f you're baffled by some of the treatments offered at your local spa, wait until you check out these unique offerings from around the world!
Reiki
Contrary to first impressions, it's not a type of lettuce. Popular in spas in North America and Europe, Reiki is a subtle form of energy balancing which focuses on restoring the body's natural harmony. Performed over clothing, the therapist gently lays their hands over specific areas to induce relaxation and total well-being, and use the life energy to promote the natural healing process within the body. To the untrained eye, it looks like the therapist is just randomly poking different areas of the body, but judging by the popularity of the treatment, they must be doing something right.
Yumomi
At some of the public baths in Japan, the traditional way of controlling the water temperature, known as "yumomi", is still practiced. It works by mixing the cold air of the highlands into the hot water with vigorous movements of wooden paddles over five feet long, controlled by several women standing at the edge of the bath. So you may be thinking, "So what, it's just like jets in a whirlpool!" To that we ask, when you're sitting in a hot tub, do you get treated to a traditional song and dance? If you don't, you'll be pleased to know that bath-goers experience a "Kusastsu-bushi" performance, a well-known folk song from the Kusatsu highlands that tells the story of yumomi set to a traditional dance. And if you do get treated to a song and dance at home, how odd for you.
Espa Rituals
Not to be confused with ESPN, Espa is a cultural blend of traditional therapies gathered from China, Bali, India and Europe combined with philosophies of health and well-being. One Spa in Edinburgh, Scotland offers an assortment of Espa treatments, including the Ayurvedic Holistic Body Treatment. After experiencing a relaxing foot treatment and a salt and oil scrub, you'll receive a Marma Massage which works the vital energy centres of the face and body, releasing tension and restoring vitality. To top it all off? A Chakra massage of head and scalp. That sounds quite nice, doesn't it?
Watsu
When Shiatsu got together with water one day and said "let's dance". Watsu combines the stretches and moves of Zen Shiatsu with the therapeutic benefits of warm water, making it an ideal medium for passive stretching. A treatment resembling synchronized swimming, you are taken through a series of gentle movements that relieve the pressure a rigid spine places on some nerves and helps to undo any dysfunction this pressure causes to organs serviced by those nerves. Powerful stretches,a deep heart connection and a coordination of movement with a shared breath pattern distinguish Watsu from other treatments. Part of the ritual takes place on the surface and part underwater - depending on how long you can hold your breath. Apparently it helps you achieve a state of deep meditation (but hopefully you won't be so relaxed that you forget to surface for air).
Holistic Pulsing
If you prefer a treatment a bit more lively, this may be the one for you. Working with cardiac, respiratory and craniosacral rhythms, Holistic Pulsing generates harmony on multiple levels and has a powerful balancing effect on our energies. As you relax, fully-clothed on the massage table, the therapist will guide you through gentle rocking techniques designed to facilitate freedom of movement and the release of emotional holding patterns, stress and tension. Integrating the body, mind and spirit, according to therapists, restores your sense of wholeness, and leaves you feeling relaxed and revitalized.
Myofascial Release
This treatment is usually used for chronic pain sufferers. The massage targets the tissue sheath that covers the muscles, but it looks like a regular massage. The secret, you see, is the pressure applied with the hands. Remember all those times your little brother used to poke at you with such annoying force? He may have been doing you a favor.
Enzyme baths
Popular in Asia, the Osmosis Spa in California claims to offer the only enzyme bath "this side of Japan". You start with a soothing organic herbal tea served in a peaceful Japanese garden. You then move on to a giant wooden tub where you're immersed in a bath filled with naturally super-heated cedar fiber, rice bran and plant enzymes. Kind of like...a giant human fermentation tank. The spa claims that with more than 600 enzymes seeping into your body, you'll be thoroughly cleaned of toxins, and you'll enjoy improved circulation, metabolism and digestion. Oh, and your hamster will love you, because you'll smell like home to him.
Kur
Offered at the Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa also in California, "Wine Country Kur" is a series of therapies designed to push your body into a state of, well, relaxed exhaustion. Starting with an exfoliating shower, spa goers then move from a hot pool to a cool shower, then to a herbal steam room and then to a sauna. After some much-deserved rest and re-hydration, it's time for the kur. First is a soak in a warm tub filled with grape seed extract, and then you're exfoliating with a crushed grape seed body scrub. An attendant will give you a pair of loofah-style gloves and you'll be encouraged to rinse thoroughly (otherwise you'll end up with tiny seeds everywhere, and that's just not comfortable). To conclude the treatment, you're treated to a nice long massage enhanced by - surprise, surprise - grape seed oil and lotion. You'll leave the spa feeling refreshed, purified, and perhaps with a strong craving for wine.
Seaweed Wrap
Not for the modest spa-goers, you'll lie completely naked as an attendant brushes you from head to toe with a hot paste containing a combination of different seaweeds. Then you are covered with plastic, layered with thermal blankets, and left to fend for yourself. Just kidding. You'll be wheeled outside and left to steep for a good half-hour in the sun, wrapped like a seaweed mummy. Besides removing toxins, the wrap is also supposed to give you large doses of vitamins and minerals, and leave your skin extra smooth. You may also have the urge to get re-acquainted with ocean, but just remember that you're not actually a mermaid.
Global Spa Treatments
