2005, and has herself witnessed the in-
creasing popularity of meditation and
mindfulness among the spa-going
population. Jessica Candy, spa director
at Four Seasons Resort Lanai, agrees
with Stirewalt: “Our daily lives are so
busy…meditation allows us to look in-
ward and connect to something
greater and deeper than the individ-
ual self.” The ever-increasing intercon-
nectedness of society also demands
that we spend more time exploring
the self-reflection and self-care offered
by meditative practice. The World
Health Organization reported that the
percentage of the global population
living in urban areas in 2014 was 54
percent; in 1960, it was 34 percent. It’s
no surprise, then, that as more people
live increasingly urban and technolo-
gic lives, services such as shinrin yoku
(forest bathing) have become more
popular at Mohonk Mountain House
and at spas around the world.
Candy and Stirewalt both noted
that meditation has become increas-
ingly popular at their spas. At Mohonk
Mountain House, guided meditation
sessions are the spa’s most popular
classes. Even at a spa that has offered
meditation for decades—such as Can-
yon Ranch Wellness Resort Lenox—
meditation has become more popular
over the last several years. Says Spa
Director Samantha Cooper, “the ma-
jority of our guests take part in some
form of meditative practice while with
“Offering a few moments of guided meditation or
breathwork at the beginning of a treatment can
dramatically enhance the experience and lead the
guest down a path that they may want to explore
further.”
– SAMANTHA COOPER, Spa Director, Canyon Ranch Lenox
MAY 2020
■
PULSE
47