Tag Archives: spa treatments

Spa Solutions to End Overeating

Spa Solutions to End Overeating

Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider

In my last post I raved about Dr. Kessler’s New York Times Best Seller’s book, The End of Overeating. A variety of people posted comments including Jeff Butterworth, Wellness Director for the Jumeriah brand and Deborah Szekely, founder of Rancho La Puerta and the Golden Door spas. Both also enthusiastically recommended the book. They too felt that Dr. Kessler’s book brings important new ideas and solutions to the conversation about overweight and overeating. I think it is a good fit to incorporate in any spa (even if only recommending the book) and know of one spa that is considering adding an entire curriculum based on this program.

Ok..I promised some solutions from the book in this blog. Here are a few that resonated with me:

  • Planned eating – have structure, set meals. It’s better for your body and for your brain as it signals satisfaction which grazing all day does not. One of the reasons so many are overweight is because food, for most of us, is available all day everyday everywhere. (except on airlines as I have found out flying from NY to California frequently)

  • Don’t ‘overserve’ yourself. You can’t count on getting a full signal from your brain anymore…it’s broken.

  • Eat foods that satisfy you – the ones you like – or you’ll set yourself up for temptation. Will power doesn’t work when tempted by hyperpalatable foods.

  • Stop yourself at the earliest thought regarding overeating or eating unhealthfully. If you entertain the thought even for a little while, you won’t have the will power to resist.

  • Engage in competing behavior – substitute something you enjoy at the point of temptation.

  • Detox from the hyperpalatable foods (this is where I think going away to a destination spa is best). There you will start training your body and brain to become healthy again and your brain once again shuts off the desire to eat more when you have had enough.

  • Support from others always helps.

I know these tid-bits might sound familiar…however if you read the book, you will see that the brain chemistry issue (which Dr. Kessler explains far better than I did) underlies it all. If you have ever struggled with weight issues, this book is worth reading.

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Walter Cronkite, Spa, Wellness and a Good Life

Walter Cronkite, Spa, Wellness and a Good Life
By Susie Ellis
SpaFinder Insider

Being “of the moment,” I can’t help but weigh-in on today’s headlines which are all about Walter Cronkite’s life and death. Although I never actually met the man who became the most trusted voice of TV news, I feel somewhat connected to him through two people close to me who did get to know him.

Walter Cronkite 4 709342 Walter Cronkite, Spa, Wellness and a Good LifeThe first is my twin sister, Katrine. She met Mr. Cronkite when he was on board the QE2 as a lecturer and she was on the cruise ship managing the Golden Door Spa at Sea. That was in 1986. When I called Katrine this morning to see if she still had the photo I remember seeing of the two of them (memorable because they were both on exercise bikes with their arms on each other’s shoulders), she was able to email it to me in a few quick minutes.

I asked her what she remembered about Cronkite to which she immediately replied, “that he was so kind.” Apparently Mr. Cronkite would work out regularly in the gym on the QE2 while he and his wife were passengers and was always gracious with everyone and more than happy to pose for photos – even with the fitness instructor who was wearing “double legwarmers” at the time – what were we thinking back then?

The other connection with Mr. Cronkite is through my housekeeper. The great gal who cleans my apartment here in New York two mornings a week was also one of Mr. Cronkite’s caregivers these past few years. Although she never betrayed any confidences, it was about 3 weeks ago when she said to me,”he’s not looking good; it may be any day now.”

I remember gasping in horror saying, no! no! bad timing! You see Michael Jackson had just died and that news had swiftly trumped Farrah Fawcett’s death earlier that very same day… and the Hollywood circus was just starting up. Had Walther Cronkite died at about the same time, I am afraid that it might have precluded the fitting tributes his distinguished life deserved.

Fortunately, the timing of Mr. Cronkite’s death turned out to be much like his life – at the right place, at the right time.

Walther Cronkite died yesterday, Friday, July 17th, and all the headlines in the papers and on TV are filled appropriately with rememberances. Barring any other catastrophe, we will at least have a weekend of memories which will allow us to think back to a time when a man’s life could be summed up with such words as trusted, respected, authoritative, competitive, authentic…and yes, kind.

The news doesn’t talk as much about his personal life although I understand he had a very good and lengthy marriage, three children and four grandchildren. He lived to be 92 and although suffering from dementia in the past couple of years, it appears as if the way he led his life – including working out regularly – served him well.

Well, I guess it is fitting to end with the tag line he made famous, “And that’s the way it is.”

However, sadly, it feels more accurate these days to say, “And that’s the way it was.”

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Spas for Facials, Massage, Skin Care, and Melanoma Awareness

Spas for Facials, Massage, Skin Care and Melanoma Awareness
Susie Ellis
SpaFinder Insider

May is Melanoma month. That makes sense since it’s right before summer, the sun gets stronger and people begin spending more time outdoors. It’s a good time to remind people to put on sunscreen, wear hats, and have regular mole checks with their medical doctor. It’s this last recommendation – about having moles checked – that I want to tell you about this year.

Our company decided to make melanoma awareness our philanthropic cause about five years ago. We did this for a variety of reasons. First and foremost because of the untimely death of my friend and colleague, Alex Szekely. Second, spas are places people feel comfortable disrobing and are often open to reminders from aestheticians and massage therapists to get checked for melanoma and to wear sunscreen.

Alex Szekely was the president of the Golden Door and Rancho La Puerta. I worked closely with him for quite a few years. Peter and Alex were also friends and rode motorcycles together. Alex was passionate about health and wellness. I remember one evening when Peter and I were with him and his wife Diane at his home…he was cooking up soy burgers – showing us the special way he was able to make them taste absolutely fantastic. Alex was very health-conscious, not only did he eat healthfully, exercise regularly, and get spa treatments regularly, but he also engaged others in his healthy lifestyle.

