Spas | Wellness

The Farm at San Benito - Unplugged

Tagged with:

health, wellness

Published Oct. 29, 2007 at 12:34 p.m.

There was something about going to the Farm at San Benito that felt like I had come home. Yes, the grounds are spectacularly designed—feng shui’d within an inch of its peaceful and serene being. (Have I mentioned how inadequate I feel writing about the beauty aspect of spas and wellness retreats? To me, the experience is sublime and visceral, yes, but these are feelings that don’t lend themselves sufficiently to a block of words on a page. They are better experienced through stillness and

Read

Post Talkback

The Heart of a Massage Therapist

Tagged with:

massage, spa, wellness, yoga

Published Oct. 26, 2007 at 7:35 a.m.

A big debate is quietly raging on Anitra Brown's blog about.com/spa regarding necessary qualifications for being a good massage therapist. This one started because a spa bigwig was quoted in a Luxury Spa Finder saying something along these lines: “good therapists have to have the heart of a servant.” This seems to be the call to action among spa professionals these days—especially because it’s becoming harder to find and keep good therapists ... That fact kept coming up at the Wellness

Read

Post Talkback

Levitating Yogi

Tagged with:

massage, spa, wealth

Published Oct. 25, 2007 at 9:21 a.m.

I recently stumbled upon a great spa blog called Asia's Best Spa and Massage Review. (See blogroll.) The author, Katherine, lives in Singapore and is a wealth of knowledge on the spa scene in Asia. In a recent post she has included a video of a levitating yogi. It's a must see. Go visit her ...

Read

Post Talkback

Mandala Spa and Resort is So Much More Than This

Tagged with:

massage, spa, treatment, wellness, yoga

Published Oct. 23, 2007 at 9:43 a.m.

I learned about the two-to-a-room practice while at the Mandala Spa on Boracay. Our little group—three of journalists who had attended the Spa Asia Wellness Summit in Manila—arrived at dusk. On our rickety jipney we turned off the rackety main road to follow the simple sign (see logo, top left) that would lead us to a little piece of paradise—one of many. The grounds were enchanting. The design was so simple that I felt absolutely absorbed into its purity. A lovely woman named Preeti,, all

Read

Post Talkback

The Unbearable Lightness of Spa-ing, Part II

Tagged with:

hair, massage, spa, treatment

Published Oct. 18, 2007 at 5:08 p.m.

No, I didn’t complain, and I got into a “thing” about it with a Dutch journalist, MC, who also attended the Summit and who I was spending a few days with. The day before we’d gone to a drop-dead fabulous spa called Tirta, which I’ll talk more about another time. She told me after the massage, having been given forms on which to grade our therapists, she had given hers the lowest rating. She said the therapist was awful because she pulled her hair. (This hair connection is totally

Read

Post Talkback

The Unbearable Lightness of Spa-ing

Tagged with:

hair, massage, salon, spa, treatment

Published Oct. 17, 2007 at 6:42 p.m.

Now that I’ve described my least favorite spa experience while I was in the Philippines, here comes the more difficult task—attempting to pick a favorite, which I already know I cannot do. So maybe let’s go for the second least favorite. Maybe process of elimination is the only way to do this ... At the risk of sounding incorrigibly spoiled by too much of a good thing, I have to tell you that I was not at all impressed with Chi Spa, in the Edsa Shangra-La Hotel. I know, five-star hotel,

Read

Post Talkback

Happy Birthday to Me, Korean Style

Tagged with:

massage, spa, treatment

Published Oct. 16, 2007 at 2:12 p.m.

My own birthday was on October 10. I spent it at the base of Mt. Pinatubo, a not-much-thought-about volcano until it erupted in the Philippines in 1991, after hundreds of years of slumber. I’d heard about hot springs occurring naturally after the eruption near the crater, and that a spa—called Spa Town—had opened, somewhat making the best of Pinatubo’s ghastly emission, which made the area a ghost town and displaced a local tribe called the Aita. (Though I’m not sure you can displace

Read

Post Talkback

Learning Massage as a Life Skill

Tagged with:

massage

Published Aug. 16, 2007 at 8:49 p.m.

There are a few things in life I believe everyone should be able to do and I find it a little disconcerting when I find even young people outsourcing their life with anything from their breakfast, that comes home-delivered to their laundry that’s dropped off in the morning and picked up in the evening, to [ ... ] ...

Read

Post Talkback

Expanding Services as a Massage Therapist by offering Spa Treatments

Tagged with:

massage, spa

Published Aug. 16, 2007 at 8:47 p.m.

20936-expanding-services-as-a-massage-therapist-by-offering-spa-treatments

As the spa industry continues in a double-digit growth pattern spa treatments are becoming more and more popular and offer an interesting option for massage therapists who need to expand their service menu.Scrubs, masks, cocoons, wraps, fango packs, glows and polishes, to name a few, are all services that are typically offered at day and [ ... ] ...

Read

Post Talkback

Taking an Eco-Centric Approach to Spa Treatment Design

Tagged with:

spa, treatment

Published Aug. 16, 2007 at 8:37 p.m.

Spa treatment design can be improved by taking an environmental and culturally sensitive approach. Many spa treatments include too many exotic ingredients and are drawn from philosophies unrelated to the local requirements.While at least some spa treatments (wraps, scrubs and masks to name the basic protocols) are usually found in a section on the majority [ ... ] ...

Read

Post Talkback