Voices Devdutt Pattanaik Ravi Shankar Anuja Chandramouli Ajai Sahni Luke Coutinho Mata Amritanandamayi MAGAZINE Buffet People Wellness Books Food Art & Culture Entertainment NEW DELHI september 14 2025 SUNDAY PAGES 12 Bring to Heal Edgy wellness treatments like custom drips, cryotherapy and wine meditations replace the been-there-done-that feel W By Nikhil P Merchant ellness travel is no longer only about spa breaks in Bali or Ayurvedic retreats in Kerala. It has moved beyond the predictable. The new-age seeker wants more—rituals that stitch together body mind and spirit, , experiences that don’t feel borrowed from ancient manuals but rather crafted for the anxieties of now. Travel has become therapy with journeys designed as , prescriptions. At a sleek retreat outside Lisbon, guests float in a chamber of 1,200 pounds of Epsom salt, where gravity is suspended and the brain enters a theta-wave state. The experience is at once eerie and liberating. Closer home in India, the new wave of wellness is cutting-edge and experimental. At a luxury wellness centre in Goa, cold plunge pools and whole-body cryotherapy sessions are trending. Guests emerge from minus 110°C chambers exhilarated, their metabolism jolted awake, their mood lifted by a rush of endorphins. In Rishikesh, VR meditation is being introduced in select retreats—headsets project visuals tailored to your stress levels, transporting you into digital versions of calming oceans or star-filled skies while biometric trackers monitor your brainwaves; VR or virtual reality technology uses audio-visuals and guided audio. Biohacking clinics are integrating IV vitamin drips and oxygen therapy lounges into spa itineraries. You lie back in futuristic recliners, sipping water infused with adaptogens (for example ashwagandha that is organically de-stressing) while a slow-release suffusion of magnesium or glutathione promises instant rehydration and glow. At a new retreat in the Aravallis near Jaipur, guests step into sensory deprivation pods filled with warm saline water. An hour in the tank feels like drifting in space—disconnection from gravity, from external stimuli, and ultimately from restless thought. Meanwhile, Himalayan wellness lodges in Uttarakhand are experimenting with forest-bathing trails enhanced with wearable trackers. Globally the wellness leisure paradigm is changing. Iceland’s geothermal sound baths combine hot springs with immersive soundscapes. Japan’s futuristic spas now offer virtual reality meditation pods. The Maldives has introduced submarine yoga classes held in glass pods under turquoise waters where manta rays glide past as witnesses. In India, wellness is entering unexpected spaces. In Maharashtra, vineyards are introducing wine meditation sessions. In the Northeast, homestays in Meghalaya and Sikkim are offering culinary healing treks, where local grandmothers turn foraged herbs into broths that soothe the gut and spirit. In the time of digital fatigue running parallel to overstimulation of the senses, these journeys don’t Ocean-facing Meditation There is something magical about waking up to the view of limestone cliffs emerging from the Andaman Sea in Krabi. At Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, wellness unfolds slowly—from ocean-facing meditation and vitality pools to guided Thai massage and crystal sound healing in open-air salas, all part of the resort’s personalised wellness journeys just pamper—they rewire you. “Eating out was part of the job,” says Goa-based food and travel writer Insia Lacewalla, recalling a lifestyle that once finessed indulgence to gormandising. Beneath the curated flair, something wrong was happening to her: bloating, fatigue, a body whispering warnings she could not interpret. Lacewalla was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. That moment cracked everything open. A gut cleanse followed, then a nutritionist. Across India, a powerful shift is reshaping the idea of wellness. The age of faux detox regimens and weekend spa escapes is giving way to focused, smarter, and more soulful experiences: a new genre called luxury wellness where science meets spirit, and recovery is as aspirational as hustle once was. “I didn’t realise how much magnesium was helping until I stopped taking it,” Lacewalla says. “It changed my sleep, my stress, and my muscle tension.” In Mumbai, Dr Karan Jadhav, India’s first certified Thermalist instructor and founder of URECO, stands at the forefront