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| THE BENEFITS OF SPA TREATMENT | |
| The Riviera Maya Recently I visited Mexico for a rest and rejuvenation vacation. I went to the Rivera Maya near Cancun along the backside of the Yucatan peninsula. It is possibly one of the most beautiful places on Earth you can visit. There is only one major road and it runs north to south along the coast. It is spotted with hotels and the rest is real jungle. When I was there, I was lucky enough to have visited the Aventura Spa Palace. This is a massive hotel complex along the beach famous for its workout facilities and various natural Spa treatments. The Spa Palace is definitely the place to go for outdoor fun and revitalization. While I was there, I was able to try several different types of activities and spa therapies, which were out of this world! Hydro Therapy The first thing I did when I arrived was to hit their array of really cool exercise facilities that the Spa Palace offered. I worked out in the several different fitness centers inside this beautiful complex. They were all loaded with state of the art fitness equipment or active outdoor activities. Some areas had outdoor climbing walls, kayaking or lap pools while others had complete indoor fitness centers with aerobic classes, free weights and circuits full of treadmills, steppers, and Hammer strength machines. When I had finished working out, it was suggested to me that I set an appointment for Hydro Therapy. This was a type of water therapy that consisted of a series of hot and cold- water sequences. I can tell you this right now, it was the bomb! My hydrotherapy started with a relaxing steam bath. The steam room was spacious and made out of natural limestone, which kept it at a perfect constant temperature and gave the room a warm relaxing feeling. Menthol and eucalyptus oil filled the air, opening up my sinuses and clearing my lungs. What a great feeling it was to be allergy free. After opening all my pores in the steam, I went to a high-pressure shower. It blasted cold water in a sit down type of shower with varying jets of water hitting me from every angle and from head to toe. It also contained a sunflower type showerhead and a chain to pull for a heavy down poor of ice cold water. It was shocking but invigorating to pull that chain and feel the rush of cold water but that’s the idea. The hydrotherapy concept was to keep shocking your body to remove toxins and stimulate your bodily systems. When I had finished with the dousing, I moved over to the reflexology bench where the warm water was only ankle deep and I put my feet on small smooth pebbles while small jets of water massaged my feet. I sat on a redwood bench that had small jets of stem rising up between the slats as I relaxed. It felt good after having done some running on the treadmill and pounding my feet with footwork around the body bag in the Gym. The last hydro-therapy was a series of Jacuzzis. The first Jacuzzi was cool about 85 degrees, the next one was freezing with a water fall to dunk your entire body under, at about 50 degrees and the last one was really hot at over 110 degrees. The idea there was to alternate back a forth through the tubs and open and close your pores rapidly, relax and tighten your muscles and shock your constitution and then leave you in a state of complete relaxation. Then attendants brought you some tea and you relaxed on a chase lounge chair, and took a nap under some special sun lamps, Awesome! Skin Care The Aventura Spa Palace also offered one of the finest skin care spa treatment centers in the world. Because of the natural barrier reef that surrounds the beach just off shore, the spa boasted an array of ocean type spa treatments. It featured treatments such as: Seaweed masks, body wraps, mud-facials, cleansing scrubs, anti-stress hot towel therapies, and anti-aging skin care products. Candles with Aroma Therapy scents like jasmine, lavender, and vanilla filled the air in each of the different areas of the spa. Massage Therapy Of course, the Spa Palace also had top-notch massage therapy. This is what I was really looking forward to. Any type of massage you wanted. Full body or sectioned out to specific areas like your back or just your feet. My room was set-up with an ocean view, aromatherapy and soothing music. I just can’t say enough about the benefits of massage therapy. Whether it’s for recovering from muscle soreness, stiffness, or tightness after working out, or to promote healing from an injury for increased flexibility or elasticity in your tissue. Maybe even to turn on your sex partner and put them in tune with erogenous zones all over their body, or for just a comforting way to slip into a more relaxed mental state and relieve stress and tension from the days events. Massage can be preformed by a professional masseur like the spa masseuse or, just a friend it’s always beneficial because it is therapeutic to have the human touch. The spa helped my entire general attitude. Massage systems come in many forms and each one has its place. I was fortunate enough at the spa to be able to choose a combination of Sports Massage options to loosen up skeletal muscles and Shiat-zu to work on certain acupressure points for tendon and ligament pain. This trip was a special treat, something overdue that I sorely needed for a long time. It relieved me from the constant training demands I put on my body. Feeling better through bodywork enhanced my recovery capabilities sooner and set me on the path to better performance with just a stroke of a hand! Really, whether you are at a place like the Spa Palace or just at home, any type of therapy like, the kind I received there was wonderful and quite beneficial. Remember, your mental state, injury recovery level and your enthusiasm all go hand in hand. This kind of Spa treatment was certainly a luxury at such a magnificent facility but, it can be acquired through much more affordable means. Maybe we can’t always visit such a great place on a regular basis but I have placed various therapy products throughout this page for you to take advantage of. Please try some of the items listed on this page and suggest their use to your massage therepist! |
