Spa Wrap

Recipe from the Immersion Spa at The Water Club, Atlantic City, New Jersey - Geoffrey Zakarian

Test-kitchen notes: Make the quinoa the night before, and refrigerate it, so it's ready to go and holds together better.

Superfood Wrap
(4 servings)

4 large organic whole-wheat tortillas
½ cup cooked quinoa
¼ organic plain yogurt
Juice of 2 organic lemons
2 tbsp organic olive oil
¼ cup chopped, seedless green olives
1 large heirloom tomato, thickly sliced
1 avocado, peeled and thickly sliced
1 or 2 pinches of sea salt and cracked pepper
2 cups baby arugula or watercress

In a bowl, combine the quinoa, yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Lay the tortillas on a flat surface or directly onto sandwich-wrap paper, and spoon the quinoa mixture equally over them over them, followed by equal portions of the tomato, avocado, olives, greens, and tofu. Roll each tortilla burrito-style, and keep or transport whole. Cut on an angle, into three pieces, before serving.

Next Catonsville Spa & Massage Dates Set

I will next be at the Catonsville Wellness Center from
Tues., Nov. 25th to Tues., Dec. 2nd.

Pre-book your facial, massage or spa treatment for the best rate!

Thank You!

A special thank you to all the wonderful people I met during my first week at the Catonsville Wellness Center. You made it a great experience for me.
For those of you who don't know - I have expanded my practice to the Baltimore area, my plan is to be there once a month, and am beginning with space in the Catonsville Wellness Center.
Many of you asked if I would be offering a plan similiar to the Spa Wellness Program we have at the spa in Florida. My answer is yes! It will be a monthly massage package very similar to the Spa Wellness Program.

Just Because It's Organic . . .

This past week, I gave a talk on the essentials of good skin care at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. In my talk, I mentioned how things I read sometimes inspire my postings to this blog. Just now I was reading about a line of organic skin care products. Green! Green Green! Interested? You bet. They must be good for me, right? Not so fast. As I stated in my talk, just because a product is labeled or marketed as organic, doesn't mean it's good for us. Well, I did some research into this super-premium organic skin care line. I began by looking at Step One - the facial cleanser. And what did I find?? Their lemon cleanser would make a better floor polish. It is heavy on lemon and also contains irritating balm mint oil, making it a problem for all skin types. As a member of the audience at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club was agreeing with me, he reminded the audience, hemlock is organic, but we wouldn't want to drink it!

Don't Procrastinate. Pomegranate.

Pomegranate Martini Facial

Freshly stirred, our pomegranate martini is a skin-loving cocktail that delivers radiant skin. The ancient Greeks believed that the pomegranate was a powerful fruit, and today's scientists have determined that the pomegranate has powerful and valuable properties when used in beauty treatments. Skin-brightening pomegranate, rich in ellagic acid (reputed to have age-reversing properties), is combined with anti-oxidant laden strawberries. Honey, well known for its powerful humectant abilities, along with skin-softening buttermilk, high in lactic acid, are added for an outstanding renewing and skin-smoothing facial. You will notice a difference in your skin after one treatment.

Best Massage Ever Spa

Whole Food Health

A sliced carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (mo dern science has only studied and named about 141 of t hem).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

I'm Getting My Ears Candled . . . Tomorrow

I can tell I have an excess of wax in my left ear because I can hear it "pop." So I know I'm overdue for having my ears cleaned (with ear candling, not Q-tips which push the wax further down.) I also have sinus problems and have found that keeping my ears clean with candling has helped. Did you know ear candling provides immediate relief for sinusitis? You can read more about Nonna's Ear Candling on the spa's treatment page. http://bestmassageever.com/spa_treatments

To Relieve Stress - Take An Ultra-Mini Vacation

Take an Ultra-Mini Vacacation --without telling your boss!
1. Turn your phone off and leave the office to take your lunch break.
"Our bodies are designed to deal with stress intermittently, not 24 hours a day," says David Posen, M.D., the author of The Little Book of Stress Relief. "Removing the source of stress, even for a short time, allows your body to recover, restore, and relax."
2. Put your favorite vacay snap on your desktop.
Upload some of your favorite vacation snaps to your computer and use them as your background and screensaver. Vacation researchers even use this trick! "Viewing pictures of a restful scene allows you to recapture the feelings associated with the image," says Posen.

