Wellness Trends & developments
All the right moves to increase resilience SPAIN: Cugó Gran, the recently opened private luxury villa, set on a 250-acre Menorcan estate, has expanded its wellness programme with new resilience-focused Movement Retreats hosted by co-founders of 2Move, Diego Degiovanni and Elena Baracco (pictured below). “What we get from the practice of resilience is an elevated level of mental and physical strength, which makes us stronger people overall, whether in a fitness, work or life scenario,” explains Degiovanni. “By developing strong personal resilience skills, people can be better equipped to respond to pressures and buffer the chronic stress that seems to be a side-effect of modernity. This is obviously linked to the most elementary prerequisite of wellbeing.” The three-night retreat also includes an exclusive LI’TYA massage and Rosalena Skincare facial. “Human movement, in every possible form, is our passion and quality always outweighs quantity,” Degiovanni states. www.cugogranmenorca.com | www.2move.es
Exclusive island spa is a couple’s paradise MALDIVES: The Four Seasons Resort at Kuda
Huraa is opening its Night Spa at 10pm each day to present an open-air ritual entitled ‘The Secrets of the Sea’ with a new Healing Waters menu. Available to just one person or couple each night, guests are escorted on a one-minute boat ride across the lagoon to the Night Spa. “Secrets of the Sea focuses on the vagus nerve; captain of the body’s inner nerve centre and master of memory-making and relaxation, that tells the lungs to breathe and the heart to beat,” says director of spa Maxime Lureau.
“The treatment starts with a gentle, dry, skin brushing and warming wrap of Bach Flower essences and Vagus Nerve oil, followed by a Gigartina Beauty Bath for transformative relaxation. “The sequences ends with the signature Kuda Huraa Healing Waters Massage and Vagus Face Treatment, performed on cushions of warm water, bathing under the moonlight and facing a sky full of stars – it is a powerful yet profoundly peaceful experience.”
www.fourseasons.com/maldiveskh
Wellbeing Experts
The miracle of minerals While minerals and their benefits are very much of the moment, they have always been integral to Kerstin Florian’s heritage and its products. We talk to Julie Andrews, president of the international luxury spa and skincare brand (below), about its holistic approach to mineral bathing treatments. How are minerals linked to health and wellbeing? Spa culture developed around mineral springs and baths, and the many noticeable health benefits they provided for centuries. Minerals play a role in the body’s detoxification processes and are essential to maintaining proper body functions – when we are deficient, many cell properties can be affected and this can then have an effect on sleep, energy, immunity and skin conditions. Minerals are absolutely essential to and completely intertwined with wellbeing. What do they bring to the spa environment? One of the wonderful things about minerals, especially magnesium, is that they can be absorbed transdermally. This means they can be highlighted in many ways within a spa setting, from baths and wraps to massages and facials. For example, our signature Magnesium Wellness Treatment incorporates minerals in multiple ways to provide not only a luxurious, relaxing escape but also a therapeutic experience steeped in spa tradition. How do you set about harvesting rare mineral crystals in a sustainable way? We work with suppliers that use verifiable, sustainable, environmentally-conscious processes to ensure the safety of habitats and continued availability of pure resources. We focus quite specifically on magnesium because there are widespread deficiencies in the general population, however, the skin and bodycare benefits of many minerals are being continually discovered through research. Which other minerals can be beneficial to the body? Copper, for example, has been found to boost collagen and elastin levels as well as offering antibacterial and healing properties without the toxicity risks of some metals, since it is well metabolised by the body. We believe minerals are an integral part of health and wellness and will continue developing products and treatments utilising their powerful benefits. www.kerstinflorian.com
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