MOVEMENTUM AT MANDARIN ORIENTAL LONDON: The power of movement

REPORT BY SARAH CAMILLERI

As Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London celebrates the launch of a new wellness concept, senior director of spa and wellness Jamie Pagan and Movementum founder Stephen Price talk to European Spa about how movement health can take spa services to the next level

The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London has always been a trailblazer for exceptional service and innovation. During recent lockdowns, the team of this beloved UK flagship of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) used their time to progress its wellness services, and have announced the launch of ‘a new category in wellness’ this spring. Aiming to help people take control of their health through the power of movement, Movementum has been developed by fitness expert and founder of SP&Co Group, Stephen Price, with the backing of Jamie Pagan, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London’s senior director of spa and wellness.

The new concept will offer hotel guests and members a personalised blend of fast, accessible fitness studio programmes and specially developed spa treatments and products delivered by its own in-house Movementum team. Movementum’s supervised in-person fitness and spa programming, delivered in a dedicated studio as well as in the spa’s own treatment rooms, is supported by on-demand virtual sessions designed to give guests confidence and connection to the Movementum digital community. The concept is also supported by recovery tech company Hyperice and Castore sportswear.

Discussing the development of this innovative ‘movement health ecosystem’, Jamie Pagan tells European Spa: “I had been talking to Stephen Price about developing the fitness offering here for some time before the pandemic, and Movementum is the first concept I have ever come across that genuinely integrates spa and fitness and draws on a strong evidence base of movement health.

“In fact, the beauty behind this concept is the sheer volume of medical research and expertise that underpins every aspect of its execution. Stephen’s expertise, together with that of a whole host of industry professionals from the wellness and medical industries, really does allow my team to deliver fully integrated spa services and fitness under one roof.”

A marriage of medical and spa

Stephen Price founded SP&Co 20 years ago and works in three distinct strands of health expertise: clinical, hospitality/spa and personalised lifestyle performance. As well as running his own private wellness clubs, including BodySPace in Knightsbridge, which provides its members with the highest level of personalised support, including health, performance, nutritional and CAM support, Price’s rehabilitation and clinical care background gives him a unique take on health optimisation. Inspired to create a brand new concept based on movement health, he is passionate about helping people to help themselves.

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London

“I have always been fascinated by how we can work with complementary therapies to promote, support, and create beautiful wellness experiences,” he says. “A hospitality setting like Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London gives me the environment, service and delivery standards, whereas my clinical work brings the chance to work with an evidence-based medical approach, which, professionally, is incredibly rewarding. Also, my own brands, which include BodySPace and FitSPace clubs, allow me to have the autonomy to create new concepts and develop our own take on health and wellbeing.”

One-to-one functional treatments aim to help guests improve their mobility and range of movement in order that they may move moreeffectively

He continues: “Movementum is based on one simple philosophy: to connect people with the power of movement. I have been lucky enough to work with Jamie and have his full backing to be creative. Jamie’s background in spa and physical activity means he has been very open-minded about trialling and supporting every aspect of delivery. He also fully appreciates that the product and the person delivering the treatment must transcend the treatment room, and that his spa therapists have the trust of guests. So, it’s in the treatment room that we can really integrate the message and seed the idea.”

Confidence and motivation

Movementum, according to Price, has universal appeal for guests and members of all ages and fitness levels: “It’s designed for absolutely everyone from 18-80 years old and can be used for many different goals, whether it is rehabilitation or just to find the confidence to start, right through to priming for higher athletic performance.

“It is designed to give motivation and confidence and to help people explore and enjoy their physical capabilities,” he confirms. “Movementum is about doing something for yourself every single day. It is a foundation for health that everyone can benefit from.”

According to Price, if you follow the Movementum programme daily it will have a profound effect on your health. “Movement health is a science but it is often overlooked as many of us in our personal and professional lives like to explore and overcomplicate things. It is abundantly clear to me now that some of the simple strategies we deploy in clinic and guest situations are the most impactful.”

Jamie Pagan, senior director, spa and wellness, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London

Movementum is the first concept I have ever come across that genuinely integrates spa and fitness and draws on a strong evidence base ofmovement health.

With this in mind, Price and his team have devised a concise menu of Movementum signature Studio Classes designed to focus, prime and regenerate participants. “Our studio classes can be the whole piece, if you are coming back to movement for the first time, or utilised as a ‘priming’ or ‘finishing’ activity,” he says. “It’s attractive, too, because they are very short and simple – just 15 minutes to top and tail training each day gives you a scientific way to warm up or cool down, designed to bring you into a calmer and more mobile state.”

A guest experiences a Movementum class in the dedicated studio space at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London

Movementum treatments

The initiative also offers three spa treatments that can sit well next to established brands. These focus on guided breathwork, lymphatic drainage, soft tissue and trigger-point massage along with assisted stretches. All three of these treatments are designed to prepare mind and body for optimal movement and they are supported by a capsule range of Movementum products used in treatment and available for retail.

“It was really important for me that the treatment protocols were simple and they can encourage guests to go in one or two directions. The idea is that treatment time should be a pathway to lead somewhere else in the model of care we can offer in spas,” says Price.

“The touchpoint with a guest is usually in the treatment room and this can lead them to take a Movementum class. This way we have moved them forward to start enjoying movement and its benefits.”

The creation of the Movementum treatments and studio classes has involved a wide range of specialists, including yoga instructors, breathwork specialists and medical experts to really strengthen the language and delivery of movement. “Everything is underpinned by a base of evidence or clinical knowledge,” confirms Price. “Whereas the studio work we do brings alive the heritage of our movement expertise, my goal was always to top and tail the spa experience. I want to teach spa therapists and gym instructors – rather than physios and personal trainers – that they can really deliver impactful moments that lead to other moments, and if we tag moments together through movement we can genuinely say we are changing someone’s health.”

