Tag: spa
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED FOR ENTRIES. Congratulations to Jennifer K., the winner of the Elmwood Spa Holiday Glow package! (Jennifer, check your email for more details about your prize, enjoy!)
Are you making a list and checking it twice? The past few years, I feel like I’m buying fewer gifts and choosing instead to give either something homemade (such as an addictive caramel popcorn that I make) or by taking someone out to dinner or to an amusement park, for example. And research shows that experiences, such as vacations, provide more enduring happiness than material purchases.
Which is why I think a gift card to the spa is a fantastic gift idea for the person in your life who could use a little me-time but rarely gets to indulge in it. Elmwood Spa (one of the first spas I ever went to in Toronto so it holds a special place in my memories) has several spa packages that would make a lovely gift for someone on your list. You could make it even more special by, say, offering your babysitting services so that your bestie doesn’t have to worry about finding someone to watch the littles. Or, even better, give your friend a gift card, and invest in the same package for yourself so that you can go together and decompress and spend some quality time together. Surely this will be more memorable than a pair of pyjamas, wouldn’t you agree?
To make your shopping a little easier, I’ve got one sweet giveaway (that you can choose to either give to a loved one or keep for yourself!). Enter to win one Elmwood Spa gift card for a Holiday Glow package (valued at $225). The Holiday Glow package includes one 50-minute Swedish massage, ElmLine Essential Facial, three-course lunch at the Terrace Restaurant, and water therapies in the spa’s pool, whirlpool and steam room.
To enter this giveaway, you must be a Canadian resident.
You can enter to win the Elmwood Spa Holiday Glow gift card in three different ways (you can enter once via each method):
- Email me at healthandswellness@gmail.com with your name and mailing address (please put “Elmwood Spa” in the subject line).
- Twitter. On Twitter, follow me (@healthswellness) and Elmwood Spa (@elmwoodspa) and tweet:
I want to get an #elmwoodglow this holiday season by winning this @healthswellness #giveaway! http://bit.ly/1MlvUvk
- Facebook: “Like” the Health and Swellness page on Facebook and comment on the Elmwood Spa photo about what your favourite spa treatment is.
This giveaway is open to Canadian residents and you can enter up until 12 p.m. EST, Thursday, December 24, 2015. The winner will be chosen at random and notified via the method they’ve won. If they do not claim their prize within five days, another winner will be selected at random.
Good luck!
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December 18, 2015
Could a Thai massage be the answer I’ve been looking for? That is, a relaxing way to stretch but with someone else doing the work? I’m not a fan of stretching (although I recognize it’s beneficial). I often get bored and restless (what can I say, I’m impatient by nature), and also, I view my workout as my run itself, and when I’m done running, I just want to hop my sweaty body into the shower and be done with my workout, not prolong it all with stretches. I realize this is the wrong way to view stretching — please don’t follow suit! I’m terribly, terribly inflexible since I rarely stretch.
But Thai massage would help stretch me, right? Since Thai massage therapy was launched a few months ago at the Miraj Caudalie Hammam and Spa at the Shangri-La Hotel in Toronto, and I was invited to try it out, I was very eager to learn what it was all about. At the time, I was in the midst of training for spring races so I felt like it was a great time to test it out and learn more about it. Here’s what I learned:
What to expect in the treatment room and what to wear for Thai massage? The first difference you’ll notice about a Thai massage is that there is no massage table; instead there is a Thai yoga mat on the floor (think thicker and covering a wider area than a typical yoga mat). Also, there are no lotions or oils used in this type of massage. And finally, rather than strip down to your skivvies as you would for a Swedish massage, you are fully clothed for a Thai massage. At the Shangri La, they recommend loose, comfortable clothing you can easily move around in (I’d forgotten a set of clothes, but the spa was able to loan me some leisure gear for my treatment).