3. Reminisce about your vacation with your coworkers. Psychologists say the more you talk about a recent vacation, the better it lodges in your memory. George Loewenstein, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon University says, "You may think it's cheesy to give a slideshow but the benefit of boring your friends and neighbors is that you're more likely to retain the experience yourself."
4. Go outside more often.
Chances are, you spent much of your trip outdoors. Keep it up when you return home. Columbia University researchers found that exposure to the negative air ions created when air molecules are exposed to sunlight, radiation, moving air, and water generated feelings of alertness, mental clarity, and elevated mood. Think about how often you were outdoors on your most recent vacation. Perhaps you were sightseeing in a city, lounging on a beach or hiking. All outdoors! You can recreate the sounds of the outdoors at home as well. For instance, the steady, calming sound of waves helps relax your body. Listen carefully on your next spa visit and you'll hear a variety of ambient, outdoor sounds in all the rooms. "The natural rhythm of the waves' ebb and flow helps slow the mind and relax the body," says Alan Keck, Psy.D., a psychologist with a private practice in Altamonte Springs, Florida, whose specializes in clinical hypnosis. You can download your own nature-sound mp3 for $2 at soundsleeping.com.
6. Breathe deeply.
You probably didn't notice, but when you were on vacation, you were breathing more deeply. Strange as it seems, most people don't notice their breathing until they are asked to focus on it. For instance, during a massage we tend to focus on our breathing because truthfully, there's nothing else to do. In a massage we are being asked to slow down and come to a place of rest. Try some meditation by focusing on your breathing. Close your eyes and breathe deeply through your nose for 5 to 10 minutes. "Deep breaths stretch out muscles in your chest and diaphragm and alert your mind that you're ready to relax," says Peg Baim, clinical director of the training center at the Bensen-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.
7. Make your own aromatherapy.

Time for a confessional. When I go on vacation, I have an uncontrollable urge to see how many hotel shampoos, body washes, conditioners, moisturizers etc. I can stuff in my suitcase. Just recently, I have been using some of the shampoo I "picked up" from my hotel in London. Our olfactory nerve is our strongest, which is why a fragrance can so easily transport us to the past. When I use the London shampoo, the fragrance takes me back and I have an ultra-mini vacation in the shower. Seek out fragrant items when you travel next and bring them back. Rachel Herz, PhD. and author of The Scent of Desire says, "Scent becomes strongly connected to whatever you felt when you first came into contact with it." The parts of our brains that regulate smell and memory are closely related. This is why we have a signature fragrance at the spa and why all our products in The Best Stuff line carry the same fragrance - so when you use the products at home, you will remember your spa visit and how great you felt!

Avoid The Stress Of The News

Have you seen this, yet? current tv

Look for it, but I warn you, it's addictive. But in a feel-good, couch-potato-sorta-way.

De-News 2 De-Stress

Recently, I was thinking about something that I read that Dr. Andrew Weil wrote about feeling better by not watching the news. Now, for a CNN, Andy Cooper and NPR addict, this is hard to wrap my head around, but I had begun to notice that listening to the news was stressing me out. So I am resisting Andy's siren song and not allowing myself to be bombarded with all the grim news. So far, I have found I can keep up with current events by reading the news online -that way I can choose what to read and when. So if you're feeling stressed, change the channel.

Facials And Sunny Days

As a bit of a follow-up to our talk about sunscreens, lately I find myself recommending on a daily basis, to our clients who've just had a facial or a mineral microdermabrasion treatment, one of my favorite sunscreens for faces. After a facial treatment, we recommend our clients definitely make sure to protect their new skin. What makes this one of the best? This sunscreen stays put and does not migrate into your eyes - you know, that burning, stinging, near-blinding sensation which usually comes on at the end of the day or when you've been perspiring. This stick is very easy to use, and looks like a mini stick deodorant, which is easy to carry. It's also recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation and is readily available at finer drug and grocery stores!

Note From Paris Fashion Week

At his show in Paris, Elie Saab presented a collection of gloriously romantic clothes in muted tones. His program notes referenced the art technique called chiaoscuro, which is the use of effects representing contrasts of light, not necessarily strong, to achieve a sense of volume in modeling three-dimensional objects. He juxtaposed light and dark across flowing skirts in shades of teal, purple and faded lavender.

