Fall 2009 Trend Watch – 40s Romance
ESSENTIAL LOOKS from Schwarzkopf Professional brings you the 111yr Edition: Part 2 distilled into four NEW visual moods for Autumn/Winter 2009. These looks capture the essence of the season – defining the spirit of our times, creating a cultural snapshot, and presenting a storybook of style. Each season, a handpicked team of hair professionals immerses themselves in the fashion weeks of London, Paris, Milan and New York and emerges inspired to create a collection of distinct trends that will lead hairdressers and their salon clients to progress their personal style for the coming season.
40s ROMANCE
Reviving the era of elegance, this trend direction takes post-war European women as its inspiration, mixing soft femininity with graceful tailoring. This lean aesthetic comes with cinched and emphasised waists, heavenly coatdresses, tweeds and uniform-like suits. To play up the nostalgia of this look, hair gets glamorous with waves, collapsed spirals, Victory rolls, chignons and blown-out curls that give the head an asymmetric shape. Colours are soft focus and romantically tinged in cherry red, rich espresso, and chanteuse blonde. This is romance that’s almost worth fighting for.
ESSENTIAL Product for 40s Romance: OSiS Loopy Curl Cream to help bring out your natural soft waves.
Thai Massage: An Ancient Healing Art
July 20, 2009 by Christine
Filed under Massage, Spa, Staff Picks
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Background
Thai massage has its roots in ancient India, where it was practiced over 2,500 years ago, well before thee time of Buddha. It is believed that the founder of Thai massage was a doctor in northern India by the name of Shivaka Kumar Baccha who was the Buddha’s personal medical advisor. His teachings on herbal medicine and massage arrived in Thailand along with Buddhist teachings by the first Buddhist monks around the 2nd and 3rd century B.C.
Once in Thailand, knowledge of this healing art spread and techniques were handed down orally from teacher to student. The ancient massage arts gradually gained a reputation for their abilities to alleviate backache, headache, stomach ache and nervous tension.
Thai massage reached its peak about 200 years ago, then began to fall in decline. It was revived by King Rama III (1824 – 1851) who had all existing knowledge about techniques inscribed on stone tablets and erected at Wat Po in Bangkok, where they remain today. The tablets depict diagrams of the human body showing the body’s key energy lines, where massage is applied to stimulate the circulation and effect healing.
Technique-wise, Thai massage is based on the concept of invisible energy lines running along the body. This is linked to ancient Indian yoga philosophy, which states that we receive life energy, or prana, via a network of 72, 000 energy lines that interconnect along our bodies. Thai massage focuses on ten key lines, known as a “sip sen” (ten lines) in Thai.
The energy along these lines powers all our physical, mental an emotional processes, so when there is an energy imbalance, the body’s harmony is disrupted, causing pain and disease. Massaging along these energy lines can break up the blockages, stimulate the flow of prana and restore general well-being.
Application
A key difference from western massage is that Thai massage is applied without oils, and the recipient remains fully clothed. Unlike the continuous strokes of Swedish massage, the Thai method uses pressure, muscle stretching an compression, practiced in gentle, rhythmic, rocking movements. All the movements are flowing and smooth. The masseur uses not just the hands, but also feet, knees and elbows. The massage is usually preformed on a mattress on the floor.
Some people may ache after a Thai massage in places where they didn’t ache before. This is because when a person is suffering from internal stress or anxiety, muscle tension in the form of frowning for example, may be so minute as to be unnoticeable. Prolonged tension results in headache, backache or muscle pain in other parts of the body that become unnoticeable to the sufferer after a while. When these habitually tensed muscles are massaged, their energy blockages are released, thus resulting in discomfort. This can be remedied by a few more massage sessions.
Key Aspects
There are six key aspects to Traditional Thai Massage:
- Yoga
- Exercise
- Meditation
- Reflexology
- Acupressure
- Energy Healing
Benefits
The holistic benefits of Thai Massage are:
- Relieves pain and muscle tension
- Strengthens and rejuvenates the body
- Improves blood and lymphatic circulation
- Frees blocked energy flows
- Increases flexibility through passive yoga postures
- Increases ability to absorb food
- Enhances elimination of wastes and toxins
- Invigorates the nervous system
- facilitates relaxation
Interested in finding out more? Click here to contact Holtz Spa for more information about Thai Massage
5 Tips for Sexy Summer Skin
1. Exfoliate
Get rid of that dry, scaly winter skin and make room for a smooth new palette to work with.