What are the roots of Thai massage? It’s a healing art form based along what are called energy or sen lines, explained Celia Au of the Miraj Caudalie Spa. “These energy lines are closely following the circulatory system, and so when you work along these energy lines, a couple of things happen. Energy lines can be blocked, and some people may hold a lot of stress and anxiety and when having these compressions during a Thai massage and working along sen lines, they unblock these energy channels, balancing out the energy levels,” explained Celia. As such, your Thai massage can be a relaxing treatment but it can also be energizing treatment with psychological benefits as well.
What movements can you expect in Thai massage? Rather than the long, slow strokes you know from Swedish massage, the movements in a Thai massage are gentle and incorporate compression and flowing exercise movements. If you do yoga, you’ll likely recognize many movements as being similar to yoga postures. “It has been called the lazy man’s way of doing yoga,” said Celia. But don’t give up your yoga class just yet. While the movements are similar, the therapist is doing it for you. On the one hand, this can be good for you (Because the therapist is putting you into your stretch, you can allow yourself to completely relax and focus on your breathing). Compare this to a yoga class where you may be focusing on your balance and your core, or lengthening your spine.
What benefits can you expect from Thai massage? It will get blood flowing to your muscles amd increase your mobility. “When yo u’re doing a rocking motion, for example, you’re actually lubricating the joint and that’s where the integrity of the stretch comes into play,” says Celia. And depending on the type of practice, the breathing is a meditative part of the treatment. “It improves of your own breath; the breathing and rhythmic movement during treatment almost puts you in a trance-like form.”
Who would benefit from Thai massage? “It’s beneficial for anyone, but I would say for someone who’slooking to increase range of motion, or who wants to familiarize themselves with stretching, or someoen who wants to try yoga. Also, someone who’s very active, such as an athlete, since a lot of the time they can have a build up of lactic acid in muscles, and they get tight with activity and it can help having someone stretch them,” says Celia. She says people who old a lot of anxiety or who are looking for mental clarify can benefit from the treatment as well. Above all, she says to come try it with an open mind. “Some people might think it’s too active a massage for them, but it’s actually slow movements.”
Thai massage, 75 minutes, $210, Miraj Hammam Spa by Caudalie, Shangri-La Hotel Toronto.
August 10, 2015
After two of my races this spring, I went for a massage the day after my race, most recently at the Elmwood Spa after the running the Nike Women’s Toronto 15k. I hadn’t been this spa in years and there’ve been some beautiful updates (like the women’s change room, where I spent some time in the pretty blue tiled jacuzzi as I sipped one of the spa’s delicious smoothies).
While there, I also took the opportunity to chat with an RMT at the Elmwood Spa, Margaret Keats, about how runners should incorporate massage therapy into their race regimen.
Is it OK to get a massage right after a race?
Keats recommends focusing on hydration and ensuring you’re replenishing your antioxidants and electrolytes and waiting until the day after the race to get a massage. “Your body may ‘resist” the treatment by muscle guarding and you may not get the desired result,” she explains.
How about the jacuzzi at the spa, should I use the jets to soothe my tired, sore muscles?
A hot tub right after a race may be too hot, she says. “Heat aggravates inflammation, and the extra sweating can cause dehydration and actually make you feel more sore.” Instead, she suggests an Epsom salt bath at a warm to tepid temperature so that you don’t aggravate inflammation, followed by a quick cool shower. And be sure, of course, to hydrate well after your race.
How much pressure is too much pressure for your massage therapy?
“Cues that the treatment pressure is too much: holding your breath and muscle holding–subconsciously holding or guarding the area–are signs to look for. If you can comfortably breathe through it, and you don’t feel pain, then it’s all good,” says Keats.
Is Swedish massage, commonly offered at spas, beneficial for post-run recovery?
“Swedish massage encompasses a wide range of techniques for different needs,” she explains. “Light to moderate pressure using circulatory strokes encourages circulation and waste removal, while moderate to deep pressure techniques incorporating stretches helps to restore muscle length and flexibility.”
(Photos of Elmwood Spa exterior and change room courtesy of Elmwood Spa/Richard Picton)
July 8, 2015
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