sleep and dreams.

For when you are feeling: in need of a balancing touch which tones your etheric field and nourishes the true you. This is a wonderful choice for those who need to remember who they are.

Soul Awakening120 mins INR 12,000

The Katyayani Blessing: Harness Your Perception

Chakra focus: Anja, the third eye chakra, is located in the centre of the forehead and is responsible for spiritual insight, perceptions, intuition, imagination and peace of mind.

In honour of: the daughter of King Katya, known at Katyayani, she who cuts through illusions and blesses with clarity, she who sees clearly and is associated with true soul bliss.

The journey: This blessing begins with guided breathing techniques to calm the mind and stabilise your Pranic energy. Next a pearl and jasmine scrub and pure amethyst body wrap work to deeply relax the nervous system. This is followed by the delicate Ajna facial which nourishes the two petals of the chakra with

Himalayan poultices and therapeutic touch. Essential oils of sandalwood and jasmine, alongside specific marma point massage, combine to balance the higher and lower selves, whilst subtle energy healing and gorgeous Omega 423 sound therapy help to wash the internal screen of the third eye where memory, fantasy, imagination and images intertwine. The treatment is sealed with a soothing application of cool sandalpaste to the throat and forehead. A dream-like experience.

The intent: When Anja is balanced we are happily in touch with our spiritual emotions and Higher Self. This treatment assists in opening the third eye, which allows us to continue to look, to see beyond, to perceive deeper patterns and meaning.

For when you are feeling: A desire for soul nourishment, or maybe a longing for a broader vision.

The Kiss of an Angel120 mins INR 12,000

The Kalratri Blessing: Let in Light

Chakra focus: Sahasrara, the crown chakra is the seventh chakra which connects us with the universe and the Divine source of creation. It is the meeting point between finite (the body and the ego) and infinite (the universe and soul).

In honour of: Kalratri the one who destroys fear and removes darkness. This Goddess removes all obstacles from life and blesses us a rebirth of innocence, happiness, joy and pure light.

The journey: This powerful blessing has two phases: a deep purification and then a balancing and awakening of the subtle and angelic energies within. The blessing starts with 15 minutes in the Himalayan salt cave sauna which aids detoxification, relaxes muscles and releases negative ions. This is followed by a deep Palo Santo

smoke purification and rain drop therapy on the spine (a specific therapy which helps to release trauma held in the body). Next, chakra balancing zone therapy healing is given to the head, hands, and feet. This extremely special addition, using ila’s exclusive chakra oils, floods the five Koshas (energy bodies) with light and energy, the ultimate protection. The treatment is sealed with exquisite and sacred sound healing.

The intent: This blessing reconnects us to our inner light and to the interconnectedness of all beings.

For when you are feeling: Vulnerable, in a life transition, maybe in need of feeling held, loved and always protected. Sometimes life asks us to take steps into unchartered territory for our growth and we need to feel the protection of our Higher Self, of the power of love.

An Enlightening Restoration120 Mins INR 12,000

The Mahagauri Blessing: Liberate Your Spirit

Chakra focus: The eighth chakra is the doorway to your immortal soul. Maha is the energy centre of divine love, grace and compassion.

In honour of: Goddess Mahagauri, the eighth manifestation of Durga, whose favourite flower is jasmine, and whose name means The Big Luminous One. Her blessings bring miracles, inner power and relief from all sorrow. She is said to have liberated the world from evil forces. She is the melter of sorrow and has an extremely calming effect.

The journey: This soothing therapy begins with a sacred pouring oil ritual which blesses each chakra. ila’s unique blend of rose and neroli are used in a Kundalini healing massage which works up the spine and helps to unify the different temples of each chakra. Essence of

rose and jasmine unify heart and soul. A shirodhara – pouring over the third eye and crown – allows space for cosmic light to enter. Pure rose and amethyst crystal cream are applied to the face with gentle lymphatic massage techniques which leave you feeling safe enough to feel completely free.

The intent: A blossoming of spiritual compassion. This chakra is both a receiver and giver of energy and consciousness. It receives energy to sustain life and it gives back the personal energy to unite with the collective pool of consciousness.

For when you are feeling: Ready to sink into a new dimension of being, leaving old patterns and negativity behind and clearing any residue karmic energy in order to make room for the new and fresh.

A Sacred Illumination120 Mins INR 12,000

The Siddidatri Blessing: Transcend All Limitations

Chakra focus: We are now in an ethereal realm beyond chakras, a place of mysticism, prayer and miracles. A place of the divine.

In honour of: Siddidatri, the ninth and final goddess worshipped during Navaratri. Siddhi means supernatural power and Dhatri means giver or awarder. Her glory is boundless. She is the supreme goddess, with her grace all wishes are fulfilled.

The journey: We are in constant vibration. Every molecule, cell, tissue and liquid in our bodies has its own specific resonance. So, too, does each chakra and every layer of our electromagnetic field. Sound therapy is one of the most subtle and transformative forms of healing. This blessing combines marma massage with a bathing in

Omega 432 resonance – which is the vibration of the universal heart beat and of Nature itself – along with the healing energy of Om tuning forks. A moving experience, it commences with a purification of black amber smoke followed by a full body massage using beautiful essential oils. The treatment ends with Bhutanese sacred chants.

The intent: Siddidatri takes you beyond any material desires to deep spiritual nourishment and fulfillment. Expansion of the heart, mind and spirit leave you with a deep trust in the patterns of the universe and the inherent goodness of the world.

For when you are feeling: A desire for spiritual peace. Perhaps you’re recovering – from overwork, from anxiety, from burnout, from a Dark Night of the Soul. This blessing is about reconnecting with, and remembering, our original vibration

– which is a vibration of pure love and joy.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us”

Marianne Williams

www.ila-spa.com