I've also included Giovanni Baglone's Sacred Love Versus Profane Love, an example of chiaoscuro.

Mineral Microdermabrasion

Microdermabrasion is one of the more recent skin-care techniques to have crossed over from Hollywood to the mainstream. It's being touted as an "instant facelift" -- an effective alternative to costlier and more invasive procedures like plastic surgery, chemical peels and Botox injections. Recently, more and more men are trying it, instead of pursuing cosmetic surgery.

Your skin is made up of two main layers, the epidermis and the dermis. The epidermis is the layer closest to the outside world. It's a set of dead skin cells on top of another layer of cells that are in the process of maturing. The topmost layer is called the stratum corneum. The stratum corneum mostly acts as a barrier between the outside world and the lower skin layers. It keeps all but the smallest molecules from getting through.
All of the action in microdermabrasion takes place at the level of the stratum corneum. Since it only really targets the epidermis (and not the dermis), it is more accurate to call it micro-epi-dermabrasion.

The idea is that if you remove or break up the stratum corneum, the body interprets that as a mild injury and rushes to replace the lost skin cells with new and healthy ones. This process has a few beneficial effects. With the stratum corneum gone, the skin's surface is improved. The healing process brings with it newer skin cells that look and feel smoother. Some of the skin's visible imperfections, like sun damage, blemishes and fine lines, are removed. Also, without the stratum corneum acting as a barrier, medicinal creams and lotions are more effective because more of their active ingredients and moisture can find their way down to the lower layers of skin. Early studies suggest that repeated microdermabrasion treatment at regular intervals may influence the way the lower layers of skin grow, as well, removing deeper blemishes over time. Some evidence indicates that the rapid loss of skin moisture triggers the lower skin layers to work overtime in speeding healthy cells up to the surface.

At Best Massage Ever Spa , we utilize an ancient Egyptian beauty secret in our microdermabrasion treatment; a natural mineral found in lake beds. This mineral is a regular crystalline form, which means it has no irregular or sharp edges which can scratch the skin and lead to infection.

Sunscreens In The News (Again)

Sunscreens are in the news again and it seems the net result will be to confuse more people and may lead to people to stop using sunscreen because of health concerns about the active ingredients in some sunscreens. Let me try to simplify the process of choosing and using - an effective and safe sunscreen.

• Sunscreens must contain one of the following UVA-protecting ingredients in order to be approved for use in the United States: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, and avobenzone (butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane). The UVA-protecting ingredient must be listed as an “active ingredient.”


• Make sure the sunscreen is labeled "Broad Spectrum", this means UVA and UVB protection.


• According to the Academy of Dermatology, the sunscreen you use must be at least an SPF 15.


• The SPF number on a sunscreen label tells you only how long you can stay in the sun without burning. If you can normally stay in the sun 15 minutes before you start turning pink, an SPF 15 product will let you stay in the sun for approximately 3 1/2 hours without burning. The formula is 15 (minutes) x 15(SPF) = 225 (minutes), or 3 3/4 hours.


• As a general rule it is best to apply sunscreen at least 15 to 20 minutes before sun exposure. This gives the sunscreen time to absorb and to spread over and into the skin. Re-apply every two hours.


• The rule is: sunscreens should be the last skin-care product applied. Any product applied over them will dilute the sunscreen's protection.


• If applying liquid foundation, cream/powder foundation, cream foundation, or powder foundation over your sunscreen, smooth it lightly over the skin.
  If your foundation has sunscreen and it's the only form of sun protection you're using, make sure you apply it evenly and liberally. If you blend most of it off or apply only a thin layer, you will not get the amount of protection listed on the label. Also, don't forget to apply sunscreen to your neck and other exposed areas such as your décolletége and hands.


• Powders with sunscreen are are not recommended for complete sun protection for the face, but they are great to touch up your makeup during the day and reapply sunscreen at the same time. Apply the powder so as to completely and evenly cover the face.

