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SPAHHH
For the stressed
out, the time
pressed and the
bone weary, a
spa break is the
trendy way to
relax in a hurry.
New Age gurus,
take that!
By Vatsala Kaul
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You are lying down and your skin is being prepared for an experience in
serious pampering. First it is scrubbed and exfoliated with Dead Sea salt, then
wrapped in quantities of Dead Sea mud, rich in secret
revitalizing minerals. Your body is gently warmed and,
simultaneously, your face and scalp are massaged tenderly.
Finally, a feathery application of Dead Sea Lotion restores
moisture to your skin. Funny thing is, you are nowhere near the
Dead Sea. In fact, you are nowhere near any sea. You are
in the state of bliss, in the state of Uttaranchal.
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the Ananda spa in the Himalayan foothills.
In the past few years, the everyday Indian traditions of tel
maalish, champi And ubtan have expanded and transformed subtly and
substantially to
align themselves with international
wellness and spa trends. Seductively designed,
immaculately equipped, these international spa spaces offer
everything from
exotica to escape, serenity to indulgence, medical care to
meditation. For
long a historical, cultural and spiritual magnet, now India-the
fountainhead of
alternative healing, vegetarianism, and yoga-offers a world menu of
spa
services to entice and bewilder you into surrender. "Spas are a very
popular
facility amongst our guests and we are seeing an increase in usage
of spa
facilities at our business hotels as well," says Geeta Singh,
vice-president,
corporate communications, The Oberoi Group of Hotels.
| A SPA VACATION
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Need to escape a stressful daily grind jam-packed with work schedules,
e-mails and endless phone tones? Long for a piece of that elusive 'peace of
mind' spiritual gurus offer courses and discourses on? Have a health concern
that needs focused attention? Or perhaps you need just some TLC with the
stops pulled out… A spa vacation can satisfy several needs you may not even
realize. However, if you do realize the need, there’s all the more reason for a
spa vacation. Many spas offer relaxation opportunities for couples, such as
dreamy suites and massages for two, so you could get away as a couple, too.
You can be eager to make a sea-change in your lifestyle, or you could be just
wanting to have a fun-filled unwind; you could be young or old, fit or
unashamedly out of shape…in a spa vacation, you can choose the place as
well as the pace.
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WATER TREATMENT
In the big pool at the Udaivilas in Udaipur |
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A spa vacation in India becomes that little bit more exciting because you
have several fabulous locations and levels of luxury to choose from, besides
the type of treatments and therapies, of course. You could combine your spa
focus with a royal experience in an 18th century restored fort, if you will, or
choose a romantic getaway in the peaceful Kerala backwaters. Or perhaps
your preference is miles of beachfront in a plush uber-modern five-asterisk
hotel? Then again, maybe you would like to escape to a natural
retreat in a
thickly forested, scented mountainside… Well, there are a host
of spa hospitality options to choose and use. |
YOUR SPA TYPES
Choosing a spa becomes easier when you know what
you want from a spa vacation. Think of what you’d
like to experience or achieve, and choose one that
enables you to do that.
Health / Wellness
Address medical issues and
health problems; discover how lifestyle choices can
lead to wellness
Fitness
Work out in fitness classes, enjoy
rejuvenating body treatments, participate in outdoor
sports and weight-loss programs
Beauty
Enjoy treatments that aim at repairing
damage, and enhancing skin and body beauty
De-Stress
Learn relaxation techniques, how to
manage stress, and other strategies to reduce tension
and stay in control
Serenity
Introspection and reflect through
meditation, yoga, tai chi, chi gong
Indulgence
Pamper yourself with massages,
facials, mud or aroma baths
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| Different Strokes… and Scrubs and Wraps |
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The hospitality industry in India has
built up on all its wellness resources to provide a spa network
in every spa category. There are club spas and day spas for
short-term daily use, hotel or resort spas to enhance their
already luxurious experience, medical spas to provide medical and wellness care, and even
a different destination. |
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Ananda-in the Himalayas, which was first runner-up in the Best Overseas
Lifestyle Destination Spa category in Conde Nast Traveller last year, offers a
healing-heritage experience. Located in the palace estate of the Maharaja of
Tehri Garhwal, it offers 20 lavish treatment rooms with a Himalayan view,
hydrotherapy rooms, meditation areas, yoga pavilions et al. Take a chopper to
its helipad, and choose the sensuous and soothing Chakradhara-a herbal oil
poured over chakra points with a marma point massage, or go for an energizing
dry Thai massage, from
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POT LUCK: Dhara treatment at the
Tamara, Taj Malabar
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amongst the host of
Indian, European and Thai therapies available. All amidst Yantric art.In another part of the Himalayas, the recently relaunched Oberoi Hotels’
Wildflower Hall at Mashorba, near Shimla, is fragrant with cedar and pine
scent. At this former residence of Lord Kitchener, you could give in to the joys
of a wild lavender scrub and a geranium cream wrap, or a Hawaiian
massage and a jasmine bath. In fact, all Oberoi Hotels’ properties
feature Oberoi Spas by Banyan Tree, one of the world’s most
prestigious spa management companies. In unlikely
Punjab, and even more unlikely Amritsar, just seveneight
months since their soft launch, Ranjit’s
SVAASA has become a WelcomeHeritage spa.
