Spas are a haven for people who are stressed out, busy and overscheduled. Who isn’t, these days? Our plugged-in world makes it hard to really relax sometimes, even when at the spa. You worry about an upcoming meeting, your child’s problems at school, an impending visit from the in-laws – your mind just can’t seem to stop working even when you should be zoned out. Thankfully, there is a type of massage that is designed to help keep you in the moment and truly enjoy your experience: the mindfulness massage.
This technique blends both mindfulness and bodywork to quickly help you enter a state of deep relaxation quickly and easily. Through breathing techniques and body scans, a mindfulness massage helps clear the clutter from your mind, melt stress and help you truly be present for your entire massage experience. You will leave feeling truly refreshed and invigorated, ready to take on all challenges. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Here’s how it works and where you can have it done.
The Powers of the Mind
Mindfulness is like meditation, in the respect that you quiet your senses and focus on one thought or thing. Being mindful means being fully aware of what is happening to you in the present. It is living in the moment and appreciating all your senses, almost in a remote fashion. During a mindfulness massage, the therapist helps guide you through the process with a body scan, which helps you focus on the parts of your body that are being worked on and appreciating them to the fullest.
Breathing techniques and guided visualization also help you relax and become more aware of your body during this type of massage. A mindfulness massage has the power to eliminate stress, improve your memory and concentration and even help keep you well by increasing white blood cells. It’s also thought that ongoing mindfulness can help make changes in your brain to make to better cope with stress, even while not on the massage table.
Another important factor of a mindfulness massage is the fact that the therapist is also emotionally present, in other words not thinking about the next session or her busy schedule. The massage therapist practices what she preaches, to make this type of massage session a powerful and calming treatment for both parties.
In the fight against stress, many spas are taking on emotional health in order to help us feel better both inside and out. A mindfulness massage can help you really focus on your needs and clear that clutter from your overworked mind. Here are some on-trend spas that offer this mind/body connection technique.
Miraval’s Mindful Massage
This cutting-edge spa in the Arizona dessert brought us the ever-popular hot stone massage, and now offers a mindful massage experience. It is conducted outdoors, so it brings you back in touch not only with yourself, but with nature, too. This 100-minute session utilizes a gentle-touch massage therapy technique, along with hot and cold stones, to help ground and balance you. The aim is for deep body awareness and truly immersing yourself in the experience.
Mii Amo A Destination Spa
Arizona certainly seems to have the market cornered when it comes to mindfulness and spa relaxation! Mii Amo offers several mindfulness sessions aimed at reducing stress and helping you reconnect. The Releasing Stress session combines visualization, breath awareness, movement and other techniques to help you better manage stress. There’s also an Integrative Breathing treatment to help combat stress and be truly aware of your body/mind connection.
Wellness Springs Natural Health Care and Spa
Located in New York’s Hudson Valley, Wellness Springs aims to help clients to live life more mindfully with a connected mind, body and spirit. Its goal is to promote relaxation and better health in this fast-paced and stress-filled world. Massages, facials and body treatments all focus on your well-being and ability to be in the present for these truly in-the-moment experiences.
Exhale Mind Body Spa
Exhale Mind Body Spa, which has locations throughout the United States, focuses on blending mind and body programs to treat the whole person. It offers a full menu of spa treatments that focus on the individual and restoring balance to their life. This mind/body connection is at the core of the mindfulness movement. In fact, therapists here focus on being mindful and present during the massage and other treatments that they give. Talk about practicing what you preach!
The Mindfulness Center
The Mindfulness Center, which is located in Maryland, seeks to bring mindfulness to all areas of a person’s life in order to promote well-being and optimal health. As part of its mission, it offers several different massage techniques that incorporate mindfulness as part of the process. In addition to body massage and myofascial massage, you can indulge in a Thai Yoga massage or a Lymph Drainage massage. These treatments focus on improving your overall wellness in order to improve your health. You can also try hypnosis, acupuncture and meditation, along with other methods to reach a joyful and balanced life.
Mindfulness massage is a trend that is picking up steam, and it’s easy to see why. It’s the perfect way to rid yourself of stress and improve your health at the same time. Being in the present and really focusing on the here and now is a great way to appreciate living life to the fullest.
Take some time to relax and unwind.
Alicia
Photo from Miraval’s Facebook Page.