I signed myself up for the five-night, Art of Detox programme, which aims to rid the system of oxidants and restore normal metabolic functions, and brings me back to my first consultation with Dr Pillai. Having taken my biometrics (BMI, body composition and blood pressure), he proceeded to diagnose my doshas. According to Ayurveda, all humans are made up of a combination of three doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. You are a classic case of Vata, he tells me, with a totally overactive Pitta: light-hearted yet fickle, with a tendency towards stubbornness. Seldom have I received a more accurate character reference from a man Id just met.

The aim? To bring my pitta back to normal functioning order, which included going cold turkey on caffeine, no spicy foods, and gentle to slow-paced activities something that this coffee-drinking, curry-loving, high-intensity exercising individual would learn to embrace over the next few days. In fact, during my stay, life developed a pleasantly languorous rhythm. Wake up, a gentle open-air yoga class, meditation, followed by a light breakfast of fruits and cereals, and an almost daily pre-lunch, pre-dinner massage. Each evening, relaxing amid the minimalist surroundings of my one-bedroom pool villa (all wood, stone, and verdant vistas), I would be presented with a fresh set of gleaming white kurta pyjamas (the uniform for the duration of my stay) and the following days timetable.

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Mending mind and soul in the mountains: How I mastered the art of detox on an Ayurvedic retreat in the Western Ghats - The Telegraph