Sri Lanka: Incentives in the garden of Buddha

Giving a meaning to life, learning to understand one’s spiritual environment whilst dealing with the impact of culture and nature in view of changing as a person and improving one’s performance might just be the next big thing in incentive destinations. Sri Lanka, the Pearl of the Orient, is the right kind of place to provide the scope for this brand of individualised incentives.

Spiritual wellness incentives
Does a spiritual wellness incentive, one may wonder, really exist? Intelligently conceived incentive programmes pay a lot of attention to action and exercise instead of to lazily lingering about and gargantuan meals. Clearly, the latter options have definitely ceased to exist. Stress - and more often than not of the unhealthy kind – has become a part of our daily life as a result of the fast pace of our existence. And things have to move equally fast in our work environment as well. Experts in stress management (maybe much to your surprise) are advocating that body exercise and more body exercise as well as ‘life changing retreats’ (maybe yet another surprise) could be the answer to changing the way we live. It is said to work wonders for our job performance and to also benefit private and family life. Sri Lanka, the garden of Buddha and spiritual island of the Indian Ocean, may be one of the few destinations where this can be achieved with professional guidance.

Ayurveda at the Barberyn
Top executives and managers wishing to use their leisure time (e.g. during an incentive trip) to find more meaning to life, mindfulness to strengthen the harmony between body and mind as well as the levers to develop their inner self can now find all this and more in an ayurvedic resort on the south-west coast of Sri Lanka. Lonely Planet has only recently placed this island at the top of their list of ‘must visit’ destinations.

The two Barberyn hotels offer the most perfect combination of Ayurveda treatments, Mindfulness, Meditation, Coaching together with the pleasures of a seaside vacation. All treatments, meals, exercises and coaching conversations are perfectly synchronised and as a result they reinforce each other.

Also, the resort offers many tailored daytrips or longer excursions to get to know the beautiful nature and abundant culture of this island. Moreover, Barberyn Resorts through its unique development programme provides guests with an opportunity to support local initiatives.
www.barberynhotels.com

Art and Jungle hideaway
A few years ago the Barberyn Group opened an Art and Jungle hideaway. It embodies that very special opportunity for those of you who love genuine ‘close to nature’ adventures. Diyabubula is a small luxury lodge located near the town of Dambulla, in central Sri Lanka. Renowned Sri Lankan artist Laki Senanayaka designed the place as a hideaway and water garden. It has only five special villas (three water villas, a tree house and a bamboo grove). Wood is the basic building material. What is truly remarkable about this incentive destination is that you get to sample all the elements of nature at the same time: food, water, trees, wildlife, plants, art, music and the mountains of Sri Lanka in the nearby forest reserves.

This report was written by Marcel A.M. Vissers