Tag Archives: spa

Day 2: celebrating the past 365 days

2 Jan

Here we are in Woodinville, Washington at the beautiful Willows Lodge.

     

I waited 365 days for this, to relax and unwind and celebrate my promise of 2011.
It’s my holiday spa-la-la-la if you will.

The lodge is located within a stone’s throw to numerous wineries (Chateau St. Michelle, Columbia, etc) and comes complete with spa services and yummy restaurants (The Barking Frog, Herbfarm and Redhook Brewery), plus, to top it all off, our room is scrumptious.

The showers have digital hot temperature sets and the hotel is so pet-friendly they even offer a doggy turn-down service.  (But we won’t tell Pup since we left him at home.)

My favorite, is the over-sized bathtub that looks into the bedroom with cozy fireplace. The tub is built at the perfect angle so you can watch TV while submerged in bubbles.

It works.
Believe me.
I tested it out.

I share all this only to prove one point — the importance of celebration.

I have a few celebrations lined up to reward myself for this past year of taking care of my head, heart, body and soul.

  • A few days at this special spa with my honey, Justin, whose support was unwavering this past year.
  • And then, of course, a personal-stylist-consulting-shopping-extravaganza with the one and only Holly Getty.

I promise to take you along for the ride.

But, tonight, I promised to share the rules for Year 2 of The Promise 365 (plus one leap year day of course, but who’s counting).

As I wrote yesterday, I am dedicating this year to LOVE.  That’s right, that four-letter word that runs the world.

The reason I am doing this is much deeper than just some lovey-dovey idealistic notion.  It’s actually pretty scary.

You see, over this past year I learned something simply profound:  there are only two forces in this world:

One is love.
The other, fear.

And, it got me thinking.  A lot.
What would it take for me to get over my fears?  Is it just a matter of love?  Could it really be that simple?

Well… this year we are going to find out.
So that’s it — over the next 365 days I have to face my fears.  Believe me, I have some fears that are everything from friendly (large crowds) to fierce (spiders). It scares me to death, but I know it will be worth it.

Oh, yeah, and write every single day.  As if that isn’t scary enough.

More tomorrow.
Until then, I hope you find some time to celebrate your past 365 days.
I will be over here floating from my facial.

xo~Jamie

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Day 298: spa rah rah! i miss the spa!

25 Oct

I miss the spa!
Maybe it’s because my head cold is getting the best of me today. Or maybe I miss the food.

Either way, sniffle, sniffle.

I just spent 15 minutes on SpaFinder dreaming about other spas to visit someday, when I found this: a free pamphlet on Ayurveda practices from The Raj Spa.

With each word I read, I am brought right back to the lavender and calmness of Lake Austin Spa Resort (which I visited just last week with Debbie while we were working for Women on Fire of course!).

I suppose the teachings of Ayurveda remind me of the spa because we were up early, fed well, out in nature, exercised on water, gave our bodies lots of nourishment and self-care and then, of course, slipped into bed at a reasonable hour.

It seems like our morning hike through the Texas Hill Country (pictured below) was just yesterday, so it’s hard for me to believe it was really a week ago.

And, I suppose that’s the hardest part of returning home — figuring out exactly how to incorporate the spa lifestyle that I love into my own lifestyle, and those pesky things called day-to-day habits.

I suppose it could be as easy as starting my day with a morning walk in nature?
Or getting to bed early?

Here’s a pretty good schedule if you ask me — a sample daily routine from the Ayurveda download explaining the impact of each dosha:

2:00 AM to 6:00 AM
Vata active
Awake before 6:00 AM
Good for meditation

6:00 AM to 10:AM
Kapha active
Good for exercise
Avoid sleeping into this period

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Pitta active
Digestion is strongest
Largest meal at lunch (12:30)

2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Vata active
Tendency for tiredness
Herbal tea & spices in water or milk
Rejuvenate with meditation

6:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Kapha active
Evening walk
To bed before 10 PM

10:00 PM to 2:00 AM
Pitta active
Metabolic housecleaning strong
Sleep for best purification

Maybe, I’ll add some of this insight to my schedule.
Well, maybe, tomorrow. I think I have an appointment with Nyquil tonight.

If you’re looking for a spa in your area, here’s a fun place to start — check out SpaFinder’s deals site at Spa Rah Rah which gives discounts on spas and wellness centers across the country.

