New Year, New You!

Everyone loves the New Year! It's a chance for complete renewal, of body, mind and spirit and a time to set goals and find ways of reaching them.

Spa Utopia wants to help you reach your beauty and wellness goals, and we have a number of exciting programs and services to do just that.

For example, if feeling fitter and better weight management are your goals, or you want to ensure your family eats more nutritiously this year, we have recently launched Life Designs Nutrition Workshops with Andrea Ferguson and her team of certified nutritionists. The workshops begin in January and include Eat Right for Life (three separate seminars) addressing adults' nutritional needs, as well as Eat Right from the Start (a seminar for parents of 1 to 5-year-olds ) and Eat Right to Grow Right (a seminar for parents of 5 to 12-year-olds).

One of the benefits of taking a nutrition workshop is that you will better understand the concept of yo-yo dieting and how easy it is to set yourself up for failure when restricting calories. Learning more about the roles various foods play in weight management and how to make delicious meals that support your body, mind, skin, hair and energy levels, will help you take control of your body instead of being captive to cravings. It's well worth the investment and January is a great time to start! Read more about Life Designs Nutrition Workshops here.

If reducing the level of stress you experience is on your radar for 2011, Spa Utopia has a number of services that can help you relax more. Advanced Therapeutic Massage sessions, including those that address tension headaches, breathing and digestive problems, are all ways to help you better manage your stressors. You might also consider booking a Detoxifying Body Treatment such as the Spa Utopia Monticelli Soothing Mud or Ocean Detox Wrap to kick-start (and maintain) the new you. You can read more about our Advanced Therapeutic Massage treatments here and Detoxifying Body Treatments here.  

 One of the many ways people choose to celebrate the new year is with a different "look."  A new hair style from the world class stylists at our Spa Utopia Salon locations, a makeover using healthy mineral makeup, or a simple manicure and pedicure are great ways to renew yourself in preparation for the year ahead. You can read more about our Salon Hair Services and Makeup Application here.

If 2011 is the year you'll welcome a new bundle of joy to the world, you might consider Spa Utopia Healthy Pregnancy sessions—incorporating massage, specific exercises and hydrotherapy techniques to promote the health and stability of your body as it adjusts to changes throughout pregnancy. You can find more details on these popular sessions here.

Finally, one of the top two resolutions for New Year is to quit smoking (the other is to lose weight).  Experts in smoking cessation often recommend rewarding yourself for milestones such as one week, one month, six months and a year. Doing something positive for your body, such as a detoxifying treatment, helps reinforce why you are giving up the habit.

To book any treatment or service, please call your local Spa Utopia and Salon or book online.

Spa Utopia would like to take this opportunity to wish all our treasured guests a very happy, healthy and beautiful New Year!

Therapeutic Massage: Enjoy it more at Spa Utopia

Has your health care professional recommended that you undergo massage therapy? Are you uncertain of whom to call to set up an appointment with a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT)?  Or perhaps you simply wish to benefit from therapeutic massage outside of a health plan...

Most extended health care plans fully or partially cover massage therapy when performed by an RMT, a fact of which many people are not aware. Spa Utopia has for many years offered spa guests the services of professional massage therapy, and is in fact the province's largest employer of RMTs. What does this mean for you? That you can enjoy the therapeutic benefits of professional massage in our beautiful spa surroundings, and likely be covered by your extended health care plan! (Of course, any spa guest can enjoy the many benefits of massage therapy, inside or outside of an extended health care plan.)

All you need do for reimbursement by your extended health plan is to first check with your plan provider that massage therapy is covered (or partially covered), then request the services of an RMT when you book your appointment. After you have enjoyed your massage and attended to the payment, you  will receive a receipt with your RMT's billing number, which can then be submitted to your plan for reimbursement. If you have an open WCB or ICBC claim, certain provisions apply.*

British Columbia Registered Massage Therapists have completed a minimum 3000 hours of training - the most comprehensive in North America. RMTs who practise at Spa Utopia are required to successfully complete additional training to ensure the service that spa guests receive is unmatched in terms of benefit and enjoyment. To maintain our high standards, we consistently evaluate our services and require that our massage practitioners participate in ongoing training.

Advanced Therapeutic Massage

Spa Utopia offers a number of treatments for specific health conditions such as headaches, arthritis, lower back pain, sciatica and neck and shoulder pain. These have been designed by Spa Utopia RMTs and safely complement medical treatments you may be receiving for conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, or stress-related conditions such as anxiety, insomnia and depression.

Our treatments include Designed for U, where one of our RMTs will work with you to design a specific treatment targeted to your primary concerns; Utopia™ Sport Massage to ease muscular aches and pains and get you back to the playing field faster; Postural Restoration for people who spend long hours seated; Tension Headaches for those who "carry" tension around with them, particularly in the neck and shoulders; Easy Breath for people with breathing challenges, anxiety and injury to the ribs, and Easy Digest for people with stomach and bowel issues, bloating or TMD. (All these massages can be adapted to suit your specific concerns, and to make sure you derive maximum benefit from your session.)

All session times include consultation and/or assessment procedures, and we therefore suggest your first session consist of 80 minutes.

For further information on Therapeutic Massage at Spa Utopia, please contact your local spa, or visit our website.

* Spa guests booking a massage treatment when they have an open ICBC or WCB claim, must book  an RMT and will not be able to book a service with a non-registered therapist. Guests with WCB claims must sign a waiver and are limited to a "relaxation" service only (not a therapeutic treatment).

Introducing Spa Utopia New Services, and Service Directory

As the days grow ever longer and warmer, it's even more important to nurture the body and soul. With revealing clothing comes the need to have skin that glows with health, and to this end Spa Utopia has introduced a new Cocooning Body Treatment: the Amazon Berry Wrap.

Summer can also be a time of stress, as we try to balance workload, family commitments, and the desire to get out in the sunshine for some personal play time. To alleviate a common symptom of stress, we have also introduced a new Advanced Therapeutic Massage, for tension headaches.

The Amazon Berry Wrap

Relax deeply as you are wrapped in goodness from the amazing açai berry. Açai berries are harvested using sustainable methods to preserve the Amazon rainforest and are rich in antioxidants. These free-radical fighters help protect against environmental damage to the skin.

The Spa Utopia Amazon Berry Wrap also incorporates capuaçu butter to increase the skin's moisture levels. This rich emollient is derived from the seeds of the cupuaçu tree, which grows prolifically in the rainforest. The butter is believed to increase the skin's elasticity as well as providing deep, long-lasting  hydration. During this exotic rainforest experience, you will also enjoy a facial cleanse and treatment mask.


Advanced Therapeutic Massage for Tension Headaches

Designed by Spa Utopia Registered Massage Therapists, the Tension Headache Treatment  decreases the musculoskeletal tissue tension that results from work and life stresses. Treatments may, over time, decrease the frequency and duration of headaches.

If you suffer from head pain and are tired of being "forever on the run," why not schedule a professional massage that will transport you to a state of deep relaxation? After all, you have earned it and it just may well put an end to the headaches associated with your hectic lifestyle.

To learn more about these treatments, or to book an appointment, please contact your local Spa Utopia, or visit our website: http://www.spautopia.ca/  Our new service directory is available now at all our locations.