Matunga’s newest temple has little to do with the gods. Instead, Areopagus- which the owner told us means Temple Of Healing – skips theology for hands-on therapy in an attempt to fix matters of the material sort. The new spa offers customers body massages, rub-scrub treatments and quickie services like a foot, head and neck massages. Unlike other city spas that promise authentic Thai therapies, Areopagus focuses on all things Japanese and Chinese, but that’s not where their connection to the orient ends.At five feet two inches it’s not every day that I feel tall. I’m more often the one with my nose in the air attempting to rise above the 6 pm stink on my train ride back home. Within the first few minutes of entering Areopagus, I had ducked four times. “The decor is based on a Japanese design scheme, “Bhuongthangmawi, the owner, informed me. “The ceilings are very low in Japan ” I was thrilled but I imagine loftier folk might not be too happy. Then again, they’d be more in need of a massage than ever. For my Yuki energy massage, which is meant to stretch joints and dissipate lactic acid accumulated in the muscles, I was ushered by my therapist through yet another tiny door. It was a bit cramped but had to cosy, come and un-wind feel about it. There were lemon- yellow walls, one of which had memoirs of a Grisha inspired moral with grey and red cherry blossoms on it. Over the course of the next hour, the therapist used various techniques from long firm strokes using her thumbs to apply pressure to a feather-light movement where she traced the length of arms using only the tip of her fingers. It felt like a dozen butterflies were flapping their wings on me, the best thing about the massage, as it was firm enough to uncurl my desk-bound back, but gentle enough to soothe me into a sleepy lul, a quick steam and a cup of green tea later, I was done.I ditched the train for a cab ride. After a massage like that, I just wasn’t in the mood for the short end of the stick.