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Aziz Haider

Lifestyle products are now reaching every nook and corner of the home. Apart from the wide variety of well-being products already available, the modern-day bathroom could now boast of home spas and saunas. While the market sees these as luxury statements, the users vouch for their therapeutic value in relieving stress at the end of a gruelling day.

You don't have to go abroad to enjoy them. Neither do you have to go the five-star comforts of a hotel or the fast-mushrooming business of health centres and gymnasiums. Not any more. Savvy Indians, seeking the pleasure route to mind and body rejuvenation, are making a beeline for these luxury devices to be installed in their homes.

The trend has begun not just for fitness reasons. Today, when the line between the achievers and aspirants has blurred beyond distinction, virtually no possession accurately indicates status. If something does and is within means, why not go for it? `If you got something, I'll have it too,' seems to be the motto fuelling the race. And those who can afford it are even outdoing each other in going for these luxury devices.

Today, the modern-day bungalows and farmhouses do not have just the latest gadgets installed in their houses. Among the many luxury gadgets doing the rounds, many are meant for a bathroom. A look at a well-stacked bathroom almost gets one to rename the space as bath halls and what's more, exercise equipment are also finding their way into this space.

There is no denying the fact that bathrooms have gone glamorous! Stunning bathrooms, showcasing the widest spectrum of ultra modern products, are here to stay. A bathroom is now positioned as a luxurious oasis taking you away from the troubles of the world.

To begin with the range on offer for that luxurious bathroom, there are acrylic bathtubs, shower panels, multi-systems, shower enclosures, overhead showers, steam generators, shower circles and electronic whirlpools and spas, to name a few. Then there are swimming pools with bars that pop up suddenly from nowhere, modern fitness equipments that several gyms would vie to get and, saunas with the latest gadgets installed in them that even a Finn may not be aware how to use it.

Cashing in on the demand are several companies, offering a variety in range and quality. The choice offered also extends to the locally manufactured ones and the imported gadgets. While Jaquar has a tie-up with Hansgrohe and Aquis to bring pre-assembled shower systems and whirlpools (more commonly called Jacuzzi), Radhika Polymers has on offer a Hydrobaths' range of bathing solutions ranging from steam and shower boxes, a wide variety of bathtubs, whirlpool baths, shower panels and bathroom furniture, including sanitary ware.

Woven Gold, a front-runner in Indian bath products, has elegantly-shaped, spacious and comfortable bathtubs made of Lucite Acrylic. And Bathline India has wash-basins of glass and marble, wash-basins with synchronised set up, bathtubs, remote controlled multi-systems with AM/FM stereo, telephones, massage showers, lights, thermostatic mixtures, special seats, foot massage, designer sanitary ware, designer tapware, shower cubicles and exotic imported tiles.

Ramco Marketing, the company that markets Hydrobaths products in India, has brought in Kohler in India, the world leader in kitchen and bath solutions.

Similarly, Silver Spark has gone a few steps ahead and has introduced its complete range of bath products, including mini ready-to-fit swimming pools, a whole array of hydrobath solutions including tubs, whirlpools and spas, multi-systems, steam enclosures and saunas.

Of course, increasing health consciousness, due to our sedentary lifestyle in the metros, is another reason why the market for these gadgets is growing. Says Naveen Kandhari, Managing Director of Ozone, that provides complete health needs under a roof, "We opened the country's first boutique gym keeping the changing lifestyles in mind. But if those who can afford these, want any or all of these in their farmhouses, why not."

Indian weather conditions necessitate excessive use of hydrotherapic devices. The virtues of water are being used both internally and externally, both as hot and cold water, and in the form of liquid, steam or ice, for therapeutic purposes. It is widely accepted that a hot-water bath and hydrotherapy massage have many beneficial effects. Hot water expands the superficial blood vessels, increases the flow of blood to the skin and the muscles, and reduces the flow of blood to the internal organs. The increased blood circulation without additional strain on the body helps to remove impurities, relieve tired and aching muscles and leaves a general feeling of well-being. Many symptoms of heart ailments too have been shown to have been relieved by regular hydrotherapy.

Conversely, cold water constricts the flow of blood to the skin, increases blood flow to the internal organs, and inhibits the biochemical reactions that cause inflammation. While hot water soothes and relaxes, cold water stimulates and both ease muscle tension and spasms.

Several hydrotherapy techniques are now gaining in popularity and are being sought out by the affluent, who do not mind spending heavily if they could have these facilities as a part of their home. These include saunas, steams, whirlpool baths and spas, simple compresses, chilled showers and hot tubs.

Spas are the new-age ticket to rejuvenation. Spending a day at a spa and being pampered from head to toe is an indulgence most people experience all too rarely. But it is possible to create a soothing spa environment in the comfort and convenience of your home.