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SVAASA, short for Sunny View Arya
Spa, offers vaastu-directed boutique
rooms, designer bathrooms and
balconies with a view in an
ancestral 250-year old haveli.
"NRIs visiting Punjab wish to
enjoy the old feel," says owner
Vishal Chand Mehra. "They
enjoy the heritage look and
feel of this spa resort, its old
furniture, thick walls, high
ceilings, spacious rooms. "In Agra, amongst splendid iron gates, latticework, inlaid
floors and mosaics, the Oberoi Amarvilas pampers you with all 105 guest rooms and
sev>en suites having a view of the Taj Mahal. |
Even rice becomes an instrument
of indulgence-with a massage usingrice, warm
buttermilk, herbal and
aromatic lotions. Or you
could give in to the lure
of the three-hour Noore -
Taj - combining an almond
cleansing scrub,
honey citrus wrap,
Balinese massage and
lavender milk bath.Right on
the Golden Triangle, The
Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur entices
you with royal secrets such as the
rose sandalwood wrap, or the
turmeric skin purifier. Another perfect
pick would be the "Spirit of Ayurveda"
treatment that includes a sand bundle massage,
shirodhara (where a stream of sesame oil is poured
over your third eye), and a floral bath. You can follow up
tiger-spotting in Ranthambor with the Oberoi
Vanyavilas’ signature treatment-a guava scrub, a
juicy orange wrap, a scented massage and a
refreshing mint bath-in a fountain-studded
courtyard. The spa suites at The Oberoi Udaivilas in
the pretty city of Udaipur are an experience in
repose-they provide you amazing views of Picchola
Lake and the City Palace, while you are being
spoiled silly by the application of sandalwood and
turmeric scrubs, tomato wraps, a massage, and
finally a milk and rose bath.
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At the somewhat sepulchral floating
Taj Lake Palace, the spa hands you over to the expert touch of
Rajasthani ubtanis for unforgettable applications of lemongrass,
jojoba, almond or lavender essential oils. Not very far from
Udaipur, in the Aravali Hills, the 18th century palace of Devi
Garh has a spa offering ayurvedic therapies using medicinal oils
and herbal mixes to de-stress and delight. ake heart, if the
metros are your holiday destination. At The Oberoi, New Delhi and
Mumbai, you can erase the taut and tense with an array of
60-minute treatments comprising aromatic, Balinese, Hawaiian, and
Thai massages,
or half-hour marma point facials. | |
THERMAL ON THE MOUNT: Soaking
in the
wellness at Ananda in the Himalayas
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The Sonar Spa at ITC Sonar Bangla in Kolkata is a tranquil sensory
retreat with lush greenery, gurgling gargoyles and placid water
reserves. Amongst a range of facial and body therapies as well as a
spa cafe, it offers the 110-minute ancient royal Javanese treatment
using exotic flowers and spices to soften and smooth the skin.
The Fort Radisson Resort and Spa, at Raichak
close to Kolkata city displays a medieval fort theme
in its 59 luxury rooms and two suites.
At
the Taj Fort Aguada Beach Resort, built on the
ramparts of a 16th-century Portuguese fortress
ogling at the Arabian Sea, you can enjoy a range of
body massages, heat wraps and scrubs at the Spa
Aguada. Then there’s the Mediterranean-style Taj
Exotica on the southwest coast of Goa. The new
Tamara Spa offers Ayurveda therapy to revitalize,
relieve, rejuvenate and repair. Bangalore’s Angsana
Oasis Spa and Resort spoils you for choice-the
blended brush scrub with milk, honey, oatmeal,
tamarind and watermelon? A sensual anti-jetlag
massage? Or a tangerine and rice flour body wrap?
