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Try chocolate-mint foot massage If you want a spa that travels to your home, holistic healer Smita Hirlekar has the answer. Bhairavi Jhaveri got dipped in chocolate to get over recession blues
WHEN THOUGHTS become excruciatingly painful, action is the best remedy, writes Gregory David Roberts in his bestseller, Shantaram.
This is where Smita Hirlekar comes in, except that by action she means "non-action". As she asked me to surrender my cell phone, in my own home, I got the drift about what she had in mind a non-intrusive relaxing session.
 Smita, who brings a spa to your bedroom, wanted me to forget about everything, especially work-related issues (despite the fact that my photographer hadn't arrived and I was fretting) and lie in the Shavasan pose on my bed.
She mixed a medley of strong cocoa imported from Brazil with peppermint essential oil and warm water, and asked if there was anything that was bothering me.
This helps her customise the treatment best suited to the client's needs; all women between 16 and 60 years.
"I usually take time out before an appointment to figure out what the client's stress points are, whether she complains of frequent headaches or body aches.
I chat with her, doubling up as a listener," says the harem pant-and-kurta clad 29 year-old. Smita won't judge, and will offer advice only if asked much like the perfect best friend most of us are looking for.
Music therapy is a must: You can opt for a Chocolate-Mint Indulgence for your feet, or the Royal Indian Exotica that shrouds your body in a concoction of Ayurvedic herbs and spices. But, there is little or no debate over the sound therapy feature that's intrinsic to all her treatments.
She has collected CDs by various artists, DJs and from destinations around India; the music is based on measured wavelengths (4 hertz to 7 hertz) that works on your Alpha and Theta brainwaves to transport you into another world, a much prettier place than where you may be, currently.
The self-taught therapist began lathering up my legs with a mud-like chocolate paste as birds chirped, waves crashed, and a modern voice sang a classical note from the "Anugama" titled CD. It was like a Himalayan retreat in my Khar residence.
"Most often, your favourite music is associated with a memory, say for instance, an ex-boyfriend. What's the point if the music is going to make you sad?
That's why there is a scientific approach to listening to music that de-stresses you," she explained, elucidating that music of certain hertz (Theta sounds) can work on the crown area to heal headaches.
If you are allergic to cocoa, fresh fruits and flowers are her cooling agents. "I need a day's notice so I can grind fresh pastes and check for allergies in advance.
Nothing is stocked in the freezer," says Smita. Body Polishing Masques are also on the menu and available in Brazilian Coffee and Vanilla Cream varieties.
We are all, always stressed: Smita, who quit an ad agency job two years ago to become a healer, has since come across clients espousing the weirdest of reasons to commit suicide.
"An over-possessive boyfriend who wants to break up, or over-demanding parents and teachers pressurising teenagers the list is petty and endless."
When a client calls her over for a treatment, she likes to tell them to dedicate this one hour to themselves, and nothing else. A quiet room is therefore, a prerequisite, with a mixing bowl or two, and a towel.
As the aroma rising from the cocoa mix attached themselves to my body, helping me release endorphins, and the light pressure of her hands melted away all fatigue, I forgot about everything, as she had warned.
"Usually, I quietly leave when my clients have zoned out. They wake up after a few hours of what they say felt like an eternity," she laughs.
Smita Hirlekar works all 7 days, and conducts treatments across Mumbai. She needs a 2-day advance notice for appointments in South Mumbai.
Cost: Rs 500 to Rs 2,500. Call 9892452333 (except between 5 pm and 8 pm) to book an appointment. Treatments are for women only | 
