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In the News: New Vagina Spa or Gyno-Spa

In the News: New Vagina Spa or Gyno-Spa
by Susie Ellis
SpaFinder Insider

After all of the buzz about the newly announced Vagina Spa or Gyno-Spa here in New York, I feel compelled to weigh in on the conversation. As I share my thoughts, I am going to try to stay away from all the puns being used on the internet to describe this latest news item. (It isn’t easy, by the way.) I must say the Huffington Post’s blog posts were the most creative.

romanzi 775846 In the News: New Vagina Spa or Gyno SpaYour best bet is to read the New York Times article from July 3rd which will explain that Dr. Lauri Romanzi, a board certified gynecologist, is going to be adding to her practice something she calls Phit – which is an acronym for pelvic health integrated techniques.

Here are my thoughts:
1. First let me say that if you are in the spa business (or perhaps have nothing better to do right now), it is an interesting development you might want to know about.

2. Note that Dr. Romanzi did not call it a Vagina Spa or a Gyno Spa. Those terms were coined by others and used by many (including me in the title of my blog) because they do work in terms of getting attention. Another note, Dr. Romanzi was quoted as saying, “It’s the dental floss of feminine fitness” so she is also clearly thinking “sound-bites.”

3. This isn’t the first time I have run across this idea or a related concept. There are, for example Gyno-chairs, at the Juvenex Spa here in Manhattan and they offer Gynotherapy which is a vaginal steam bath. And yes, I tried it several years ago because I thought it was novel and trying out novel spa treatments is something I do all over the world. Wooden chair with large hole…pot of steaming herbs…you get the idea. Anyway, it is a common practice in some cultures – especially after childbirth.

4. Whenever medical and spa come together, I think that is generally a good thing. And reading Dr. Romanzi’s bio makes me feel a lot better about what has clearly been a PR home-run for her.

BIO INFO FROM DR. ROMANZI’S WEBSITE:

Board-certified gynecologist, fellowship-trained urogynecologist and reconstructive pelvic surgeon. She founded Urogynics in 1998…is the first surgeon in Manhattan to perform the minimally invasive Tension Free Vaginal Tape procedure for urinary incontinence, and the pioneer of a scar-free, uterus-preserving (no hysterectomy) technique of uterine prolapse repair.

On her list of services: Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery: Uterine prolapsed, vaginal laxity, dropped bladder, rectocele, postpartum rehabilitation, bowel and bladder incontinence, childbirth injury and fistula of the pelvic organs. Sex & Wellbeing Therapy: Bioidentical hormone therapy, kegel exercise routines, treatments that increase libido, energy, mood and bone density, evaluation of medication side effects, supplements for brain health, bones, energy and sexuality, and referral resource for psychological, weight loss and endocrinology consultants.
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Evaluating Spa Research and Deciding What Data Speaks for Our Industry

graph 750641 Evaluating Spa Research and Deciding What Data Speaks for Our IndustryEvaluating Spa Research and Deciding What Data Speaks for Our Industry

By Susie Ellis
This is an important topic, one that I have decided to tackle in small bits rather than in one large blog post. As many people know, ISPA had their media event in New York about three weeks ago and gave some preliminary results from their two upcoming research reports – one regarding the domestic spa industry and the other their first global study. Some of the information given out at the media event (which I attended), along with some of the information posted on their website and mentioned in their recent press releases, stirred up questions and concerns – especially in regards to the issue of the decrease, or flattening, of total spa revenues when comparing 2006 with 2005.
I have gotten emails from industry colleagues with questions and have also read a few other blogs where the issue has, and still is, being discussed. Initially I had written a blog to explain my viewpoint and share additional spa research data from other sources including Spa Finder, but after posting, for just one day, I decided to take it down and speak with some of the people at ISPA first. I wanted to be certain that I had good understanding of the background of the situation. Therefore I emailed Jim Root, Chairman of ISPA and Stephanie Ashley, who is in charge of ISPA’s research to ask each of them if I might be able to speak with them by phone. Both were gracious and said yes. We then had our phone call on Tuesday which involved a few other ISPA staff members as well as Nikita Sarkar, Spa Finder’s research director. Together we addressed concerns and discrepancies – and I think all of us came away with greater understanding.
Beginning tomorrow I will address these issues one by one. I think I’ll start with the issue of what is counted as spa revenue.
Looking forward to having your input as well so please click on “comment” at the end of any of these blog posts to add your perspectives as well.

Philippine Hilot Massage

pic mac chipg03 782961 Philippine Hilot MassageSwedish massage and Thai massage have been around for a long time. Philippine Hilot Massage has only recently been introduced outside of the Philippines but has been practiced here for thousands of years. I was excited to finally experience it.

First I learned that I had been mispronouncing the name Hilot. The correct pronunciation is like saying “he” and then “lot”.

The massage is done with virgin coconut oil, and the pressure is strong. It can be somewhat painful when they find blockages and use their thumbs to work out these blockages. The idea is to get the energy moving by using a banana leaf as a diagnostic tool. The leaf is skimmed over various body parts. It slides easily over parts that are not blocked but begins to drag at certain points. They say that these are the points of blockage.

I don’t know about the science, but like many indigenous healing techniques, hundreds of years of experience have resulted in the Hilot massage becoming a very important part of the Philippines’ contemporary healthcare culture. Daily Hilot massage was prescribed for people in areas without access to medical care and those unable to afford it.

I was also told that the treatment is very much about the supernatural gift of healing hands. Not just anyone can do Hilot – a person needs to be gifted in order to perform it.

The Luxury of Spa in Seoul

Well, my Korean massage ended up being terrific. Joe was my therapist’s name. The massage given at the Seoul Airport Massage Center is really perfect for the period between long flights. They don’t use oil (good idea, as that would be a mess between flights), and they give you long white cotton shorts and a t-shirt to wear. The massage itself is a combination of stretching and deep pressure-point massage. The showers are good enough, although I was looking everywhere for a towel and finally found a tiny white one, which I thought was for the floor. I realized that this was the towel massage clients are meant to use for drying off. Ok…it wasn’t luxury, but after a 15-hour flight from New York, it felt great.