Why the traditional artwork of water-infused wellness continues to be on development.
“The phrase spa itself means salus per aqua, or well being via water—a time period coined by the traditional Romans.”
—Lina Waters, OSR LMT liaison and coach, Ojo Spa Resorts
Spring-fed thermal pool at Ojo Santa Fe
At Ojo Santa Fe, spa-goers discover themselves on the sting of the excessive desert. The local weather
is remarkably dry with a excessive elevation that naturally sends the physique searching for water.
The water in Ojo Santa Fe Spa Resort’s Sages Pool bubbles up between 95- and 105-degrees Fahrenheit. It springs from pure spring aquifers in New Mexico’s excessive desert, which have been supplying therapeutic water for hundreds of years. In contrast to different water-based sources, Ojo Santa Fe’s water doesn’t scent like sulfur or iron, and its hint mineral content material isn’t excessive, nevertheless it feels superb on the pores and skin and within the soul.
A soak within the property’s spring-fed swimming pools, each sizzling and funky, leaves the physique and thoughts remarkably calm and centered. The scent of pinon within the air and the silence that pervades the 77-acre La Cienega Valley property assist this course of.
Lina Waters, OSR LMT liaison and coach at Ojo Spa Resorts, notes that, “The phrase spa itself means salus per aqua, or well being via water—a time period coined by the traditional Romans.”
“At our Ojo Caliente location, the water is the one geothermal spring on the earth that has 5 totally different water sources and 4 distinct mineral sources: sodium, lithia, iron, and arsenic,” she says, “Iron will fortify immunity and promote wholesome blood; soda and sodium are good for indigestion and joint ache. Lithia is an anti-depressant and arsenic in microdoses is nice for soothing pores and skin. We encourage visitors to attempt all of the swimming pools at Ojo Caliente and discover those which can be finest for them.”
Waters says that the totally different swimming pools all have various temperatures. “Each places are pure springs that are locations of peace and nourishment for the soul,” she says.
At Ojo Santa Fe, on the outskirts of New Mexico’s “Metropolis Totally different,” the water is piped up from a chilly artesian spring and heated on the floor the place visitors can soak within the outside pinon pine-shaded Sages Pool. “The water there doesn’t have a excessive mineral content material of any particular kind, however the properties of the water are felt,” says Waters. “I just like the water right here a lot. It feels totally different. It smells totally different. It calms and revitalizes.”
At each places, the spa menu consists of remedies that complement free soaking time and the spa itself makes use of spring water in sizzling towels, which have been infused with comfrey, artemisia, and pinon to advertise therapeutic and purification.
Waters says that remedies like its sizzling stone massages, with rocks from an area volcanic zone are complement to soaking, as are scrubs with blue corn, prickly pear, and sea salt. The spas use regionally sourced botanicals when attainable, reminiscent of lavender from an Indigenous-owned Arizona provider.
Gurney’s Sanctuary Spa Jacuzzi
“Watsu works by combining the therapeutic properties of water with strategies that promote each bodily and emotional leisure, making it a great therapy for a variety of well being circumstances.”
— Constance McCarty, spa director, Sanctuary Camelback Mountain, a Gurney’s Resort and Spa
In Scottsdale, Sanctuary Camelback Mountain, a Gurney’s Resort and Spa, provides an on-trend water- primarily based remedy known as watsu, a shiatsu therapeutic massage in water that promotes leisure and joint therapeutic.
“Watsu works by combining the therapeutic properties of water with strategies that promote each bodily and emotional leisure, making it a great therapy for a variety of well being circumstances,” says Sanctuary Spa’s Director Constance McCarty. “Its cutting-edge attraction lies in its integration with fashionable therapies, its concentrate on the nervous system, and its potential for trauma restoration, all of which have gotten more and more important within the wellness business.”
