Treat yourself: A dozen spas
Compiled by Atención staff
September 19, 2008 San Miguel de Allende
For the novice, entering a spa for the first time can be a little intimidating. Think about what you want before you go. Do you want to relax for an afternoon, start a healthier life or get away for a weekend? You get more out of the experience when you understand spa types, etiquette and treatments.
The most popular spa treatment and a good place to start is a massage. It has been around for thousands of years and has a number of health benefits. Other popular spa treatments are facials, salt glows and body wraps.
Once you’ve tried the basics, you might want to branch out to hydro-massage, sea salt baths, aromatherapy or reflexology. An esthetician can advise you about facial services or body treatments that would be most appropriate for your skin type.
Spas enhance your well-being, and you can tailor your circumstances to the different types: day, getaway, medical, communities, home and connoisseur.
Day spa visits are easy ways to take breaks and treat yourself. Many offer massages, facials, body wraps, manicures, pedicures and reflexology; some have saunas, whirlpools and salon services. A club spa is located in a fitness facility or health club.
Getaway spas include resort/hotel, destination, casinos and value spas.
Resort/hotel spas offer spa cuisine and services, fitness classes and activities such as golf, tennis and skiing. They’re good choices for business travellers, families or when one person wants recreation and the other a spa visit. The spa generally complements a hotel stay or resort vacation.
Destination spas are full-immersion, all-inclusive experiences lasting two to seven days. Programs provide fitness activities, spa cuisine, therapeutic spa and body treatments, classes and often mind/body/spirit offerings to help jump-start a more healthful lifestyle.
Casino spas attract fun-seeking travelers who like excitement and spa luxury. These high-end properties offer a chance to try games of chance without leaving the premises.
Value spas offer many of the above amenities in affordable packages.
Medical spas often are operated by doctors or licensed healthcare professionals and you’ll find them working alongside spa therapists. The types are cosmetic, mineral spring, weight loss, wellness and dental. Many are combinations.
Cosmetic spas integrate clinical aesthetic enhancement and spa treatments.
Mineral spring spas use natural mineral, thermal or seawater in hydrotherapy. The Romans considered them essential to civilization—the massive Baths of Caracalla accommodated 1,600 bathers.
Weight loss spas combine diet, exercise and lifestyle changes.
Wellness spas provide care that may adhere to traditional Western medical concepts, complementary/alternative philosophies, or a combination of the two. The spa treatments are effective ways to rejuvenate and reduce stress.
Dental spas are ways for enterprising dentists to make your twice-yearly check-up a spa-like luxury.
Spa communities offer buyers an exclusive home in an environment constructed around a luxurious spa—you can literally live at the spa!
Home spas can be your sanctuary, and some are the most luxurious in the world. Mobile spas bring professionals to your home or office, making it simple to enjoy pampering.
Connoisseur or luxury spas are the crème de la crème of spas, elites chosen on criteria such as extraordinary ambience, luxurious accommodations, high staff-to-guest ratio, exceptional spa services, outstanding cuisine, and industry awards and recognition.
Ana Luisa Castaneda contributed to this article. She is an esthetician with 14 years of experience and the founder of Quinto Sol Day Spa in San Miguel: www.quintosol-spa.com.
San Miguel Spas
Day spas are the most common types in San Miguel, though the last four on this list also are medical spas. Hotels often contain spa or salon elements, and some resorts could be getaway spas.
The Spa
Mon–Sat, 9:30am–8pm
Sun, 10am–7pm
Hotel & Spa
Recreo 38
152-8666
Spa
Hospicio 46
152-1302
Treatments: 25% discount.
San Miguel’s pioneer spa, est. 1984,
20% donated to elderly food program
Bambú Day Spa
Mon–Fri, 10am–6pm
Sat, 10am–5pm
Posada de la Aldea
(inside the hotel)
Ancha de San Antonio 15
044 (415) 103-0240
Coupon special through
Sep 30: free manicure or
pedicure with facial
Salon de Robert
Tue–Sat, by appt.
