I spent 3 weeks in KARE in Dec 2009. It is a beautiful place in the mountains with a view of a lake, just perfect to relax and read.. This is really a 'yoga & ayurveda' retreat. The focus on yoga is very strong, about 4 hrs a day even while undergoing treatments, which is not very 'traditional' but i enjoyed it. Overall level of teaching is good, but not deep enough for serious Iyengar practitioners. The main doctor, Dr Rahit, is very good with the pulse, but you only see him once or twice during the stay. For the rest of the time, you are in the hands of 20+ yr old doctors, therapists and nutritionists who are all very carrying and sweet but i would have preferred to have someone with more experience. i also found that very little explanation (if any) was given to the patients about the procedures/treatments they were going through and the medicines they were taking. On the other hand, the food was excellent! I would say this is one of the few places in India (and i have visited many) that really serves "ayurvedic food" and is conscious about food combinations, fresh ingredients, whole grains, steaming instead of frying, using ghee instead of oil, etc. Although they advertise their food as 'organic', i was not able to confirm its clear origins nor from the nutritionists, nor from the doctors.. which was disappointing to me as i realized that i was paying quite a high rate and not getting real organic food as i expected. Overall, this is an excellent place to relax and rejuvenate and to meet other travelers and/or yogis as many visit this place even for a day to escape busy Pune.
It is a year since I was at Kare and the impact of what they did for me resonates today. Today I'm a yoga teacher (RYT 200) and on the path to becoming an Iyengar yoga instructor which takes a lot longer; Shahji was my inspiration and he and the team at Kare healed my body to enable me to leave behind my bad old ways and change my life for the better.
My objectives when I went to Kare were to 1) heal a badly broken arm which was failing to heal properly 2) to avoid an operation for a frozen shoulder 3) recover from Osteoporosis and 4) decide what to do about my life (and marriage). I ticked each box whilst with them for a month. I left being able to do a handstand without splint, my shoulder 100% fixed and my osteoporosis reversed with a 15% increase in bone density.
I am now substantially vegetarian (don't be scared - my digestive system wasn't cut out for meat in such large quantities); I practice yoga 6 days out of 7; I try to keep stress out of my life and am largely successful. When I next have my bones scanned I expect to be 100% for my age group (I started off -25% and was at last read -15%).
I cannot recommend this place highly enough if you want somewhere serious. Don't expect a spa with lux accommodation. Expect somewhere authentic and good. And...don't look back.
[5 of 5 Stars!]
