As a wellness writer, I spend days sometimes weeks on the road in India and overseas on the quest to find the best #deeptissuemassage and the best acupuncturist. What we don’t realise is that traveling also tends to wreak havoc with your body and your hormones. You feel more tired than usual, you sleep cycle is impacted, you notice changes in your mood and appetite and your fatigue gets the better of you. Irrespective of what you do for a feeling, adrenal fatigue is a real thing that affects men and women that are on overdrive. Imagine waking up in the morning to have breakfast on the go while you are looking at your emails, you rush from meeting to meeting and spend lunch on instagram or on the phone and when you finally return home from work you check yourself into a high intensity spinning class and then check emails before bed. As a result, you are burning the candle on all ends and aren’t allowing yourself nearly anytime to breathe, unwind and relax. Your body produces too much cortisol, your metabolism suffers and you start to gain weight around the middle, your hormones are out of whack and you get cranky and irritable. You wake up after a full 8 hours and don’t feel well rested. When I walked into Atmantan, I, too, was running on overdrive and needed a break.
I had a gorgeous room fitted with all the amenities that you would require, a stunning bath space and the room was in close proximity to the dining areas and the spa. It was raining all day everyday so I needed the buggy service to move around but the sky looked magical as it cleared and the views of the forest surrounding you had a cathartic effect on me and my nerves.
At Atmantan , you are encouraged to leave your phones in your room. AirTel doesn’t work on the premises and wifi services are restricted to your room. I have to admit I was feeling pretty nervous about being so isolated from home, work, clients and helpless when I couldn’t find a way to update my Instagram feed or check emails. It bothered me for a bit but I stopped fighting it and learnt that this might be a blessing – in disguise. So, I surrendered and woke up to the sound of frogs and a loud thunder shower, didn’t feel the need to obsess over capturing everything I ate and I felt relieved because I didn’t really have to update my snapchat. My phone didn’t ring and I would get a barrage of messages every time I came into my room at night but I knew I could respond to them in due time. The result, I slept better and woke up fresher and I already feel less stressed being here.
There are several retreats offered to guests at Atmantan from ATMANTAN LIVING – for the uninitiated to ease into healthy eating, regular exercise and ayurvedic treatments. SPA LIFE – for frequent travellers, businessmen and couples looking for some R&R. MASTER CLEANSE – for those seeking cellular detoxification and its health benefits and particularly for people who are looking to lose weight and get healthier. WEIGHT BALANCE – for diabetics, insulin resistant and those of us with metabolic issues so we learn how to make the right lifestyle choices. JOURNEY THROUGH YOGA – for those of us looking to delve deep into the sacred art of yoga and knowing oneself. AYURVEDA PANCHAKARMA – for those wishing to partake in the healing of traditional Ayurveda and detox under supervision. HOLISTIC HEALTH – for the preventive care and natural healing for the soul, mind and body that includes hammam, massages, yoga nidra. FITNESS CHALLENGE – for those of you who are seasoned exercisers or beginners looking for motivation to take your fitness and your health up by a few notches.
I was there to review the holistic health retreat- which turned out to be a great experience because I really learnt a lot. The holistic health retreat doesn’t focus on calorie counting or rigorous workouts but on lowering stress levels, promoting better sleep and working towards improving the quality of life of the person attending the retreat. Upon arrival and after checking in, you would go in for a consultation with the doctor who would curate a plan replete with ayurvedic treatments, massages and prescribe a diet according to your dosha type. For those of you who are acquainted with the dosha types, I am a vata type but my pitta was aggravated when I had arrived so the doctor prescribed foods that would help find a balance and stimulate my digestive system as well. I was there for 3 nights although most retreats start at 5 nights and go onto 7 nights for a well rounded experience.
My days would start with morning yoga and pranayama at 8 followed by breakfast. I would invariably have an egg white omelet and some fruit and missed my coffee way too much on Day 1 but started to get used to it. At Atmantan, coffee and tea isn’t really encouraged at mealtime because it disrupts digestion and messes with food assimilation. Coffee (singular), teas and fruit juices can be consumed by themselves between breakfast and lunch and in the afternoons at ‘Tejus’- the cafe. If you’ve been taking your workout up a few notches and need a protein ball or a treat in between meals with your cuppa- this is your space to come in and grab a quick bite or enjoy a leisurely chai with a book in the languid surroundings. Lunch would typically be early with a healthy smattering of dishes from all over the subcontinent cooked with various cooking methods. The chefs really want to nourish your gut here so they have a wide variety of probiotics, prebiotics, fermented foods, pickled vegetables and yoghurts at mealtimes because they too believe that a ‘healthy gut is a healthy body’. I would spend my afternoons in the spa either trying to harness the sleep inducing benefits of an acupuncture and moxibustion session or go in for some chakra balancing meditation or yoga nidra. I would spend an hour before dinner either in the yoga room doing some aerial and ashtanga with props or in the gym doing some functional training. Dinner would start early to encourage you to retire early and allow your body to heal and recuperate. I have to say I was pretty happy with the myriads of activities offered at Atmantan and was slowly being able to wean myself off my daily cup of coffee.