Rosales 5
154-8188
Hair services, manicures,
pedicures
El Quinto Sol Day Spa
Mon–Sat, 10am–2pm
Col. Guadalupe
Farolito 10
152-1608
Offers 15 face, body and
salon services
Donatella Spa
By appt.
Aldama 43
152-0564
French Guinot hydradermie
treatments, massage,
manicures, pedicures
Rejuvenate with Renee
www.BeBeautifulNaturally.com
(415) 119-2465
Hypnotherapy with Renee Devereaux,
also a nutritionist and esthetician
Dr. Manuel Velazquez
01 (461) 613-4210
www.lajoyaclinica.com
Cosmetic surgery
Skin Evolution
Plaza la Luciérnaga, L-34
110-3212
Definitive depilation without
lasers; September Fiestas
40% discount specials
Sabe Salud y Belleza
Stirling Dickinson 8A
(415) 110-0000
www.sabeintl.com
Micro-current therapy with
massage, physiotherapy,
nutrition counseling
Listening to Your Body
By Richard Adelman
Grounding yourself with pressure
Lecture
Aging Gracefully: Flexibility After 50
Richard Adelman
Tue, Sep 30, 5–7 pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
Donation 50 pesos
Pressure is central to how we experience our bodies and our bodily experience plays a large role in how we experience our selves. Pressure orients us and gives us contact, a feeling of being someplace. Without it we may feel vague, lost, or confused. Excessive pressure may evoke feelings of impatience and urgency, or even oppression and anger. The right amount of pressure makes you feel more “at home” in your body.
I have synthesized, from the Feldenkrais Method and Somatic Psychology, a movement exploration in the regulation of pressure. This exercise can put you inside yourself while enhancing your sense of physical contact with your chair and the earth. You may find yourself feeling serene and tranquil or excited and alive. Whether you end up feeling happy, sad, numb, speeded up or slowed down, there is a good chance you will be in deeper contact with yourself.
Guidelines: The basic guideline for this exercise is “less is more.” The key is to not strain. Please do only slow, gentle, comfortable movements. Your eyes may be open or closed. You may devote 10 minutes or more, repeating the sequence several times. Some people like to tape the instructions or have a friend read them.
Frame of reference: Observe how you are standing at the beginning and again at the end. How are you in contact with the ground and with yourself? How do you rest on, or hold yourself up, from the ground? How much effort does this require and where do you feel it? How stable or unstable do you feel?
Position: Sit in a comfortable chair, your feet resting securely on the ground (shoes are fine) with your back supported. Take a minute to observe how you experience the pressure of your feet against the ground and what you are able to sense of your body from your feet up to your head, including your breathing. How much of your body do you actually feel? How clear or vague are your sensations?
Overview: The exercise makes three small increments of increasing and (later) decreasing pressure between your feet and the floor. Make each shift in a slow, steady and gradual manner. Each time you change the pressure you will hold it at that level for about 10 seconds. Changes in pressure should be gentle but palpable. Going up and down the pressure scale many times helps you discover just the right pressure for you.
Organizing pressure: Gently begin to press your feet into the floor until you feel a noticeable difference. Observe any sensations of effort or tension anywhere in your body while you sustain this pressure for 10 seconds. Repeat this procedure two more times, noticing how you are giving yourself more bodily form, becoming firmer and more defined as you increase the pressure.
Disorganizing pressure: Begin to diminish the pressure in three steps, pausing at each level for 10 seconds to absorb the experience. What is it like to have less pressure in your body? Is it like having less pressure emotionally? Do you begin to feel a softly expanding pulsation or warmth anywhere in your body?
I will present this and other exercises during my talk, “Aging Gracefully: Flexibility After 50,” on September 30. I will see patients privately for gentle hands-on work and movement re-education at LifePath Retreats, September 28–October 6.
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