Spa experience in heart of city

November 23, 2005

Think spa, and you conjure up that nice, quiet place on the outskirts of the city, where you can relax and let your hair down. But think again, there's a spa right in the heart of the city.

Just off the bustling Cunningham road, on Ali Asker Road, is the Shanaz Husain Herbal Salon and Spa. The traffic is lesser on this road and the cool green ambience is very soothing. It is run by a mother-daughter duo - Kulu Phokela and Shalika.

It was my first spa experience and it was very rejuvenating. First the whole body is covered with a scrub to exfoliate the dead skin (epithelial tissue). It felt a little cold at first. But it was a fleeting feeling. After the scrub came the fruit pack. It smelt like bananas. I asked my masseur Beena about it. She confirmed that bananas and other fruits were used along with milk and other stuff.

One felt like the queens of yore, pampered with a generous amount of the creamy mixture applied all over. Then came the body wrap, where the body was wraped in a special sheet. Caught a few quick winks, after which the pack was washed off.

This was followed by the stress-buster. The massage. Warm olive oil was used. What really relaxed the body was the gentle, yet firm movements of the masseur's fingers and hands all over.

Next came the steam bath (one can chose between this or sauna or jacuzzi). The room was filled with steam. One is vary at first, but there is someone outside to peep in case of need. It finishes off with a proper bath. You come out feeling relaxed and refreshed.

This spa has separate sections for men and women. There are more men who frequent the spa than women, according to Shalika. But women too are increasing in numbers. Today's working woman feels the need to look after herself and indulge herself too.

The various kinds of wraps: creamy banana wrap, potato mask, aleo vera, mud wrap, papaya wrap, sandalwood wrap.

Scrubs are of three types: Indian aroma, herbal and walnut. Soak options are rose petal soak, milk soak, aroma soak, ceramide.

Massages are quite a variety : Ayurvedic, aromatherapy, deep muscle massage, acupressure, tamarind or lime, milk and herb, Shanaz pearl scrub, Cinderella, Snow white, sugar dip, desert stone (lava stones are used), etc. Costs start from Rs 450 and go upwards of Rs 3,500.

Location : Shanaz Husain Salon & Spa, 18/3 Ali Asker Road, First Floor (Lane opposite Canara Bank, Cunningham Road), Bangalore 560 052. Phone: 22201549, 22260423

Nirmala Rao

The two of us

Lifestyles are changing slowly and inexorably. Self indulgence in various forms is the new age mantra for both the metrosexual man and woman. Saving and frugal living is out, heightening of personal pleasures and focusing on self and your partner after a whole week of work, is in. Imagine yourself on a dreamy and exotic oasis, stripped down to nothing and just lightly covered in a sheet with a gentle masseur unravelling the kinks in your muscles.

There is nothing to compare with a Thai spa experience and we indulged in the romantic couple experience at the Angsana Oasis Spa and Resort an hours drive from the city. At the reception we were given a file with all the experiences on offer. Sit and read through them carefully and choose your favoured one. Don't look at the prices, they are mind blowing! There is no price for pleasure, after all we were the new generation lotus eaters!

We were lead into the Jacaranda room where there are two raised beds on either side of a room which is open on the sides and is situated in a whispering bamboo grove. Remember the ambience too adds to your pleasure. Two Thai masseurs stood with heads bowed hands folded in a namaste welcomed us in. Once inside we had to strip completely and cover ourselves in robes. Just throw all inhibitions to the winds and decide mentally to give yourself up to a morning of sensory pleasure otherwise it will be a waste.

We took the Angsana Spa therapy which was an ideal mix of traditional Asian massage and beauty therapies. It is a little unnerving at first to let some other woman massage your husband, but you decide to relax and give in to your own pleasure." How do you like my 'pleasure' ( pressure) sir she asks lisping in typical Thai style making us both laugh and breaking he ice. The Thai massage is done with grace and elegance and the fact that one is totally nude is very carefully handled by the masseurs. I drifted in and out of sleep as she used an oil called 'dream' to massage me. It's almost an hour of the delightful pampering where one literally forgets reality. After the massage there is a perfectly hot high pressure shower to rise off all the extra oils used and one comes out feeling utterly refreshed. Once dressed a cup of green tea is offered to 'help improve circulation'. After any treatment at any spa it is recommended that one gets to a bed to sleep off the languor that has been induced, rather than rushing off anywhere else.

Marianne de Nazareth

Celeb haunt

The drive to Soukya is rough. Almost as if you were on camel back instead of in a car. Suddenly on both sides of the road yellow flowers nod as if in welcome of the road-weary visitor. Soukya, Dr Isaac Mathai's international holistic health centre is said to be the only one of it's kind in the world. No wonder then that Dr Mathai's list of patients reads like a virtual who's who. Prince Charles, Sarah Ferguson, Deepak Chopra, Mallika Sarabai, Tina Turner, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar...

