Bonnie, Spabreaks.com Editor: what have spas taught me about wellness?

I started working with Spabreaks.com more than eight years ago, having always had an interest in health and wellbeing. However, before then I had probably never fully appreciated the value of the time spent being still, as well as the time taken to run or walk or swim or workout. I think that one of the most valuable things spas have taught me about wellness is the importance of proactively choosing to stop.

Taking time to be still for wellness

I have always been someone who will rather optimistically over fill my day and consequently always be 15 minutes late for everything, then beat myself up for the things I haven’t done rather than celebrate the things I have done. It’s not an unusual way to be, I think a lot of us are like that in our busy, busy world.

For the most part, I don’t even realise I am doing it until I actually make space and time to stop and then I realise how therapeutic that can actually be. It’s easy to say that that’s something you can do at home, but taking yourself out of your normal environment and into a space where life’s daily tasks are not there to distract you means that you actually do it, rather than simply knowing that you can. 

So much more than a massage

At Spabreaks.com I have also really learned about the power of touch therapies; that a massage is so much more than having the knots in your back unfurled. There is something incredibly nurturing about a touch treatment. So much so that I even forget between them quite how much better they can make you feel, and what a big part of wellness they can be. 

For me, the perfect spa break is all about being by the sea or in the countryside. I have never been a city person. However, another thing that spas have shown me is the value in the variety of experiences. There’s nothing quite like an amazing rural retreat, but there’s something incredibly joyful about the indulgence of a really glamorous city spa as well. Especially if it’s part of a weekend experience -  going out with friends or before the theatre with your partner.

It’s ok to be totally spoiled

There are so many things that I have learned from spas, but perhaps the final stand out thing, has been learning that it’s also ok to have an unapologetically indulgent experience. That it doesn’t have to be about a higher wellness purpose or achieving a particular goal, it can simply be because it is buckets of fun to be totally indulged on occasion. 

I think a lot of us carry quite a lot of guilt when it comes to indulgence for the sake of it, but taking the time to luxuriate in that totally spoiled feeling is really special and actually quite important for wellness. From the fluffy white robes to the beautiful aromatherapy scents, the beauty of doing something simply because it’s wonderful is one of life’s great joys and in itself, is so incredibly restorative for mind, body and soul.