Solving induStry ProblemS
“We spend so much time in the spa industry as health and
wellness care-givers, at the end of the day we usually remain
exhausted and barely able to consider the concept of self-care.
Just a few simple steps implemented throughout the day can
improve the overall quality of our lives...”
associated with higher order brain functions such as awareness,
concentration and decision-making – becomes thicker. The
connection between the amygdala and the rest of the brain gets
weaker, while the connections between areas associated with
attention and concentration get stronger. We literally become
more “thoughtful” beings through meditation, whether we realize
it or not.
According to many ancient Eastern disciplines—like yoga
from India and Chi Gong from China—the center of our body
that dissipates power is our spine. Learning three simple moves to
do in the morning and evening to promote spinal health will
promote general wellbeing because our spine takes the brunt of
our day’s stress, whether we spend it standing at a treatment table
or sitting at a desk.
TRY THIS! Practice the breathing tip above for a minute or TRY THIS! Sit tall in a comfortable chair, barefoot. Under
two. To free yourself of worrying about time, set an alarm for your right foot, slowly move a golf ball under all sections of
three minutes. As you become more proficient with the your foot. Make large strokes and circles to start, then make
practice, you can extend this up to 30 minutes. continue smaller patterns. Wherever you notice a sore or tight spot,
with the breathing technique, this time adding the affirma- try to linger there for about 10 seconds, adding direct
tions “I-am-love” on the inhalation series. on the exhalation, pressure. Try to dedicate three to five minutes for each foot.
repeat to yourself “let-it-go.” Try to train your brain to focus before work, this will prepare our muscles to support and
on just one syllable at a time. When your mind wanders, balance us in standing and gait patterns. After work, when
gently notice that and, without judgement, bring your mind we can sit for about ten minutes, this will allow our muscles
back to the meditative assignment. over time, you will find to recover, remove stressful muscular knots and promote
that this becomes easier and will leave you with a feeling of flexibility in our feet before bed.
refreshing awareness and rejuvenation, sort of like a mini
spa treatment for your mind!
anatomy
Personal self-care for our anatomy comes in the metaphor of a
tree with many branches. Some of these more important
branches include our muscles, bones and organs; some include
important body parts and areas like our spine and feet; still others
include our feeding power center, our stomach.
Since many ways exist to promote self-care in these areas, I
propose you begin with simple steps for promoting healthy feet
and spines because the majority of spa staffers spend more
working hours standing than sitting.
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PULSE
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January/February 2018
Taking care of ourselves in the spa industry seems like a
priority that often finds itself at the bottom of our action-item
list. We spend so much time in the spa industry as health and
wellness care-givers, at the end of the day we usually remain
exhausted and barely able to consider the concept of self-care.
Just a few simple steps implemented throughout the day can
improve the overall quality of our lives and truly become
beacons of wellness for our customers. n
clicK Here for Laurence biscontini’s 4
Steps to Spinal Health.