When your body cries out for help – allow it to rest, nurture it and nourish it with comforting wholesome food. I had not worked out in days because my body needed to sleep in, rest and recuperate. Thank you team Atmantan for taking good care of me and allowing to build a deeper connection with my body. Be aware, listen to your body and watch out for signals.
Highlights-
The food is absolutely sumptuous and incredible and even though the plates that you are served in are smaller than the regular plates at home, you don’t feel like you are depriving yourself at all. Breakfast lunch and dinner has a healthy menu with a salad bar, soups, main course and a dessert made with no added sugars. I loved the raw cacao based desserts and the pumpkin halwa made with raw sugar. The spa is absolutely incredible and I highly recommend a visit to the Hammam if you want to leave feeling like a princess. The infra red sauna is monitored but highly recommended for aches and pains, stiffness and to improve blood circulation. The resort has a large indoor temperature controlled pool that can be used post a heavy workout to unwind and relax. My chakra balancing meditation session and Chi Nei Tsang left me feeling overwhelmed at first with the abundance of energy but a lot lighter afterwards. The staff here is wonderful and the service at the spa and mealtime is impeccable and everyone was happy to help.
Go outside. Don’t tell anyone and don’t bring your phone. Start walking and keep walking until you no longer know the road like the palm of your hand, because we walk the same roads day in and day out, to the bus and back home and we cease to see. We walk in our sleep and teach our muscles to work without thinking and I dare you to walk where you have not yet walked and I dare you to notice. Don’t try to get anything out of it, because you won’t. Don’t try to make use of it, because you can’t. And that’s the point. Just walk, see, sit down if you like. And be. Just be, whatever you are with whatever you have, and realise that that is enough to be happy. There’s a whole world out there, right outside your window. You’d be a fool to miss it.-Charlotte Eriksson
Special thanks to all the staff at Atmantan for making my stay super comfortable and for looking after me. Athena, Amanda, Dr Manoj, Kartikesh, Souvik Roy Chowdhery, Animesh Kumar from reservations and everyone I had the pleasure of meeting. I returned home happier, lighter and armed with a lot of knowledge on how to be kinder to my body. Mr and Mrs Kapur deserve every accolade for founding such an institution that blends the best of both eastern and western philosophies and allows a real digital detox amid this lush, verdant scenery overlooking the lake and the Sahyadris.
About the resort-
Spectacular views of the lake and valley, with a minimalistic
architectural design, the resort converges into its foliaged land.
Most uniquely here, every building has been so designed that one
steps into the magnificent view as one enters the buildings!
106 luxurious guest rooms and villas, with attached balconies or
private sit-out gardens.
The Fitness facility of 6525 square feet includes a high-tech
gymnasium, functional TRX aerobic studio, indoor spinning studio,
expansive yoga studio, Pilates and dance studio, and an enclosed,
temperature controlled, environmentally friendly, chemical-free
salt water pool.
The Atmantan Spa provides guests with 23 spacious treatment
rooms, enabling therapies of traditional Ayurveda, oriental
acupressure, aromatherapy massages, purifying body polishes,
cocooning wraps and Pranic Chakra Cleansing. These distinctively
designed rooms also include specialist treatments such as the
Hammam, Vichy showers, open Colonics and Balneotherapy.
Atmantan houses 3 dining venues, that include Vistara – The Main
Dining, Chantara – The Barbecue Lounge and Te’-jus – The Juice Bar.
About the founders-
“More than a decade ago, I dreamt of a place that celebrates health and people who choose to walk this evolved path. A place where one could re-connect with them self while placing their own needs, wants and desires at top most priority; a place where they would learn to put themselves first every day of their life. Atmantan is the ultimate destination for you to rejuvenate, soul-search, and actually partake in a wellness holiday. As India’s first truly integrated health destination becomes a reality today… we welcome you to come live your life at its healthiest best.”
Sharmilee Agrawal Kapur (Creative strategist and a Pranic healing practitioner)
“I believe that life at its simplest best has to have one’s family, friends and good health in it; Atmantan too at its simplest propagates healthy living and is my legacy to the people in my life. It has been my great honour and pleasure to have been personally involved in every aspect of this resort right from its planning, to its building and now it’s commissioning as an international destination spa. We are tremendously proud to present to you a place where you can come and become healthy, and keep returning to, as you scale new personal heights of wellness… I invite all you health and fitness oriented
individuals to come experience Atmantan, our exquisite wellness offering.”
Quick Notes-
Atmantan Wellness Centre
Where: Village Palase, Mulshi, Pune, Maharashtra
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/atmantan.wellness/
Website: http://www.atmantan.com/
Starting Price: INR 75000
Location- Atmantan
Wardrobe- Mitali Wadhwa instagram
Photo Credits- Purva Damle – instagram
Varsity Dress- Aint that Dank- instagram
Bikini-Nidhi Munim- Instagram
Swimsuits – Flirtatious –instagram