It is unfortunate that most of us didn’t know much about melanoma at the time. When Alex first noticed an unusual spot on his lower leg, he didn’t really pay attention to it for quite some time – after all he was so healthy. Finally, someone convinced him to see a doctor. By the time he found out it was melanoma skin cancer, it was already very far along. While some early interventions looked promising, in the end the melanoma had already progressed too far. What a terrible tragedy. Alex had two small children and was unable to see them grow up as he so longed to do.
melanoma 776516 Spas for Facials, Massage, Skin Care, and Melanoma Awareness

Each year we help get the word out about melanoma awareness and this year we are doing it once again with our “I Reflect” Melanoma Awareness bracelets. (Think yellow Lance Armstrong bracelets…but these are a clear color and turn purple when exposed to the sun!) They are fun to wear, fun to give to others – even children get a kick out of them. You can get more information here. Also, please take a look at the list of spas who have partnered with us in getting the word out. Even ISPA, the International Spa Association, recently announced they were going to support melanoma awareness. I am sure Alex would have been pleased.
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Spa Industry Lemonade

lemons.lemonade 780181 Spa Industry LemonadeSpa Industry Lemonade
by Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider

I remember when my twin sister, Katrine, first got engaged. The guy proposed, promising that a ring would follow. Well, when weeks turned into months and there was one excuse after another and no ring, she sensed he was waffling and decided to call it off. What followed were many tears and a lot of anger. We tried to comfort her, saying such things as “It’s for the best,” “Something good will come out of this,” etc.

Well, at the time she didn’t want to hear it, and wasn’t believing it anyway; however, here we are 30 years later laughing about what turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to her! Luckily she didn’t marry that guy and instead, some years later, she met Bill who swept her off her feet, proposed (with a lovely ring by the way), and they have been happily married for close to 25 years.

We all know stories like this from our own lives or others. In these days of economic turmoil, it’s probably a great time to dig some of them out and dust them off. It’s the old “lemons to lemonade” adage.

So I am proposing that those of us in the spa industry give ourselves a good pep talk and spend some time looking for opportunities in this challenging economic climate. How can the spa industry emerge stronger? What changes can we embrace during these times that will make our business better?

Well, I have a few ideas to get the lemons to lemonade conversation going. I look forward to hearing yours!

  1. Change Messaging: Move from words like pampering to wellness, prevention and stress reduction. Line up with the Obama Stimulus Package with terms such as integrative health, behavioral changes, and health coaches.
  2. Change Pay Structures: Move your practitioners to fixed pay per service and add benefits.
  3. Downsize: Cut at the top, and move people down one rung on the ladder. You save money and have people performing in places where they excel. (It’s a way of undoing “The Peter Principle.”)
  4. Practice What You Preach: Put all you know about stress reduction into action. Later you will be an even greater expert.
  5. Create Community: Come up with ways to get your clients to bond with each other – that bonds them with your brand. Introduce group walks, group lectures, group parties, etc.

If you are seeing opportunities during these difficult times, please share them with us through the comment link. We all love hearing lemon-to-lemonade stories!
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SpaFinder Lifestyle Online Magazine Debuts

SFLimage2 744429 SpaFinder Lifestyle Online Magazine DebutsSpaFinder Lifestyle Online Magazine Debuts

By Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider
A few weeks ago, on November 6th, our new SpaFinder Lifestyle online magazine launched. Several days later I attended the ISPA conference in Las Vegas. I can’t tell you how many people remarked to me that they had seen it, read it, and liked it! That was music to my ears as creating this very new online magazine with a cutting-edge format was a trailblazing endeavor. Most of the credit goes to Sarah Day, our VP of Global Publishing who shepherded the process from beginning to end, Michael Ackerman, VP Digital Media who made sure it had plenty of sponsors, and Melisse Gelula, editor-in-chief of SpaFinder Lifestyle whose vision and passion define the content and to a great degree, the format.
What people said about SpaFinder Lifestyle included that:
a. The writing was good
b. The photographs were enticing
c. There was a noticeable difference in tone and use of photography (no bodies with stones on them for example.)

Melisse is a generation X (age bracket 27 – 43) – not a baby boomer (age bracket 44 – 62). Her reference point reflects the generation after the large baby boom wave which gives this online magazine, in my opinion, a refreshingly new edge. lomi.lomi 754632 SpaFinder Lifestyle Online Magazine DebutsFor example, take a look at this photo (credit: Erica Beckman) from the Massage Matrix’s Lomi Lomi massage section. This massage therapist doesn’t fit the mold of a typical massage therapist. This woman is tattooed, dressed differently, and seems to be in excellent shape herself. She represents a new breed of massage practitioner and looks to me like someone who knows what she is doing! I checked with Melisse to learn more and sure enough – this woman is a real massage therapist – not a model! Turns out, this massage therapist, Robin Pickering, is also a Jivamukti yoga instructor in Brooklyn, New York.

My favorite part of the first SpaFinder Lifestyle issue is the Massage Matrix where you can plot the kind of massage you want in terms of amount of pressure and amount of relaxation. Then the matrix shows you specifically what type of massage would be ideal for you.

The bottom line is that the various sections, Escapes, Beauty, Spa Living, Well-Being and Melisse’s blog keep me in the loop on how the younger generation is living the spa lifestyle. It is a bit like Daily Candy for spa enthusiasts, only a tad longer and more spa savvy.
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