of this transformation. His studio feels like a future-forward lab, lit by the warm glow of red light and the cold shimmer of ice bath pools. At its core is contrast therapy; an alternating between intense cold and heat to flush inflammation, stimulate repair, and reawaken the body’s healing systems. “Wellness shouldn’t just prevent illness,” says Dr Jadhav. “It should enhance your ability to live fully You come out not . just feeling better, but clearer, lighter, awake.” For Rakshita Swami, a 39-year-old media professional in Mumbai, the wake-up call came during the pandemic—when a torn ACL— a ligament in the knee that connects the thigh bone to the shin bone— forced her to stop and reckon with her own body “Before that, wellness . was about vanity Now, it’s about . strength,” she says. Her days are built around strength training, creatine and collagen treatments, red light therapy, and deliberate recovery . Public figures are tuning in. Mira Kapoor, entrepreneur and the quiet force behind India’s slow-living movement, launched Dhun Wellness, a serene 6,000 sq ft retreat tucked in a leafy Bandra bylane. Among its highlights: Red Light Bed Therapy—a sensorial experience that reduces inflammation, boosts collagen, and restores radiance at the deepest levels. “It is healing,” she says, “but its also coming home to yourself.” Equally futuristic is REVIV the , global IV therapy pioneer now transforming wellness across India. “We’re not here to treat symptoms,” says Krysh Bajaj, co-founder of REVIV India. “We’re here to optimise your biology Every client .” at REVIV begins with IV Pro—a personalised AI-backed intake system that reviews lifestyle goals, medications, and clinical history . Based on this, they’re recommended custom drips—from Vitaglow an antioxidant-rich Glutathione IV for skin recovery to NAD+ for “I didn’t realise how much magnesium was helping until I stopped. It changed my sleep, my stress, even my muscle tension.” Insia Lacewalla, food and travel writer Neuroreactive Training “I was constantly on edge, disconnected, and no amount of therapy, yoga, or pills seemed to touch the root. What finally shifted things was tuning inward.” Arshiya Jain, alcobev explorer Red-light Therapy Red Light Therapy is offered within the Blu Xone, a specialised longevity and wellness zone at Fairmont Mumbai. This advanced treatment uses low-level red wavelengths to stimulate collagen production, boost cellular repair, and reduce oxidative stress, making it a key part of the spa’s anti-ageing and regenerative offerings energy “We even decline requests if . the treatment isn’t warranted,” says Dr Rajni Toppo, Medical Director. Their client base spans young adults, CEOs, brides-to-be, and working moms. A Booming Business India’s wellness tourism market, valued at USD 19.22 billion in 2024, Atmantan offers an advanced Fitness Challenge retreat featuring Reax Neuroreactive Training—a cutting-edge sensorimotor workout system that enhances reflexes, coordination, and sensory responsiveness through dynamic, real-world stimulus training is projected to exceed USD 38 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 7.3 per cent. Supported by Ministry of Tourism initiatives like the “Heal in India” campaign, India is rapidly positioning itself as a global destination for holistic, heritagereinstating wellbeing experiences. “A lot of my clients from Singapore, the UAE, London and the US now prefer coming to India for longevity planning,” says Dr Marcus Ranney, longevity physician. Luxury hotels are evolving fast. Today’s retreats offer gut microbiome mapping, HRV (measures the fine fluctuations in the time between heartbeats to assess the body’s nervous system function and stress response) tracking, hormonal balance protocols, and stress resilience therapies. Across India, the wellness landscape is shifting toward personalised, data-backed healing, with ancient wisdom juxtaposing with modern diagnostics. Some of the most discerning health sanctuaries are tucked within India’s stunning natural settings. One among them is Atmantan Wellness Centre, perched beside the still waters of Mulshi Lake in the now-buzzing village of the Western Ghats—fast emerging as India’s answer to biology-first wellbeing. “We don’t treat the disease; we treat the individual,” says Dr Manoj Kutteri, Medical Director and CEO. Atmantan’s approach begins with lab work: gut flora analysis, HRV and ANS (the part of the nervous Turn to page 2