2. Hydrate
Your polished skin needs moisture to give you a shiny, silky smoothness before you tan.
3. Face the Facts
Your beautiful face needs special protection and care during the summer months. Repair the negative effects of winter, the environment and pollution. Then boost your skin’s immunity with the powerful anti-free radical effects of Vitamin C.
ps always wear a daytime SPF
4. Get Your Bronze On!
Sunless Tanning is safe and simple. Say no to sun damaged skin and harmful UV rays but don’t give up that bronze!
Take your pick …. We can do it for you with our Spray Tan – Airbrush Tanning Session $50 add a pre-tan scrub $110 or purchase our Babor Summer Effect Self Tanner with a moisturizing shimmer $45
5. Sandal Ready Feet
Don’t skip the pedicure! The skin on your feet needs to be soft and callus free to look good in those new sandals. Go wild with color on your neatly trimmed nails or opt for a pretty French pedi. Don’t mind the relaxing foot massage….it’s all part of the package!
Spirit of the Forest – new Award winning treatment
This unique 80 minute healing experience involves the ancient, majestic, and beautiful vibrational resonance of Canadian Forest Tree Essences. Following the lineage of Bach Flower remedies, tree essences have special healing qualities that touch the sphere of emotional well-being and vitality.
The treatment includes a brief energetic assessment to determine the Tree Essence or combination of essences that will be used during the treatment. The Essences are then taken orally to initiate a process known as Vibrational layering. The entire body is then dry brushed to open pores, increase circulation and prepare the body for the second layering of Tree Essences, applied as a spray and blended with essential oils to induce relaxation. The third layer of Tree Essences are blended with organic oils and are gently massaged over the entire body. The final layer is applied to the therapists palms with the intention of creating an energetic channel to connect the healer with the specific Tree Essences chosen.
Vibrational Energy Work is directed at addressing the emotional, physical and phychological imbalances held within the body/mind. On completion of the treatment, the guest will take home his or her Tree Essences to continue the healing process.
Why use tree essences?
- Take care of emotions associated with health issues
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Meet life’s challenges
- Help to handle life’s transitions
- Heal emotional wounds and pain
- Gain release from unwanted emotional patterns
Spa Treatments for Detoxing
Why they work and how to choose what your body needs:
- Green Tea Slimming Body Wrap
- Lymphatic Detox Body Wrap
- SlimTone Anti – Cellulite Treatment
- Algologie Seaweed Wrap – Cellulite Treatment
- Lymphatic Massage
- Abhayanga
- Holtz Detox Cleanse
Holtz offers many detoxifying treatments from around the world along with Heel Homeopathic Detox Kits, Kelp, Algae, Specialty Teas and Nutritional Supplements. Choosing the right detox treatment depends much on what it is you are trying to achieve and your present health and physical condition. Results are different for everyone as no two body’s are alike.
Detoxification is also an ongoing processs, and depending on your lifestyle, may include a change in diet, exercise and stress reducing activies along with your spa treatments. Detoxifying Body Wraps are a wonderful way to begin the process but best results are obtained with a series of 6 weekly treatments. Algologie from France is world renowned for its slimming and detoxifying algae. Take home teas and body gels from Algologie form an important factor in the overall outcome of the treatments. There is no such thing as a quick fix detox!
Massage is an excellent adjunct to any detoxification. Lymphatic Drainage assists the lymphatic system in clearing out toxic debris and is extremely important when using any detox diet or regime which may create a sudden overload of toxins to be released into the bloodstream. Too many toxins too fast can make you ill with flu like symptoms, headaches and aching muscles.
Ayurveda, a 6,000 year old medical system from India, offers detoxification through a rejuvenating process of vigorous massage, warm herbal oils and pastes along with stress reducing energy work on the Marma Points or energy centres of the body. Our Holtz Detox Cleanse package includes 2 steam baths, our Green Tea Body Wrap, a Super Greens beverage and fresh fruit snack along with a full body Lymphatic Massage. It’s a great way to kick start your detox!
Please be assured that our professional therapists are here to discuss your detox needs and assist you in choosing what’s right for you.
