Waterfalls Spa Lobby at Hope Lake Lodge, Photo courtesy of Greek Peak Mountain Resort
To read the article, click here to be directed to my National Spa Examiner page on Examiner.com.
Spa Review: The Spa at The Essex, Vermont’s Culinary Resort & Spa November 15, 2009
Women's gathering room at The Spa at Essex, photo by Michele McIntyre
To read the article, click here to be directed to my National Spa Examiner page on Examiner.com.
Guest post by Richard Hemby: What to look for when choosing a spa November 13, 2009
This following guest post was authored by Richard Hemby, a freelancer that writes about accredited online colleges amongst other topics for Online College Guru, an online college guide.
Whether you’re looking for a day of beauty or a week-long vacation, a spa can provide a relaxing and rejuvenating experience. Day spas offer convenient hours for working people, and are often located within easy driving distance of home or work. Resort spas are often affiliated with a local hotel, and offer a complete vacation experience to their guests; food, entertainment, and lodging are usually part of the total resort spa package. Depending on the focus of the spa you choose, you can enjoy a variety of activities and services to refresh and recharge your spirit and your body. Here are some key elements to look for in each type of spa.
Fitness and health
Spas that focus on fitness usually offer the same amenities as a health club, but combine those with outstanding accommodations and personal services designed to help you look and feel your best. Fitness trainers are usually on hand to tailor a program specifically to your needs, while massage therapy and stretching exercises ease aches and pains away. While fitness spa vacations may be too strenuous for some, they can be the perfect getaway for active adults who want to improve their health while enjoying a holiday away from home. Look for a spa that retains a nutritionist on staff to educate their guests on proper diet and eating healthy. Some even offer in-house restaurants that provide delicious and healthful meals.
Stress Management
For those who simply want to relax and forget it all, stress management spas offer tranquil surroundings, massage therapy and soothing whirlpools designed to soak your troubles away. Many offer aromatherapy sessions, while others focus on workshops and classes to teach their guests stress-fighting techniques. Hypnosis and affirmation therapy are alternative therapies at some stress management spas. Biofeedback tools are also gaining in popularity around the country and allow guests to measure their level of stress instantly. Lessons in yoga, meditation, and breathing techniques are also commonplace at these serene retreats. Watch out for “single-method” spas; if their stress-management tools don’t work for you, you will still be out your reservation fee.
Spirituality
Vacationers in search of truth and beauty may find it at one of the numerous spiritual spa retreats throughout the country. Drawing from a variety of different traditions, these serene retreats offer guests a healing and nurturing experience that combines elements of stress reduction, holistic health, and spiritual wellness. A number of techniques are used to help visitors to the spas achieve inner peace and emotional clarity; religious ceremonies, hypnotherapy, Reiki, and eastern meditation techniques are often part of the spiritual journey. Physical cleansing and silent reflection are also popular treatments at spiritual spa retreats. Choose a spiritual spa that practices beliefs close to your own; a bad fit can lead to a bad experience overall.
Luxury
Luxury spas are what most people think of as “real” spas. Featuring exotic beauty treatments and devoted to pampering their guests above all else, these luxurious resorts offer massage therapy, beauty treatments and all the amenities one would expect, all designed to leave guests feeling relaxed, rejuvenated, and refreshed after their stay. Many luxury spas offer hair styling salons, manicure and pedicure services, and other deluxe beauty treatments to provide a complete makeover, all in a serene and peaceful environment. Luxury spas offer a taste of the affluent life at a price most can afford, at least for a day or two. In some cases, you may be paying more for the name on the door than the actual services rendered; be sure about what is included in your stay and which services cost extra to avoid an unpleasant surprise at check-out.
Interview with Anitra Brown: About.com Guide to Spas November 8, 2009
Anitra Brown hiking at Rancho La Puerta, Photo courtesy of Anitra Brown
Google just about any spa topic and the popular search engine will likely direct you to http://spas.about.com/. The website is a great resource for all things spa. I use it all the time to educate myself on spas and to look for trustworthy spa reviews.
That’s why I was thrilled when Anitra Brown, Guide to Spas for About.com, agreed to an interview. I wanted to learn more from the writer behind all that great information! In addition to writing for About.com and other publications, Anitra is an esthetician who resides in Cragsmoor, New York.
Here’s what we chatted about:
MM How did you start writing about spas?
AB I’ve been a journalist my entire career, but I started out covering wine and spirits when I lived in New York City. Eventually I moved to the country, went freelance and wrote restaurant reviews and stories about food, farming stories, home and garden. But all my neurons fired when I got a travel assignment from Westchester Magazine to cover six overnight spas within two hours of Westchester. I went to Canyon Ranch and never looked back. I was totally hooked.
MM How did you become About.com’s Guide to Spas?
