Spas have a new purpose, a different definition. Over the past few years, spa owners have sensed their clients' increased need to eliminate stress. To address that need, spas are implementing relaxation techniques for them to shed their burdens, gain clarity and be rejuvenated. 
According to the Harvard Mind/Body Medical Institute, between 60-90% of all medical office visits in the United States are for stress-related disorders. Clients need mind, body and spirit wellness. Spa owners agree that, through offering and teaching a variety of relaxation techniques, including Reiki, ayurveda, breath work and yoga, they can gain more balanced, and happier, clients.
"Most people who go into the spa environment want something that helps them to unwind," says Robert Sachs, co-owner of the Diamond Way Ayurveda in San Luis Obispo, California. "Consequently, stress management is almost a primary emphasis. If you can show someone that you can take them to a place where they can let go of the burden that they walked in there with, that is a real gift."

Medical outlook
Any biological baggage can induce stress physiologically. But relaxation techniques have the ability to reverse this effect, creating what Herbert Benson, MD, of the Mind/Body Medical Institute has named the Relaxation Response. Yoga and other forms of therapies produce such a state of mind by allowing clients to silence their everyday "mind chatter" and produce a non-judging awareness. In the past three years, yoga classes at fitness centers have more than doubled in popularity, according to the results of a national industry survey published in the February 2000 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
"There is a definite trend of using yoga and meditation to put people in relaxation therapy," Baim says. "It creates a state of mind of learning and improved memory."

Apple for the teacher
Physical massages alone won't necessarily release the cause of the stress. Increasingly spa owners have emphasized helping clients help themselves by teaching them techniques they can take home with them. 
"We focus on movements of the body, breath work and spiritual aspects of things because most people can't clear their minds of the stress," says Pieg Myota, founder of the VESTA Center for Wholeness and Health Spa in Nashotah, Wisconsin. "Part of the technique is teaching people how to use their breathing and their life force to truly relax their body and keep their energy system open."
During the last 15 minutes of every yoga class at VESTA, the lights are dimmed and quiet music is played in the background as progressive relaxation techniques are taught. Clients are told to first tighten and then relax their heads' muscles. Then they are instructed to move to the face and do the same, followed by the neck and shoulders as they work their way down the body. For each body part, clients take deep, long breaths, concentrating solely on the specific muscle they are targeting.
"We have seen the amount of stress in our culture, a lifestyle that is killing us," Myota says. "At VESTA, we look to getting clients' entire lifestyles back in balance. People are not going to change their jobs or the level of stress they work with, but what we can help them do is build balance through regular self nurturing and incorporate a technique they can use on a daily basis."
Myota warns that getting participants to implement these techniques into their everyday life is a challenge. A lack of time makes it difficult for them to practice the methods they learn in class. Clients feel great during and after class, but just can't seem to break their bad habits. Practitioners have to convince clients that self-care is not selfish. To reverse this way of thinking, they need to understand that it is beneficial for them be nurtured for one hour.

Reality
Spa owners know they have to provide and look for treatments that offer long-term benefits. There is a genuine indication that this is something clients are searching for as they realize the importance of incorporating health-related services into their lifestyles on a regular basis.
"People realize that esthetics is not just a facial business for deep cleaning, but that there is a whole process of de-stressing, a head-to-toe procedure," Whalen says. "Almost 95% of everyday symptoms that people wish they didn't have to deal with will be eliminated if we pay attention to learning how to de-stress our bodies." 

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This article was excerpted from the August 2001 issue of Skin Inc. magazine.

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