New on the spa menu: treatments for your mental health
Hotel, destination and day spas that once focused largely on facials and massages have branched out further into treatments to improve sleep, reduce stress and generally address not only the physical well-being of clients, but also their mental health. Get the big job Your guide to entertainment, from live shows and outdoor fun to the […] Hotel, destination and day spas have diversified into treatments to improve sleep, reduce stress and improve their mental health. The demand for these services is huge after years of political polarization, pandemic lockdowns and other stresses, and the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected people's mental health, with nearly half of Americans experiencing anxiety or depression. The Leaf Spa in Miami offers treatment for seasonal affective disorder, the Elms Hotel and Spa in Excelsior Springs, Mo., combines acupuncture with sound waves, and Sense Spa at the Rosewood Sand Hill resort near San Francisco has introduced a sleep-improvement package it calls theRosewood Dreamscape. The J House boutique hotel in Greenwich, Connecticut, has added energy healing sessions using Jin Shin Jyutsu acupuncture therapy and other treatments. The Oriental Hotel in Boston offers several new services to address sleep issues, including a Japanese massage therapist and a tea ceremony led by Nadine Mazzola.
gepubliceerd : 2 jaar geleden door Adam.K in Health
Hotel, destination and day spas that once focused largely on facials and massages have branched out further into treatments to improve sleep, reduce stress and generally address not only the physical well-being of clients, but also their mental health.
Demand for these services is huge after years of political polarization, pandemic lockdowns and other stresses, according to the people adding them.
“The attitude has changed, as a result of everything we’ve been through, that you have to put as much energy and focus into your mental well-being as you do your physical well-being,” says Patti Biro, a spas business consultant.
“You used to think that if you went to a traditional resort, you thought of the spa as an amenity or a luxury,” said Biro. Now, she said, ‘it’s not a luxury. They have really become part of a personal wellness regimen.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected people’s mental health, the National Institutes of Health reports. Nearly half of Americans say they experience anxiety or depression. Ten percent say their mental health needs are not being met. And so many people have experienced sleep disturbances, according to the Sleep Foundation, researchers have given it a name: coronasomnia.
That’s a huge market, and one that many spas are seizing.
For example, the Mindful Meditative Massage at the Leaf Spa at Hotel AKA Brickell in Miami begins with a guided meditation and healing of the singing bowl, which sends wave vibrations through the body; practitioners say it helps harmonize and restore balance to the mind.
The Leaf Spa in Chicago offers treatment for seasonal affective disorder, using an herbal-infused body treatment that helps clients adjust to seasonal changes.
The Elms Hotel and Spa in Excelsior Springs, Mo., combines acupuncture with sound waves, which are said to correct energy imbalances.
The spa at the Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, reports a huge demand for time with the shaman, who offers rituals for calm, clarity, strength and connection in a jungle setting overlooking the ocean.
At the newly opened Six Senses Vana resort in India, Tibetan therapists administer Sowa Rigpa, a treatment for anxiety, stress and insomnia based on the Indian Buddhist tradition.
And Sense Spa at the Rosewood Sand Hill resort near San Francisco has introduced a sleep-improvement package it calls the Rosewood Dreamscape, which, in addition to accommodations and traditional spa services, includes morning and sunset yoga, a “sleep box” filled with CBD infused teas and bath salts and “wellness-curated” bedtime snacks.
For all the benefits of remote working, “our clients complained that they couldn’t sleep or couldn’t switch off,” says Ania Mankowska, director of Sense Spa. “People’s life balance is really off track. They couldn’t find the balance of, ‘Okay, now I’m done with my work.’”
It’s also true, Mankowska said, that “people are trying new things and going back to basics, both with spa treatments and with life in general. I have never seen such a huge turnout in booking those treatments. The spa is planning more for the coming year.
The spa at the J House boutique hotel in Greenwich, Connecticut, has added energy healing sessions using Jin Shin Jyutsu acupuncture therapy and other treatments.
“More people are interested in this kind of oriental healing and in regulating and balancing their energy,” says Daniela Ranallo, spa coordinator. “They just dig in a little deeper. They are not really happy with the everyday life they used to live, and think there is something more.
It’s not just about addressing their immediate issues, Ranallo said. “Of course, people worry about stress and want to work on it. But they are also now just more interested in overcoming previous obstacles and challenges that they used to push away.”
The spa at Boston’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel offers several new services to address sleep issues, stress management and anxiety, most notably a Japanese-inspired “Shinrin-yoku” or forest bath treatment, which takes guests to the Arnold Arboretum to be immersed in the nature. The ritual, which ends with a tea ceremony and meditation, is led by Nadine Mazzola of Acton, who has written a book about it.
“There are not only massage therapists anymore. There are not only facialists anymore. There are all kinds of energy and emotional healers,” said Danielle McNally, Mandarin Oriental’s director of marketing. “Think of it as your doctor’s office adding alternative medicine. Because that’s what the customer is looking for: ways to relax, ways to recover, that’s so much more than a massage.”
Mental health professionals urge some skepticism about this.
“I think there are a lot of warnings,” says David Rosmarin, an associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and founder of the Center for Anxiety.
The best way to deal with stress is to deal with it — “to face your fears,” he said. “You have to move to higher levels of fear carefully and systematically. These spas do just the opposite. And when the person returns to real life, they are less prepared to cope.
Going to a place that takes away all the stress “may actually make it worse. In the end, you think you can escape it, which you can’t. You get false hope, and as soon as you leave, the hope disappears.”
It’s not a bad thing that people want to deal with their mental health, Rosmarin said, just as it’s healthy to get things like colorectal screenings. “But that doesn’t mean that if you screen positive, you should go to a shaman.”
Contreras, in Miami Beach, is not deterred. One of the tensions people have experienced in recent years, she said, is that “we are more isolated. There was fear. It caused so many problems for people. There was less connection and less meaningful human interaction.”
In spas, she said, “we touch people’s souls. If we do that with one person at a time, our mission will have been successful.”
Jon Marcus can be reached at [email protected]
Onderwerpen: Social Issues