Fortress Scorching Springs, additionally in Arizona, simply exterior of Phoenix, combines sizzling spring remedy with a brand new watsu therapy regime known as Wellness in Water. The springs’ pure lithium-infused waters have been used for hundreds of years by Indigenous peoples. These sizzling swimming pools are surrounded by the Sonoran Desert and its iconic saguaro cacti, making it a singular mix of arid panorama and fluid therapeutic.
Photograph: © 7132 Resort – Julien L. Balmer
Thalassotherapy: Sea and Spa
Together with its Camelback resort, Gurney’s Resorts can also be famed for the water remedy, or thalassotherapy, out there at Gurney’s Montauk Resort and Seawater Spa.
The spa is steps away from the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean (one of many conditions for the appellation) and makes use of quite a lot of conventional thalassotherapy parts and practices in its menu of choices.
The Deep Sea OSEA Undaria Therapeutic massage, for example, consists of OSEA Undaria Algae Physique Oil
or Physique Butter for a 60- to 90-minute session of skull remedy, serum face therapeutic massage, and seaweed- gel scalp therapeutic massage.
The practices are usually not restricted to bodywork. Gurney’s Sea the Outcomes Vegan Natural Facial combines natural algae to extend collagen manufacturing, plump strains, stimulate tissue, and cut back facial pressure.
Photograph: © 7132 Resort – Julien L. Balmer
Origins in Europe
Whereas the expertise of spa and water is worldwide, the time period thalassotherapy was coined by Dr. Joseph de la Bonnardière, a French physician, in 1867, and devoted therapy facilities for the follow first started in marine-side locales reminiscent of Biarritz, France, which continues to be a pilgrimage level for thalassotherapy seekers.
On the Thalmar Centre, for example, guests (who quarter at close by tony Resort Le Biarritz) can immerse themselves in heated seawater swimming pools, take pleasure in seaweed wraps, and breathe within the mineral-rich sea air, all designed to detoxify and revitalize the physique. In the meantime, the 7132 Thermal Baths (previously generally known as Therme Vals) in Switzerland, designed by famend architect Peter Zumthor, makes use of rigorously positioned skylights to create a mesmerizing interaction of sunshine and water, enhancing the meditative high quality of the washing expertise.
Constituted of 60,000 slabs of Vals quartzite, the Therme was granted protected heritage standing shortly after completion. The extremely mineralized water comes out of an area pure spring at a temperate 30 levels Celsius.
Additionally in Switzerland, The Six Senses Spa on the Alpina Gstaad, reopening in December 2024, provides a complete water-based wellness program that features not solely hydrotherapy remedies but in addition personalised diet plans and workshops on the significance of correct hydration.
The Alpina Gstaad Exterior
The Way forward for Water-Centric Wellness
Because the demand for holistic wellness experiences grows, water-centric spas are prone to proceed evolving. Trade consultants predict a number of developments:
1. Eco-Pleasant Practices: With growing consciousness of water conservation, spas are prone to implement extra sustainable practices, reminiscent of water recycling methods and energy-efficient heating strategies.
2. Personalised Experiences: Superior diagnostic instruments could enable spas to create much more personalised water-based remedies, tailor-made to a person’s particular well being wants and targets.
3. Digital Actuality Integration: Some futurists envision the mixing of digital actuality expertise with water experiences, permitting guests to drift
in a pool whereas visually transported to a tropical lagoon or a serene mountain lake.
4. Medical Integration: As the road between wellness and healthcare blurs, we might even see extra integration between water-centric spas and medical services, with aquatic therapies prescribed alongside conventional remedies.
Whereas water and well being are a time-honored custom that truly created the phrase “spa” and nourished the idea over time, new applied sciences and holistic approaches to the aspect are providing a singular path to leisure, rejuvenation, and general wellbeing—an opportunity to immerse ourselves in tranquility and emerge remodeled.
As Waters says, “Folks have been utilizing water to heal for 1000’s of years. Pure springs like ours are locations the place individuals historically put down their weapons, sought peace and nourishment and therapeutic via water.”
Whereas our battles could also be totally different, the impact of water remedy continues to be highly effective, nonetheless pervasive and identical to water, at all times altering.