Maison Mauka, the cocoon of holistic well-being just outside Paris

In the hectic pace of Parisian life, well-being is of crucial importance. And yet, with so much on our plate, we sometimes find ourselves always putting off those moments for ourselves. Now, just outside Paris, in the town of Saint-Ouen, a temple dedicated to well-being in all its forms is encouraging us to stop procrastinating on our need to relax.

Maison Mauka is a luminous, inclusive cocoon full of good vibes, waiting to relieve our bodies and minds through a range of treatments and disciplines provided by a hand-picked team of professionals. In a way, it's the not-so-secret den of the Avengers of well-being. The menu has been designed so that several treatments can be linked together to personalize treatments according to zone, with prices varied enough to suit all budgets and timetables.

Behind the concept is Maureen Ka, who specializes in lymphatic drainage using the Renata França method. In love with the town of Saint-Ouen, she came up with the idea of founding her own wellness house, with the aim of making everyone feel at home in this holistic living space. Arranged like an apartment, Maison Mauka cultivates a personalized approach that breaks with the classic codes of the Parisian spa. It's easy to be on first-name terms here, to confide in someone, and to take the time to create a climate of trust before starting your treatment. It's enough to put even the least tactile or particularly shy people at ease.

Here, the league of relaxation comes together to offer you rest for body and mind. Each of these heroines awaits you in their own space, each with its own treatment ambience. Maureen and Ambre focus on lymphatic drainage, Anne-Cécile on sophrology and Balinese massage, Eleonore specializes in kobido & facial yoga, Alicia in madero body and face, Sandrine dispenses Ayuverdic treatments, Aline unveils her beauty salon for waxing and Dermalogica treatments, and while life coach Marine helps us to surpass ourselves, Marie focuses on women's health and soothing aches and pains. These are the main disciplines that make up Maison Mauka.

• To be read
• Tips for the week of December 30, 2024 - January 5, 2025 in Paris: free or cheap outings
• A guide to running in Paris and the Ile-de-France region in 2025

However, each of the practitioners has several other tricks up their sleeves, and treatments extend to holistic care and services that are rare in Paris. There's even the Vital Dôme, a Japanese sauna that combines drainage, detox and recovery. Such complementarity allows us to combine treatments and, above all, to target the most appropriate service for each area. Ultra-personalized, à la carte well-being!

In the company of Marine, our life coach, we tried Shirotchampi, a warm oil Indian massage applied from the top of the back to the scalp, including the nape of the neck, shoulders and face. The promise of this treatment? Less stress and fatigue, better sleep and improved hair growth.

The massage is performed first seated, then lying down. During the treatment, it's easy to let go, and depending on the pressure points Marine applies, you can literally feel your mind drifting away, as if in a state of meditation. We're carried away by the flow of our thoughts, and feel both physically and psychologically unblocked at different stages of the massage, so that by the end, we feel as if we've been reconnected to ourselves: our thoughts seem clearer, and we're able to distance ourselves more from what was bothering us before.

So, if you're determined to take some time for yourself, this could be the not-so-secret refuge you need to face the Parisian grind with a lighter mind! What's more, to complete the experience, a concept-store awaits you at the entrance, where you can indulge in treatments and accessories, including stones for litotherapy enthusiasts. We wouldn't say no to a secret weapon for coping with everyday stress.