AB I would go regularly to spas.about.com to do research, and noticed when the Guide photo went down and an “apply here” sign went up in late 2003. I was accepted for their unbelievably rigorous application process. You basically have to learn how to use all their tools, write compelling content, and create a sample website — and you’re competing with five other people doing the same thing! It was a lot of work, but it was worth it! Especially since I got the job!
MM What business model does About.com use?
AB About.com is owned by The New York Times Company, and its mission is to deliver high-quality, original content written by an expert you can trust. About.com has nearly 800 Guides covering travel, health, beauty, parenting, cooking, technology, hobbies and so on. We’re there to help consumers get reliable information on just about any topic.
MM What made you decide to become formally educated in skin care?
AB I wanted to develop my expertise, like a restaurant reviewer deciding to go chef school. I spent a lot of time getting spa treatments, and I could tell the difference between the bad, the mediocre and the great treatments. But I wasn’t sure what it took to become that great therapist. I decided the only way to really find out was to become a therapist myself.
I also wanted to find out if what estheticians said was true. You know, “This product will penetrate into your skin and do such and such.”
MM Why did you choose skin care over massage?
AB Esthetician school took 600 hours of training in New York State, compared to 1000 hours for massage therapy! And being an esthetician is easier on your body. Massage therapy can be grueling and has a big drop-out rate. Plus I always loved skin care. I started getting facials at age 24 because my mother always said she wished she had started taking care of her skin at a younger age. But I would still like to get a massage therapy license.
MM Where did you get your esthetician training?
AB Atelier Esthetique in New York City.
MM So did you figure out what it takes to be a great therapist?
AB First, you have to have “the touch”. Some of the girls in my class just pawed at my face like a dog digging in the dirt! You also have to have loving energy and a true a desire to help people. And you have to have the knowledge, technical skill and the commitment to keep learning.
It’s also important to pace yourself and learn how to use your body so you don’t burn out or just go through the motions. A treatment is really a form of living communication between two people, and you have to show up for that.
MM On your blog at About.com, readers comments can sometimes be harsh. It would be natural to take the comments personally, but you seem to take it in stride.
AB Anyone is entitled to disagree with me! I actually love the conversations that get going on my blog And if anything is truly nasty or personal or inappropriate — directed towards me or anyone else — I can always delete it!
MM Your favorite spas of all times?
AB I truly love Canyon Ranch for the breadth, depth, and quality of their talent. There is so much going on there, with their medical emphasis and behavioral health — things you can’t get at other spas. Plus I love to learn and spend a lot of time in the lectures that go on all day. You learn all the latest in wellness from their experts! It’s very stimulating.
Thanks Anitra!
Anitra just returned from a long awaited trip to Miraval Resort and Spa in Tuscon. You can read about her adventures at her blog at About.com.
Spa Review: The Spa at Stoweflake (Stowe, Vermont) November 4, 2009
Stoweflake Aqua Solarium - Photo courtesy of Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa
It’s October and I’m visiting Stowe, Vermont for an annual girlfriend getaway spa weekend. Click here to read the rest of the article.
Somibo.com: The soul, mind and body connection October 30, 2009
Somibo.com
Somibo.com is the soul, mind and body connection. The site’s mission is to help wellness-seekers connect and find the best resources and businesses locally, nationally and around the world. The site is free.
Somibo.com’s founder Avi Rubel had this to tell me about the site:
“I’ve spent the last 5 years getting more and more interesting in health and wellness. I’ve developed a regular yoga practice and try to eat well. I’ve also become more and more interested in local-eating and various forms of exercise and alternative therapies. My yoga practice has also introduced me to people who do acupunture and reiki. For a few years, I thought over and over again that with so many people looking to live with more health and balance in their lives, there needs to be one central place for listings, reviews, discounts/coupons, and a community forum.”
Everythingspa’s blog has been listed in the spas section of “Wellness Resources” on somibo.com: the soul, mind and body connection.
To advertise on somibo.com, please contact advertise@somibo.com
Spa Review: Topnotch Resort and Spa (Stowe, Vermont) October 29, 2009
Topnotch Resort and Spa - Women's Spa Lounge (Photo courtesy of Topnotch Resort and Spa)
It’s October and I’m visiting Topnotch Resort and Spa…(Click here to read the rest of the article)
Guest post by Amy Cook: The Impact of Massage on Patients with Chronic Pain October 24, 2009
Guest blogger Amy Cook contributes today’s post on the impact of massage on patients with chronic pain. Enjoy!
