Kurotel - Longevity Medical Center and Spa uses the latest science to provide its guests
wellness programs designed to improve the overall health of their mind and body.
Leigh Weinraub, founder of spa apparel brand M by Mind in
Motion, believes that learning how to achieve an ideal state of
mental health requires cognitive and emotional training—and
spas can be one of the most effective places to do this.
“Countless people around the world are dealing with high
levels of stress, exhaustion and conflict,” says Weinraub, who
received her master’s degree in counseling psychology at the
Northwestern University. “If the spa experience is going to
optimize the impact on a guest’s life, it must provide services
that address the clarity of the mind and tuning of the body.
Learning how to conquer mental ‘demons’ and quiet the mind
must become an aspect of spa.”
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
Kendra Rice, director of spa & health club at Trump
International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, Illinois, thinks that,
with more scientific evidence unfolding on the benefits that
spa treatments offer to the mind and body, spa guests are
starting to see the spa as a place of wellness. “Our main focus
is the wellness and health of our guests and providing services
that put their mind and body in a better place than where they
were when they came in,” she says.
Yoga, for instance, has been known through medical
research to help decrease the stress hormone called cortisol,
even hours after a session. “Both yoga and meditation are the
subjects of ongoing scientific research. We now have a much
deeper understanding of the relationship between each practice
and its often profound health benefits,” Dr. Peeke says.
She further points to a report published on hindawi.com
that summarizes the current evidence on the effects of yoga
interventions on various components of mental and physical
health. “There are randomized clinical trials indicating
36
PULSE
■
May 2016
“According to the World
Health Organization,
one in four people in
the world will be
affected by mental
or neurological
disorders at some
point in their lives,
including anxiety and
depression.”
beneficial effects of yoga on pain-associated disability and
mental health, including post-traumatic stress,” she states.
In another study entitled Meditative Therapies for Reducing
Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of
Randomized Controlled Trials, it concluded that there was
some demonstrated “efficacy of meditative therapies in
reducing anxiety symptoms, which has important clinical implications for applying meditative techniques in treating anxiety.”
The report, however, stressed that “most studies measured
only improvement in anxiety symptoms, but not anxiety
disorders as clinically diagnose.”
In a recent study published in Biological Psychiatry,
researchers used brain scans to show that people who practice
mindfulness meditation had more activity and communication
in the parts of their brains that control stress. Furthermore, the
meditators had lower blood levels of a marker of inflammation.
MENTAL HEALTH OFFERINGS
Yoga and meditation are not the only ways spas can help
encourage better mental health. “Eco-psychologists have shown
that a simple hike through nature can elevate mood and stress
resilience,” Dr. Peeke says.
In addition, the use of aromatherapy has also been known
to improve one’s mental outlook and mood through scents.
Trump International, for instance, offers treatments and
products like aromatherapy oils and diffusers, heat neck wraps
and Thai and aromatherapy massage to guests needing to quiet
their minds.
“We also teach aromatherapy and candle light yoga, which
is unique to our property and assists in meditation and
healing,” Rice says. “We have also introduced a spa cuisine
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 38)