Awakening the senses
By Mary Cox Winter is behind us and summer, the season of romance, sea, sand, bikinis, sleeveless tops, bare backs, sexy toes and seductive fabrics is out there waiting for you and your clients.
During the next few months beauty, massage and spa therapists all over the country will be taking care of their clients’ needs (exfoliating, peels, masks, massaging, plumping, soothing, scrubbing, tanning, waxing, wrapping etc) with loving intent, to help them look and feel good. But what about you, the therapist … when did you last take time out and smell the roses, lose yourself in a good book, or enjoy a massage without worrying about the economic downturn, tax and the pressures of everyday life?
Every body needs touch, even yours. Take time out for yourself and enjoy a luxurious hot spa bath, make time for your favourite face and body massage, get your waxing done, pamper your hands and feet. Try a bamboo massage, the new kid on the massage block – a unique massage treatment using bamboo sticks. This treatment also helps to figure sculpt the body and is relaxing, enjoyable and refreshing.
If you suffer from back pain, book yourself in for a Quantum Touch session. Quantum Touch is one of the most relaxing and rejuvenating hands-on therapies I have experienced in many years. The whole body is recharged and pain just simply melts away. Stress headaches love Indian Head Massage and if you have neglected your feet, book yourself in for a Kasa Zone Reflex Therapy and watch your whole system detox.
Give your body a special treat; make your own summer body scrub. Mix some fine Himalayan salt with a little almond oil and a couple of your favourite essential oils and you have the perfect body scrub.
Make your own exotic bath blend. Mix together two drops each of these three essential oils: jasmine, lavender and geranium, add half a cup of rosewater and pour into the bath, lie back, relax and melt away those aches and pains, and soothe your precious senses. Where we would be without our sense of smell I dread to think. There is nothing nicer than the scent of a man and of course, for guys, the scent of a woman. I don’t know about you but for me, being up close and personal with a mate who smells nice sends my olfactory bulb into a spin!
There are loads of new light and refreshing body sprays on the market. Treat yourself to a seductive new fragrance at the beginning of summer; use it as your personal trademark. Use room sprays to cleanse therapy rooms between clients and “lift” your energy. Introduce incense into your therapies, they smell beautiful, clients love them. Scented candles are an economical way to take you and your client on a unique sensory journey.
Sight, allows us to enjoy the miracles of nature, the wonders of a newborn baby, the beauty of a delicate flower in bloom, the sea and the mystery it holds, and many other miracles life affords us. Like the other senses, where would we be without it? Open your eyes this summer, if you have been working around the clock, take time out to smell the roses, and make an effort to spend more time with your family and friends. Take a good look around you, perhaps it is time to change your colour scheme and surround yourself with different shades of the colours you love; colour has soothing vibration.
All those little taste buds waiting patiently for you to indulge them with mouth-watering summer delights, sweet treats, juices and fine wines…decadent thoughts indeed! Everything in moderation I say, but if you feel like tempting your taste buds with succulent, juicy fruits, saucy sea foods and tempting desserts, and washing them down with your favourite cheeky little wine then go with the flow – in moderation. Good food not only satisfies your tastebuds, it satisfies sight, sound, touch and smell all in one go. This simple breakfast booster will kick start your taste buds in the morning and wake up your whole system. Peel and juice two kiwifruit and a quarter of a melon. Pace in blender with a handful of grapes and one teaspoon of spirulina. Blend well, pour into a glass and add some ice cubes. This makes a refreshing and an excellent energy-charger.
To hear birds singing in the trees at this time of year is music to the soul. Music sets the scene, creates atmosphere and stimulates visual memory. It can be rejuvenating, sometimes depressing if we allow it to, but on the whole if you are playing your kind of music it should be relaxing, especially if it contains the sound of water splashing against the rocks, flutes playing in the background and the whisper of the wind in the trees, all of which transport the senses on their own unique sensory journey.
Summer is the time of new beginnings. If you have been wearing the same eye shadow, glasses, hairstyle and accessories for years, it’s time for a change. Keep those eyes clear, drape them in soothing cucumber, lash out and play them up. Keep your lips smooth, sexy, glossy and pouting.
This is the time of the year when all therapists should take time to nurture their mind and body and awaken their most precious senses. I challenge you to go to the beach, kick off your shoes, run into the water and allow that lovely sea water to envelope your feet and re-energise your soul and your senses.
Published in BeautyNZ magazine, September 2009