The Impact of Massage on Patients with Chronic Pain
Pain is a part of being human – we feel it when we get hurt or when we are injured. It’s something that we try to bear because we know it is temporary and that it will become better as time goes by. But when it is chronic, it becomes a part of your everyday life, sticking to you like a fly to a wall. It dictates your every move and interferes with your activities. Chronic pain is not something that we can dismiss lightly, and although you may think that you just have to grit your teeth and bear with it, there are some forms of therapy that do bring relief, like a massage for example. Massages are great way to relax even when you’re as fit as a fiddle, so you can imagine the impact they have on you if you’re suffering from chronic pain.
• Massages help relieve the pain, and even though the relief may be temporary, when you suffer from chronic pain, being pain-free for even a few minutes is a wonderful feeling. The massage soothes the areas that are painful and prevents the pain from radiating to nearby organs and tissues.
• Massages help manage the pain on a long-term basis. When you’ve been living with the pain for the better part of your life, you know you need to find some way to learn to manage it, because if you don’t, it gets too much to bear.
• Massages help improve the quality of life of patients who suffer from chronic pain. They allow them to move about as much as possible and they are able to lead a normal life, given that they are limited by the pain and other symptoms of their condition.
• Massages even help bring relief from the pain in the long term. When they are done by professionals who know exactly what they are doing, massages help bring permanent relief. This saves you from going in for surgery or other more expensive and intrusive forms of treatment.
Massages have been known to work wonders, not just for people who need to unwind and relax, but for those who suffer from chronic and unbearable pain as well. They are a healthy alternative to popping painkillers and ruining your health even further. Seek out the services of licensed medical massage therapists if you or someone you know is suffering from chronic pain.
This guest article was written by Amy S. Cook, who regularly writes on the topic of LVP to RN online . She welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: amy.cook@rediffmail.com
Friday Afternoon Club at Stowe Mountain Lodge: Happy hour fun and pampering spa treatments October 21, 2009
I’m visiting Stowe Vermont in mid-October on a 6th annual girlfriend getaway weekend to check out the spa scene. It’s somewhere between when the stunning peak fall foliage New England is famous for ends and when ski season begins. We’re here to relax at the local spas, shop, drink wine and enjoy great meals together – no kids, no husbands, just the girls.
We start our weekend and our spa tour of Stowe with a visit to Stowe Mountain Lodge and the Friday Afternoon Club (FAC). From 5 to 7 pm each Friday, FAC guests enjoy paraffin hand or foot treatments, wine, appetizers and entertainment for $20 in the stunning setting of Stowe Mountain Lodge.
To continue reading the article, click here.
Destination Spa Cookbooks may inspire your next spa vacation October 8, 2009
Gone are the days when spa cuisine meant plain broiled fish and steamed vegetables. Modern Destination Spas are known for cuisine that is fresh, delicious, flavorful and healthy. Guests come back time and again for the recipes that are often handed down for generations. To showcase the talents of their chef’s along with the experiences and beliefs of their founders, a number of spas from the Destination Spa Group have published cookbooks so guests can take home a little bit of the magic and learn the techniques in their own kitchens. These are more than cookbooks – you can read them cover to cover to get a little bit of history on the spa itself and some wellness advice; along with unique recipes and general kitchen techniques. You just might get some inspiration to begin planning your next destination spa vacation!
Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta
Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta, by Deborah Szekely and Deborah M. Schneider, with Chef Jesus Gonzalez, Chef of Cocina Que Canta. Photographs by Robert Holmes
The cookbook is aptly named because it’s organized by the four seasons. Within each seasonal section, you’ll find themed menus that incorporate appetizers, main dishes and desserts that are light and healthy but satisfying. Rancho La Puerta’s founder Deborah Szekely remembers personal food and cooking related moments from throughout her 86 years. Buying organic, local and seasonal food is deeply ingrained in the reader’s mind.
A section on basic ingredient notes and cooking techniques teach readers the foundations of healthy cooking. The final chapter, The Spa, offers a primer on spa treatments; skin care and body treatment recipes that readers can make at home sound good enough to eat – but readers are warned that they’re for external use only.
Golden Door Cooks At Home
Golden Door Cooks At Home, by Dean Rucker with Marah Stets
This cookbook is a standout for its sharp, full page, full-color photography that’s so vivid you can see the individual grains of sea salt in the photos. Images from the Golden Door Spa, its blooming gardens, and fresh fruits and vegetables can be found on almost every page. Each recipe has a forward, with tips on ingredient selection, cooking techniques or the story of how the recipe came to be part of Golden Door’s celebrated menu.
Interspersed throughout the recipes are “Tips from the Golden Door” – lifestyle tips about incorporating healthy practices into your daily life such as meditation, the benefits of keeping a food diary, and fitness.
Golden Door and Rancho La Puerta aren’t the only Destination Spas to publish cookbooks. For a complete list of cookbooks from members of the Destination Spa Group, click here.
To read my blog post on the Destination Spa Group, click here.
