Need to relax and get back on the fitness track in style? Here's why you should visit Atmantan

Making time for yourself in a metropolis bursting with schedules, is in a sense, luxury. To focus on yourself is uber-luxury. And sometimes, before an exacting city like Mumbai pulps you into a mass of fatigue you owe yourself a course correction. My course was a four-hour drive for a long weekend from Mumbai to Mulshi, where in the crystalline hills of the Sahyadris, nestles Atmantan, a holistic wellness resort. The road leading to Atmantan is lush with monsoon. You pass swathes of emerald green fields and misty lakes. But it can be sore on your back and limbs for the potholes that you go over as well. The purpose of the journey therefore becomes a natural corollary for the destination. You know you’re nearer to the place because town noises ebb and nature’s sounds take over: gurgling streams, lapping lakes, soft drizzles, birds hooting, trees rustling; and your body, still adjusting to the gorgeous stillness, is responding by a series of deep and lusty yawns, as you check into a three-day programme.

Villa Room

The road to wellness

The good thing about Atmantan is that it is comparable as a health resort with the best in the world. (Chiva-Som in Thailand comes to mind)—a double treat for Mumbaikars for whom it’s a car drive away. The resort features over a hundred guest rooms and villas, all with balconies or private sit-out gardens. Pick your view, forest or lake. It has a vast spa: 23 treatment rooms including a Hammam, in addition to a massive fitness facility. It is spread in clusters they call Groves, including two ultra luxurious villas, the Rain Tree Villa and The Mango Tree Villa that are mini-resorts in themselves. Amidst hushed whispers, we were told that a recent blockbuster hit-film Bollywood hero was nestling there at the time. We’re in the Arjuna Grove, a cluster of well-appointed rooms that could match any five-star hotel. Ours overlook the Mulshi lake, all misty at one time and then suddenly clear, depending on the mercurial mood of the rain gods. Within minutes we’re being appraised by a doctor (an ayurvedic one), who not only takes your pulse and your embarrassing history of lifestyle neglect, but also works out a three-day plan of group activity and my favourite, massages.

Salt scrub at the Atmantan Spa
 

You’re given a choice of massages with strong recommendations on what would suit you. I opted for the Invigorating Massage the first day (to wake me up from the city lethargy), the Relaxing Massage the next day and the Abhyanga on the third to fortify me for the days to come. All done by expert masseurs from Bhutan, Kerala and across the sweep of the country. There are mind-boggling massages to choose from. A ‘postural integration’ session is on the cards for me. A young therapist assesses my weight, my balance and my body weight composition on a high-tech machine and out-zips all the hidden zits of my anatomy. Yes, I have a slouch. Yes, I’m overweight. Yes, my left side is more dominant than my right. And a discovery I made: I am flat-footed. “But you’re better off than most others,” she says consolingly, sensing my despair. I’m given a schedule of exercises and a demo of adjusting my body to correct sitting and walking techniques. It helps. A dance class helps me stay limber. A stretching class helps even more. Meditation techniques are designed to calm my nervous energy. There’s enough activity to choose from and if you prefer to just use the large and fabulous open space to walk and clear your mind, you can do that too. Or choose a vantage point and watch the mists in the distance roll into the lake and roll out again. That too is meditation. The place offers you a huge dose of the outdoors, a deep inwardly schedule and not to forget, a thorough pampering of the senses.

Plating it right

The Juice Bar

The three restaurants are strategically located at the end of the estate. This is so you don’t think of food constantly. It’s a health resort, remember? But once you’re there you’re in for the kind of treat you could only have dreamed of. Healthy, small portions (for me a one-egg omelette is a delightful portion as opposed to the two-and-three egg fluffs that five-stars insist on overwhelming you with), a dosa here is the size of your palm. Desserts are made only from healthy options like jaggery, dark chocolate, millet... Tea and coffee are strongly discouraged. That can be a bit of a bummer considering once we leave, we hit the morning tea trail again. A recurring thought occurs—is this worth the money one pays? And a recurring answer: yes.

Moong dal khichadi​

So what did I take back from my trip? The fact that I am writing this piece for the last couple of hours tells me I should be thanking the lovely and gentle therapist who taught me how to sit without slouching (by the way, every one of the staff from the reception and housekeeping and the waiting staff to the buggy drivers are a warm and happy group). I now think twice before I cram a huge sandwich in my mouth. Do I really need this? I’ve learnt to keep myself three quarters full with a little space for hunger, but not to the point of distraction. And what I take back the most from this trip, is a yearning to go back again.