A spa is seen by many as a place to de-stress. The sides of the tub are fitted with jets that propel pressurised bubbles through the water to massage the skin and underlying tissues. Several companies use the science of ergonomics to set the jet positions and sitting style. The force of the water can be adjusted by the user by increasing the pressure and size of the bubbles so that either a relaxing, soothing sensation is given or the large muscles are pummeled and probed.

To enhance the therapeutic benefits of hydrotherapy, aromatic oils or micro-fined herbs, mud, green tea extract, or even marine algae or marine salts, etc. are added to the water. The skin, which is semi permeable, soaks in all the nutrients available in these products. The idea is to pamper the body, thereby resulting in revitalisation, rejuvenation and relaxation.

High-powered jets that pump strong jets of water, hot or cold, are also getting popular, particularly with and for adults. It not only stimulates the skin, but massages the subcutaneous tissues and underlying muscles as well, thereby working as an anti-stress soother for taut muscles and also as a means of increasing the muscle tone.

This apart, high-powered jets/showers can be hand-held or fixed. They are economical, and do not take much space, and can also be installed very easily in the bathrooms.

Multi-systems too are increasingly being installed in the lavish bathrooms of plush homes. With features such as surround shower system with 8-16 shower jets, rain shower in recessed lighting, telephonic hand shower, foot massager with acupressure rollers, steam bath, ozonator, in-built AM/FM, telephone and CD compatible, sliding doors and perhaps also a bathtub with whirlpool or a bubble bath, they are the epitome of comfort and luxury — a place where body and mind can escape from the pressures of modern living, in the privacy of your home.

Saunas are the new fad to hit the urban Indians, even though several people claim that they are not fit for Indian conditions. Sauna is not strictly a bath, since dry heat is radiated followed by steam, leading to heavy sweating. Sauna goes back to the very old Scandinavian discovery of bathing in a room, where stones were heated by wood fire and then sprinkled with water to give a `shock' to the system. The process of heating the body and cooling it down is repeated at least twice or thrice.

A typical sauna costs about Rs 2 lakh, though the total cost will depend on the features and amenities one wishes to get installed. Saunas come in plenty of designs and sizes — from small cabins that one can integrate into your existing bathroom to large, luxuriously appointed rooms with plenty of space for the whole family to relax in style, or to host a sauna get-together for friends and relatives.

Elegantly designed sauna fittings are available with concealed or recessed lighting. You can also choose from a wide variety of lampshades as well. Lighting strips and down-lights too are in plenty. Buckets and ladles come in wood or brass. The sauna tub is placed outside the sauna room for a refreshing dip in water after profuse sweating. For this, you can opt for a design that fits in with the rest of your accessories. Opt for igneous dolerite rock (diabase) for sauna stone — these withstand rapid heating and cooling. Other fit-ins include towel rails, thermometers, hygrometers, hourglasses and sauna clocks. Radios, cassette players and CD players with speakers and stereo are an ideal choice for somebody spending hours in a sauna. Even televisions can be installed for the sauna user, who's also a TV buff — outside the glass, of course.

Finally, there are a whole a range of fragrances and fragrance dispensers sure to make your sauna experience more memorable — these include the herbal extracts, disinfectants and sauna oil for treating or cleaning benches and other wood inside the sauna.

The cleansing, relaxing comfort of a steam bath makes the rest of the world simply fade away. Commonly known as the Turkish baths, they are preferred in countries where there is too much dry heat. In these places, where the outside air is devoid of moisture, the steam, with its hydrating effect on the skin and lungs, is the preferred treatment. However, that is not a deterrent when you have made up your mind to get it fixed in your house.

To suit the dimensions of the steam bathing space, generators of varying sizes (5 kw, 7 kw, 9 kw, 11 kw) are installed. A control panel enables you to make temperature settings and sets the steam session duration. You may add relaxing scent to the environment with the integral aromatherapy well. Steam pours in, providing a soothing safe experience.

A home gym is a trend that is fast catching on, as pressures of work collide with the desire to keep the flab — and the cardiac surgeon — at bay. Reasons for this list of home-gym enthusiasts growing fast are many. Time is one important factor as you can exercise at your own time.

The environment is another discouraging factor as India's cities are getting polluted by the day. Then there's no summer or monsoon to stop you as well. And more importantly, you don't have to go through meandering traffic to stand in a queue in front of frequently used machines.

A wide range of hi-tech, home-gym equipment allows you to build up at home in style. Imported machines are not cheap: top-of-the-range equipment retails for over Rs 3 lakh and a custom-built gym could cost up to Rs 5 lakh.

Obviously, the cost is exorbitant, since most of these are imported and housed in air-conditioned splendour, packed with a remarkable array of exercise machines that could rival any of the expensive health clubs that were de rigour, so to speak, not so long ago.

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