Whatever be your elixir.
POOL WITH A VIEW:
Luxuriating at
the poolside at Ananda |
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The Ayurvedagram Heritage Wellness Center,
an ethnic health resort has transplanted 125-yearold
cottages from Kerala into 12 acres of herbal
garden at Bangalore. It offers hardcore curative and
therapeutic ayurvedic treatments. On the other side
of the peninsula, in Chennai, the Spa Vyana at the Taj
Fisherman’s Cove, offers a range of therapies
utilizing every natural born revitalizer from
seawater to hot stones.
In Kerala, ayurveda reigns supreme. The
monsoon, they say, is the best time for the
rejuvenating ayurveda packages. Amongst the many
superior ayurvedic spas or centers is Somatheeram
Ayurvedic Beach Resort on the
Malabar coast, south of Kovalam. It
offers yoga, meditation and the best of ayurveda
on 18 acres of |
of
landscaped hills. In Cochin, the signature treatment at the two century- old Malabar House is kalari-a two therapist job with
oils.
The Taj Malabar on Willingdon Island also offers ayurvedic
treatments at its chic Tamara Spa, where
the
Ayushman
Ayurvedic Trust provides expertise from its 60 years
of knowledge and experience. In Kumarakom, the
Taj Garden Retreat offers ayurvedic relief-and has
played host to ex-PM Vajpayee.
What next? An exhaustive list of small and big
spas in India would be very long and new ones
would have to be added every few months. The spa
trend, it seems, is here to stay and defy being a fad.
The Mayfair Beach Resort in Puri has recently
opened a spa, while the newly furbished Claridges
in New Delhi also offers spa facilities. Spas are fast
becoming standard issue at hotels. However, the
services are not necessarily standard issue, as spas
make an effort to differentiate themselves in terms
of treatments, expertise and USP. The Imperial in
New Delhi, for instance, has selected the Six Senses
Spa for its garden spa. The spa will include 11
treatment rooms and a suite for traditional wedding
preparations. Six Senses Spas have created a
Sensory Spa Journey that will be showcased at The
Imperial later this year-a variation of a four-hands
massage, performed by two therapists. It begins
with a rich and refreshing foot scrub, a facial
refreshment and foot cleansing treatment. The
piece de resistance is skin brushing and an
aromatic body massage, synchronized with a
cleansing facial and stress-relieving scalp massage.
This two-hour simultaneous, sequential
combination is said to take you on a journey
through the five senses and beyond. Go on-give in.
SPAHHH SPEAK
Aromatherapy
The use of fragrant, natural, botanical
essential oils from plants, leaves, bark, roots, seeds,
resins and flowers to refresh and relax.
Detoxification
The process of cleansing the body of
accumulated poisons often from over-taxation due to
addictive behavior.
Fango body treatment
A body treatment that involves the
application of highly mineralized thermal mud to the entire body
in an effort to gently cleanse, release toxins, re-mineralize,
nourish, and soothe the skin.
Herbal wrap
The body is wrapped in a warm cloth soaked in a
herbal solution to eliminate impurities, detoxify the body, and
induce relaxation.
Hydrotherapy
Water used as a form of treatment by way of jet
massages, showers, and baths (Swiss shower, Thalassotherapy,
Jacuzzi)
Pilates
Strength training movements involving coordinated
breathing techniques developed in Germany by Dr Joseph Pilates
during the 1920s.
Reflexology
An ancient Chinese technique in which specific
pressure points — usually on the feet, but also on the hands and
ears — are massaged in order to re establish the flow of energy
throughout the body.
Shiatsu
Acupressure massage technique in which pressure is
applied to specific points of the body to stimulate or release the
meridians through which energy flows.
Swedish Massage
A classical European massage technique of
the muscles with special oils by therapeutic stroking and
kneading of muscle tissue to promote stress relief.
T’ai Chi
A form of Chinese martial art that combines mental
concentration, slow respiration and graceful movements similar
to those of a dance; "meditation in motion"
Thai Massage
A technique that involves a unique combination
of gentle rocking and stretching using range of motion and
acupressure techniques applied through clothing without oils.
Thalassotherapy
The use of sea products used to detoxify,
exfoliate, balance the skin’s pH, and hydrate.
Vichy Shower
A shower taken lying down on a table, usually
in a "wet room" where several overhead jets release water of
varying temperatures and pressures. |
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