Fashion & Beauty

Shakti Veda Spa: Ayurvedic back massage review

I am a big fan of Ayurvedic massages, so it comes as no surprise that I recently sought out a new Ayurvedic salon, near where I live. Shakti Veda Spa is located on the famous Abbey road in St Johns wood, I booked myself in for an Ayurvedic back massage followed by the local steam therapy (naadi sveda ). This authentic Ayurvedic treatment is used to pacify pain and stiffness in the body.

When you walk in, you are greeted with shelves, stocked full of healthy and holistic food, teas and organic beauty products, and downstairs are the treatment rooms. When I arrived, I was greeted by Zane, the owner of the salon. We sat downstairs and talked through my concerns over a nice warm herbal pukka tea.

Ayurveda is based on the body having the correct balance of nature’s basic elements: earth, fire, water and air, which you find in the three doshas: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Once your imbalances are identified, the prescribed oils will adjust them. 

Zane used an organic sesame oil, which is Vaata and Kapha dosha pacifying, which helps in reducing pain, dryness and stiffness. Zane applied a generous amount of oil and moved her hands swiftly and vigorously, massaging the whole of my back, neck and shoulders. Some parts really did hurt, but that was because of how stiff my neck and shoulders are, there are a lot of knots that Zane had to tackle, I embraced the pain as I know its necessary to break down those knots.

The steam treatment at the end, which helps with chronic tightness / stiffness, was very relaxing, so much so that I fell asleep into a relaxed state. The steam treatment increases local metabolism which allows oils to be better digested at skin level. It also improves detoxification of the tissues and eliminating lactic acid. I awoke to Zane’s voice, telling me the session was over, my eyes opened and I felt at peace, my muscles felt less tense and my mind was calm and relaxed, I was in a zen state of mind.

After the treatment we sat down with another delicious pukka herbal tea and spoke about how I was feeling, Zane advised me to reduce dry food intake and increase my intake of warm herbal teas in order to increase hydration of the body. Zane also recommended I get some oils and to self massage my shoulder and neck in order to keep the pain and body dryness under control.

Going to Shakti Veda Spa and being treated by Zane, feels very personable, she has a great amount of knowledge of Ayurveda which she is happy to share. Shakti Veda Spa also offers facials, manicures and pedicures, waxing. consultations, detox plans and wellness day. If you book yourself a package, they are currently offering an enticing 30% off the treatments.

Website: https://shaktivedaspa.co.uk

Address: 75 Abbey Rd, St John’s Wood, London NW8 0AE