WELLNESS MATTERS

Edited by Mark Smith

EUROPEAN SPA SHINES A LIGHT ON THE LATEST GLOBAL WELLNESS TRENDS AND MODALITIES

It’s time for tea

As evidence of its health benefits grows, we look at how incorporating tea rituals into your spa offering can also enhance the guest experience

Tea rituals can play an important role in the guest journey in spa and wellness operations. From a welcoming beverage on arrival, to a calming post-treatment infusion with their inclusion on spa café menus, hydrating and health-giving teas can nourish the mind and infuse the spa experience with warmth.

“Traditional tea and herbal teas contain active chemical compounds such as phenols, flavonoids and tannins, which are released into an infusion after brewing,” explains Ajit Madan, founder of UK brand Camellia’s Teahouse. “These provide the much researched health benefits of tea and herbal tea.”

Drinking tea can help lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart attacks and much more, as dietitian and Tea Advisory Panel member, Dr Carrie Ruxton, explains: “There’s emerging evidence that tea-drinking (black and green) could help to reduce stress, the risk of dementia and cognitive decline.”

Tea ceremonies date back thousands of years in Japan and China, and as our understanding of the health and mindfulness benefits of tea increases, its role in the wellness experience is growing.

“As spas position themselves as places to help support health and wellness, integrating and synchronising tea into rituals goes well beyond the idea of its being just a complimentary beverage after a treatment, which has been the historic approach,” says Sarah Strang, founder of Tea & Tonic.

Blending tea into the spa experience

Integrating tea therapy can holistically enhance the spa journey, especially when the choice of tea enhances the benefits of the treatments on offer.

With this in mind, many spa brands have introduced spa teas into their wellness retail offering. ESPA has developed a collection of Vegan Society certified wellness teas to enhance the uplifting

benefits of the aromatherapy products in its Signature Blends collection: Restorative, Restful, Soothing, Fortifying and Connection feature teas including ginger, lemongrass, rooibos, black tea, apple and cacao nibs.

Thalgo’s infusion teas combine herbal and botanical ingredients with brown alga fucus vesiculosus and alga ascophyllum nodosum for their slimming and draining effects. Meanwhile, Voya’s organic seaweed-based teas are based on peppermint, camomile and fennel, helping to calm and sooth the mind, settle digestion or detoxify and slim. Tea & Tonic’s wellness teas, served as part of spa journeys, combine black, green, white rooibos, turmeric, ginger, peppermint and other herbal infusions.

Mood-boosting infusions

Camellia’s Teas has recently introduced Therapy Teas, developed to support the body and mind during periods of ill health, chronic disease and change. The organic brews offer anti-inflammatory properties and contain medically and scientifically reviewed ingredients. Relax and Recover, Digest and Energise, and Refresh and Rebuild come with daily dosage guidelines advised by professionals in botanical therapy and chronic diseases.

“Asking guests to take five minutes either before or after a treatment is all that’s required for them to experience the incredible benefits of a meditative tea ritual,” says Madan. “Adding this to your spa journey gives your customers an extra layer of care and attention, especially if the tea being selected complements the treatment they are taking or their mood at that time.”

www.camelliasteahouse.com | www.teaadvisorypanel.com www.teaandtonic.co.uk | www.espaskincare.com www.thalgo.co.uk | www.voya.ie

Fount drinks offers botanical hydration for the spa and wellness market

Fount Drinks has introduced a range of botanical and vitamin-enriched concentrates that can be added to water to boost hydration and health. The blends of fruit, botanical ingredients, vitamins, minerals and amino acids are made in the UK with no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, flavours, colours or preservatives.

The concentrates are carefully formulated by expert nutritionists and herbalists to address particular wellness concerns: Refresh & Revitalise contains raspberry and green tea; Cleanse & Detox includes ginger and lemon; Stress Relief combines apple and elderflower; and Heart Health includes red berries and hibiscus.

“The opportunity for integration into a spa menu or for retail is huge. Fount can be a personalised beverage offer suitable for the clients’ needs,” says spa consultant and founder of SHC, Shelley Hepburn.

Each 50ml bottle of Fount provides 25 servings and to create a spa-ready drink, just add 2ml of the preferred Fount to a 250ml glass of water.

“It comes in cute recyclable glass bottle and is a concentrate, so its environmentally friendly. The four-pack is presented in its own little display box,” adds Hepburn.

www.fountdrinks.com

Dutch wellbeing brand The|Tides Wellness makes its UK debut at Birch

The|Tides Wellness has launched its wellbeing therapies and organic selfcare products at Birch, a hotel and wellness retreat in Hertfordshire, UK.

Founded by Annemarie Wortman and Kimmo Jacobs, The|Tides Wellness concept addresses the physical and mental concerns faced by urban living, digital overload and environmental pollution.

Said to recognise the mind’s role in ultimate relaxation, the brand’s BrainBody Wellness Signature Treatments aim to relieve fatigue, recharge energy, boost immunity, restore hormonal imbalance and improve sleep quality.

The treatments combine a range of holistic therapies including: face, scalp, and body massages, trigger point, meridian, and acupressure work, vagus nerve toning, breathwork, sound therapy, clinical stretching, mobilisation and traction, craniosacral and myofascial release, cupping, gua sha and cryotherapy.

The treatment menu at Birch now includes BrainBody Hacker to destress the mind; Back to Brilliance, a grounding body therapy; and Ocean Deep Recovery, a recharge treatment to promote sleep.

www.thetideswellness.com | www.birchcommunity.com

Sensate wearable app provides immersive relaxation experience

UK-based sound therapy innovator Sensate has updated its high-tech sensory device and audio app to create an immersive wellness experience.

The original device was designed to calm the ‘fight-flight-freeze’ response through non-invasive sound vibration technology. The palm-sized wearable device and audio app uses infrasonic waves to resonate through the body, targeting the vagus nerve and strengthening the nervous system. The waves are said to encourage relaxation and improve resilience to stress over time.

The latest version of the product, Sensate 2, is said to provide a more immersive experience, emitting infrasonic waves that are synchronised and in harmony with specifically composed soundscape sessions, available on the Sensate App, which is free to download. The low-frequency resonance, felt as vibrations aims to calm the vagus nerve’s autonomic response.

The soundscapes can cater to personal goals; whether that is to promote sleep, gain an energy boost in the morning or recharge during a break between meetings. Users can adjust both the volume and intensity of the sounds and resonating vibrations, respectively, for a customised experience.

www.getsensate.com

Hyperice delivers wellness in-room and in-spa at Fairmont Windsor Park

Hyperice, a global high-performance wellness brand specialising in percussion, dynamic air compression, vibration, thermal technology and contrast therapy, has become the official recovery technology partner of Fairmont Windsor Park, UK.

Guests in the hotel, spa and wellness centre will have access to Hyperice products, including in the comfort of their own rooms, to ensure their overall health, performance, recovery and self-care are maintained throughout their stay.

Products available for guests and members include the Hypervolt Bluetooth, an easy-to-use warm-up and recovery percussion massage device; the Vyper 2.0, a unique foam roller featuring three speeds to prime and warm up the body with a powerful vibrating massage; and the Hypersphere, a vibrating massage ball that helps to pinpoint tension areas with precision to release pressure.

In the wellness centre, guests and members have access to these products as needed before or after their workouts, to warm muscles and ease tension. The Hyperice devices can be delivered to guest rooms to offer private muscle relief in comfort.

www.hyperice.com | www.fairmont-windsorpark.com