During the training process, Movementum was given the seal of confidence by Jamie Pagan and his team. “When we first presented the Movementum treatments our therapists were less comfortable with the functional aspects of the treatment delivery,” admits Pagan. “However, they fully embraced this once they understood the benefits and why the movements were significantly different. It was very satisfying to get this feedback from my team, who are very experienced – at their level, they can take apart any treatment and know if it is great or not. They also helped to finesse the treatments so it was incredibly rewarding when we went into training and preparing for launch.”

Wellness wisdom

Through the fusion of real-life and virtual sessions Movementum offers has also opened up the potential for Pagan’s team to deepen their wellness expertise and skills. “Movementum has given us the framework and education for our team to really develop themselves and their specialisms,” he says.

“For example, our therapists can now be trained to deliver highly functional treatments and also have the opportunity to move out of the treatment room into a fitness environment. This will allow us to elevate them as individuals on our team into personalities and experts in the hotel for our guests to appreciate.

Treatment rooms are a vital touchpoint for spa guests and are therefore a great place to encourage movement

“Also, importantly, it also allows us to start building a wellness community for all Mandarin Oriental colleagues, which meets one of our key objectives as a business,” he says. “For me as the team leader it really is attractive to have the opportunity to progress our team development and our offer here as part of Mandarin Oriental in future.”

Price is keen to help more spas embrace movement health by offering Movementum as a meaningful integrated wellness offer: “In the clinical world we can’t create so much impactful change as the people we are seeing are not very well, whereas spa can really support people’s lives. There is a huge opportunity for spa therapists to take their expertise and training beyond the treatment room environment.

Following the Movementum programme daily is said to have a profound effect on health

“When you look at our spa therapists they are beautifully trained in the delivery of treatments and appreciate the honour of having their hands on someone. In many ways they develop trust and connection with guests that our gym instructors can’t achieve in the same way. Through Movementum we are allowing our spa therapists and gym instructors to become catalysts for health change.”

Moving forward

Always looking to the future, and at the bigger picture to frame its wellness initiatives, Movementum dovetails with MOHG’s new Intelligent Movement programmes which are currently being introduced across all its spas worldwide.

Billed as a ‘new category in wellness’, the science-based Movementum classes and treatments at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London have beendesigned to enable guests to reach a calmer and more mobile state

“As a group we are super proud of Stephen’s offering as it’s a real showcase here in London of what we are striving to do with movement health, exercise integration and spa treatment fusion,” says Pagan. “The mission for the coming year is to shout about Movementum – to really tell our guests and members how they can benefit from it.”

“To launch our first studio and product range at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park London is a gamechanger,” adds Price. “Having been at the forefront of wellness innovations for quite some time, their holistic approach to wellness truly sets them apart.”

SPA STATISTICS

Vice-president, operations and general manager: Torsten van Dullemen Senior director, spa and wellness: Jamie Pagan Movementum director: Stephen Price Spa size: 950sqm Spa team: 35 Wellness specialists: physiotherapy, TCM, skin expert, chakra and energy healing specialists, reiki, craniosacral therapist, myofascial release practitioner Treatment rooms: 10 single treatment rooms, one couples’ suite, BGA Pedi:Mani studio with two beds, wellness treatment room Hydrothermal facilities: 17m indoor pool, two saunas, two steam rooms, two vitality pools Product partners: Oskia, Nescens, OTO, Aromatherapy Associates, Biologique Recherche, Movementum Spa suppliers: Technogym, Hyperice, Castore, KLAFS, Gharieni, EMS Bodytech

www.mandarinoriental.com/london/hyde-park

Moving the dial forward for spas worldwide

Wellness expert Stephen Price explains what makes Movementum a perfect spa partner and how it has potential appeal for guests at all fitness levels

Stephen Price, founder, Movementum, SP&Co Group

Through Movementum we are allowing our spa therapists and gym instructors to become catalysts for health change.

Movementum is based on the power of movement – it not only benefits your physicality and biochemistry, but the aim is to show how physical activity can have hundreds of other positive effects on your overall psychology. Protecting and improving our mental wellbeing is a key to the philosophy behind the concept.

I wanted to create a process that wasn’t complicated and would work well for spas. It’s a physical product rather than just a human proposition. The message of Movementum is very clear: it is about promoting mental and physical health through the power of movement – little, often and every single day. This is the primary strategy we adopt, using traditional modalities including breathwork or visualisation, not to reflect but to create momentum to ‘do more’.

A variety of active movement techniques used in the classes are designed to prime you to get to the start line, then to motivate you to try hard when you are there and training. Finally, at the end, we work to put you in the right mental and physical space to start again the next day and every day.

Motivate for change

We know that above all other strategies, consistent and frequent daily movement in the short and medium term has the biggest impact on health-rated quality of life. It strengthens your pre-disposition against illness but is also where your confidence comes from. Motivation and behaviour change your longevity. Hopefully, when you move and make these shifts it will lead to other things.

If we concentrate on the default setting of movement in spa this is where all the results are. Movement might not be the most glamorous part of the offer but it really is the foundation.

At Movementum we are actively encouraging spas to consider making movement a health foundation, to help create exploration, interest, passion, and new directions for guests.

Movementum also sits beautifully alongside other complementary treatments and lifestyle programmes offered by spas. Every spa should be thinking about a foundation of movement on the menu. Without it you are actually creating vulnerability. If the pandemic taught us one thing it is that everyone needs to move. Those who did discovered that they were more mobile than they realised, how easy it was to feel better.

www.movementumuk.com