Kick start a healthier lifestyle
by Anne Dimon
Negative stress – physical, emotional and environmental – has been called ‘an insidious, ubiquitous assassin’ because it can lead to a great number of medical conditions.
While there is no one-size-fits-all cure for stress, spas and spa treatments are an age-old approach that is regaining its popularity. For executives, stress management is one of the prime reasons to seek out a spa.
If spas can relieve just a small amount of the negative stress that builds up in our bodies and blocks the ability for our internal systems to function at peak capacity (and that includes our immune system), then certainly visiting a spa becomes a proactive option to our health. We visit a dentist on a regular basis; we take our cars for tune-ups. Shouldn’t we be as good to our bodies, our minds and our spirits? I only plan to have one body in this lifetime, and I’m taking care of it to make sure that it doesn’t run out of steam before the rest of me does.
Surrounded by an aging population and growing concerns over the state of our national healthcare system, many of us are taking a much more proactive role in our own healthcare. Fewer of us are smoking, we’re trying to eat healthier meals, we’re walking more, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, working more outside activities into our lifestyles, drinking more water and less alcohol, and looking to spas – especially those that focus on health and wellness – to help us kick start a healthier lifestyle.
In this new age of wellness, it’s no longer just women who spa. In increasing numbers, men too are acknowledging the benefits and getting in on a good thing. The national average of spa clientele is now about 30-35 percent men, and at some spas it’s 50/50. Men are mostly going for therapeutic massages but they are beginning to have facials, manicures and pedicures not only to make them feel better but make they look better. If you believe you look good, then you feel better about yourself and that furthers your sense of well-being.
While the Swedish massage continues to top the list of most popular treatments, many complementary modalities are being introduced on more and more spa menus. Treatments such as Touch Therapy, Reflexology, Ayurvedics and Chakra Balancing are slowly gaining recognition as spa-goers become more adventurous and more comfortable with alternative therapies.
In addition to hands-on spa treatments, a number of spas are now offering an array of wellness programs such as fitness classes, nutrition workshops, yoga and meditation classes and health education programs. Other spas are adding non-surgical medical components and turning themselves into one-stop shops for not only stress-release but also non-invasive rejuvenation tools such as laser treatments to remove sunspots and other pigmentations associated with aging. Again, how you feel about yourself plays a big role on the path to optimum health.
Spas are also a good environment to spend quiet, quality time with a mother, daughter, partner or a group of gal pals. Couples spa treatments, in fact, are becoming especially popular as more couples decide to spend quality time taking care of themselves.
If you’re a woman reading this and, like many of us who are mothers, feel a little guilty about taking the time and money to do something nice for ourselves – you might want to put those feelings on the back burner. You know why the airline attendants tell passengers to put on their own air masks first before helping their children, should the need arise? If you don’t take care of yourself first, you won’t be in a position to take care of others. Think about it.
Of course, as Normal Daniel, owner of the Highfields Country Inn & Spa in Zephyr, Ontario, points out, spas and healthy living must go hand-in-hand. “You can check into a spa for a three-day detoxifying program today,” she says, “but without a healthy lifestyle it’s just a band-aid.”
Anne Dimon is a spa and wellness travel journalist, consultant and founder/editor of www.traveltowellness.com.