The benefits of using sunscreen outweigh any potential risk from the active ingredients in sunscreens. The research which the current claims are based on are not supported by published research or only on research which was performed on animals or in vitro (petri dishes). As for use on humans, the research is reassuring.
The Therapeutics Research Unit at the University of Queensland Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, published in Skin Pharmacology and Physiology (July-August 2005, pages 170-174) an extensive study which noted that "The penetration and retention of five commonly used sunscreen agents (avobenzone, octinoxate, octocrylene, oxybenzone and padimate O) in human skin was " too low to cause any significant toxicity to the underlying human keratinocytes [skin]."
The researchers found that penetration beyond the skin cells was undetectable. All sunscreen ingredients (both organic and inorganic), when subject to vitro research ( in petri dishes), show a potential for some problems; however, these problems do not seem to arise in actual usage.

30 Minute Miracle Massage

Dr. Tiffany Field and the Touch Research Institute have just released a study, funded by Biotone, showing that a 30-minute massage twice a week can significantly reduce lower back pain, increase range of motion, decrease pain-induced sleep disturbance and improve overall mood.

Best Massage Ever Spa offers the 30 Minute Miracle Massage. Check it out http://bestmassageever.com/massage

Aaah . . . an afternoon nap.

I've never been a great napper, not even a good one. I admire friends of mine who can take naps and I have tried but I just can't seem to fall asleep during the day. I don't even fall asleep during during a really relaxing massage, although I have been told I snore when I've gotten a facial. For those who may be nap-challenged as well, the Boston Globe has published a guide to napping. Sweet dreams!

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/naps/

From "Embarassing Massage Questions". Really??

This is from an article Cathy Wong wrote for the Alternative Health section of About.com:
"What if I realize I've drooled during the massage? Many people fall into a peaceful slumber during the massage but when they wake up, they notice a pool of drool on the pillow or massage table. This is very common. It often happens when people are being massaged while lying face down on the massage table. Don't be afraid to ask the massage therapist for a tissue."

In all my years as a massage therapist, I have never seen or heard the "drool" question. As a client I have experienced it. I remember drooling once during a massage and then trying to wipe it up to conceal the evidence. Looking back I think how silly that was. I know the massage therapist who was working on me would have taken it completely in stride, as I would as a therapist. I believe most massage therapists wouldn't be phased in the least by drool. At the Best Massage Ever Spa, we use disinfecting wipes in the "drool zone" after each client.

One Of The Best Ways To Lift Your Spirit

Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.
Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.
The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need

Best Massage Ever - Spa & Massage is currently empowering several entrepreneurs in the Dominican Republic - and you can, too!

Visit Kiva.org to find an entrepreneur you can lend to

A New Favorite

This really resonates with me . . . I decided.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/--157333125

Don't Forget Dads Love The Spa

Father's Day is this Sunday, June 15th and what better way to show Dad some love than with a spa gift certificate. Best Massage Ever - Spa & Massage in St. Petersburg is offering a special package for Dads for Father's Day - Dad's Detox - a one hour sports massage with a gentleman's facial.

Instant spa gift certificates are available online http://www.bestmassageever.com/info

An interesting note from a spa survey focusing on men:

"Of those men who have actually experienced spa treatments, however, a startling 60.4% report the belief that spa treatments lead to an improved sex life."

A Best Pick

From the products we love, from a manufacturer we love (most of the time) comes this nail enhancer. Gives your nails a little bit of a clean, buffed look - not polishy at all. Very easy to apply, fast and impossible to screw up. Suitable for the guys as well.
I read somewhere that fingernails tell alot about a person, so well-groomed fingernails have always been a must for me.
For a special event or a night on the town, use some Neutrogena Nail Enhancer to feel your best!

Bird Poop Facial

I was hoping to begin with something funny and this just plopped in my lap.
So, how much would you pay for a bird poop facial? Try 180 bucks. This was just on the local news, seems it took more than a month to reach the Tampa Backwater Area. The Shizuka NY Japanese Day Spa in Manhattan offers a "Geisha Facial". It seems that long ago, geishas and kabuki actors discovered that nightingale poop was effective in removing their heavy, white make-up. Who was the first to say, "Well, I've tried everything else . . . let me smear some of this bird doody on my face." Yuck. The spa says the poop has been treated with UV to kill any bacteria and the enzymes help soften the face. Interesting, but I'm not about to try it. There are other, much less disgusting alternatives. You can watch the video here:
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=81496

I prefer our own Montecatini Facial with the mineral microdermabrasion.
http://www.bestmassageever.com/spa_treatments