Sitting pretty amidst a 30-acre organic farm, Soukya by its very ambience can drive fatigue away. Dr Ajitha leads me into the therapy room where I am offered a gown to change into. Soon I am joined by Nuii, the young Mizo masseuse and another pretty girl. I am asked to take off my gown and lie on the massage table. A sudden panic grips me. What have I got myself into, I wonder. I really don't fancy my sumo wrestler look underneath the gown. "Feeling shy" Nuii laughs. I close my eyes. There is no escape now. Soon smooth stones are placed at several points on my body and warm aromatic oil is gently rubbed in. After a while and despite myself, I let go, of the fatigue in my tired bones, the muscular pain in the back, the throbbing ache in my shoulders. This combination of hot basalt stones with ayurvedic oil massage is a Soukya speciality. The hot stone treatment is a Caribbean import, she adds. An hour later I am done with the massage. Nuii has been able to drive my self consciousness away along with my fatigue, I think, as I toy with the idea of asking for an encore.

Treatments available: Ekaambar (1 hour treatment/day): Rs 1,800, Trance (ayurvedic special 1 1/2 hour treatment/day): Rs 3,600, Jiva (destress programme - 2 hours treatment/day): Rs 3,600, Rebirth (Rejuvenation-Detoxification 2 1/2 hours treatment/day: 4,500, Ang-Ang (Weight Reduction - 3 hours treatment/day: 5,400.

For details telephone 7945001/02/03, email:info, web: www.soukya.com <http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/www.soukya.com>

What is a spa really? Is it some place you go to indulge yourself or is it a place you go for reasons of health?

Both. You can either pop into a spa and ask for a treatment you want like a therapuetic massage or body treatment, or stay for more than a day and drink in the whole spa experience, including eating organic food, meditating, exercising and consulting with physicians. If you are going to a spa for specific health reasons, it is more than likely that your physician decides the type and duration of treatment for you. It is entirely up to you to take it up, however. Although it is not recommended that Ayurvedic treatments be discontinued midway. Many hotels too have set up spas.Is there anything that anyone planning a trip to the spa should keep in mind. Plenty, really. At traditional spas alcohol and smoking are a strict no-no just as non-vegetarian food. Most people are daunted by the idea of having to take off their clothes for a body massage. A traditional massage would require one to do so, but you would be provided with disposable underwear. You would be covered by sheets and only that part of your body that is being worked on would be exposed at any given time. Most spas don't have cross gender massages. The session is for your relaxation, so be sure to indicate to the therapist about anything that nags you. Be it the volume of the music, temperature of the oil or the amount of pressure.

Please understand that a spa does not give sensual massage. If the therapist touches you in an inappropriate way, you can end the session right away. The whole reason for going to the spa is to relax. So turn off your cell phone during your session.

Veena Pradeep

A quiet paradise

Far away from the madding crowd on Tumkur road, lies a quiet paradise where one can go for a soothing treatment for the tired and fatigued muscle. The Golden Palms & Spa, started by film actor turned entrepreneur Sanjay Khan is perhaps the first spa set up in Bangalore and the beautiful resort, the large swimming pool and the well furnished cottages not only provide a romantic atmosphere but also a variety of packages to suit every wallet.

It is a pleasant experience as one steps into the spa wing of the resort. Water which has a mystic effect is seen everywhere - be it the small fountains or the large pond as one takes the elevator to go to any of the three floors housing the spa. The large rooms have plenty of natural light and view of the palm trees and fields surrounding the resort. The total absence of noise gives an invigorating feeling which prepares the mind and the body for the treatment to follow.

"The spa has a wide spectrum of fitness programmes, facilities like sauna and steam rooms, treatment rooms for face and body, massages, wraps, hydrotherapy suite and a salon, and we have the state-of -art equipment," says Dr Shaswat Chandra, Medical Officer/Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant there.

The therapies begin with a steam bath, drench shower or Swiss shower, massage hydrotherapy tub baths, and a variety of treatments that include body wraps and aromatherapy. Pure oil extracts of rare ayurvedic and oriental herbs are used and the masseurs are trained in the ancient skill of reflexology, acupuncture, exclusive facial treatments and a wide choice of relaxing and therapeutic massages.

Of course there are various packages like The Rejuvenating Getaway (3 nights and 4 days) costing upwards of Rs 30,000 per person which includes lifestyle consultation, Balinese massage, crystal salt scrub in Turkish hamam, personal fitness appraisal and training, meditation and yoga etc.

For the rich and the famous, there are even more expensive, elaborate packages. There are salons for hair and beauty treatment, manicure, pedicure, paraffin wax hand and foot treatment, so on.

Another interesting treatment the spa offers is the Panchakarma (Body Purification) which includes five major procedures. It is meant to purify the whole body by eliminating the accumulated toxins from it. This package includes treatments like Virechana (purgation), Vamana (Emesis), Vasthi (Enema), Nasyam (Nasal Errhines) and Raktamokshana (Heparin therapy). The specialty of this treatment is that it can be administered both in a healthy as well as a diseased person. When a healthy person subjects himself to panchakarma, it has preventive, restorative and rejuvenative effects on the body, says Dr Shaswat.

For details contact info <infoor phone 23712222.

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