Plus, If you want to learn more about Ayurveda, the free download from The Raj Spa is here.

I’ll be over here sniffling and spa dreaming…
xo~Jamie

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Day 295: trick or treat, smell my feet

22 Oct

There are a few things I took home from the spa this week.

For one, the lovely lavender scented body lotion, shampoo and body wash samples.
For two, a life’s lesson in the soul.

And, finally, (leave it to me!) the brand new pair of shoes that comes standard with each hotel room.

Hey, they were free, and comfy, and totally packable, and beach ready, and, and…

I can make excuses all day long about why I need a new pair of shoes.
Even those that are complementary.

But, I have to say, when I wear these shoes and look down at my feet, all I see is relaxation, peaceful serenity and a small bit of bliss.  It’s like a mini transport back to the spa, with my toes poking out.

If shoes are what cushion our path, then I must admit, I am pretty satisfied wearing these rubber soles that reek of lavender on my feet.

I might just keep them around for those times when stress inevitably sets in.  What a gentle reminder to take a deep breathe, relax and be mindful.

As the saying goes…

Trick or treat.
Smell my feet.

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Day 293: saying goodbye is the hardest part

20 Oct

It’s always hard for me to say goodbye—to friends, to family, to new acquaintances, doesn’t matter, I feel the same.

I always find myself in between that we-just-hugged-three-times-but-I’m-not-ready-to-turn-around-and-go yet.

Leaving is the hardest part — and so it was today leaving a peaceful and serene spa resort.

It’s hard to believe a year ago I sat out on that dock and made my promise not to shop for shoes or clothes for an entire year.  I have learned so much, tried so many new things and most important I have realized that I already have what I need.

So, in saying goodbye today, I remembered what I have always known deep in my heart: goodbyes are just the first step to something else.

We are now officially in the homestretch.
72 more days to go.

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Day 291: life is sweet and sweaty

18 Oct

Today I gave a talk about how to live a sweet life and shared 6 Strategies to Beat the Sugar Blues.

But, this afternoon, I came to the conclusion that I deserve to sweat.

It’s been such a fundamental discovery over this year, for my body.  As an ex-athlete I love to sweat.

My body loves to sweat. 
But, sadly, I don’t sweat the way I used to.

My resting body temperature is in an arctic zone, cold enough to suppress my natural cooling mechanism. Unfortunately, it also suppresses my natural detoxing mechanism too.

So, that’s why I absolutely loved what I did this afternoon.
Sweat, sweet, sweat.

And, it didn’t take much time, about 5 – 10 minutes in the steamy sauna and I was in a full-on dripping waterfall of sweat.  It was as if each bead ball of sweat that appeared on my skin released it’s own unique toxin as it slid down my arms and legs and landed on my white fluffy towel.

It wasn’t a thai massage or bamboo bliss or hot rock massage or rosebud body scrub —  or any of the other incredibly invigorating options at this luxury spa.

Today, it was the good, old-fashioned sauna. And after that a nap in a sunny corner of the beautiful blue room wrapped in a blanket.

It reminds me that I don’t have to go to the spa to make time to sweat or rest. Life can still be this sweet and sweaty when I get back home through a few simple choices.

Just as my turn-down card reminds me tonight — I deserve the best — and you do too.

I hope you find time to sweat and rest this week.
Sweet dreams.
xo~Jamie

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Day 290: are you up for a spawsome adventure?

17 Oct

Sometimes it’s hard to do something new.
And being here on our Spawsome Adventure I am reminded that it is a wee bit hard to sign up for a new treatment when I know my favorite hot rock massage is right around the corner.

But, today I found pure bliss!
Bamboo Bliss that is —this is me right after my first bamboo bliss treatment.

As the Lake Austin Spa Resort menu says, Bamboo Bliss is:
A relaxing massage with warm bamboo tools. For centuries, bamboo has signified good luck, long life, peace and harmony. Today, it can signify a deeply soothing massage for you. Specially crafted bamboo tools, warmed and infused with lemongrass oil for your comfort, work on various parts of your body, sliding, rolling, kneading and creating a fruitful friction. 

It was amazing, although a strange feeling as bamboo rolled over my skin and dug into my muscles.  My massage therapist explained that the scraping sensation was to loosen up the fascia, that fibrous connective tissue membrane covering, supporting, and separating a muscle — and yes, I had to look that up in the dictionary.

As I slide into bed (after eating dinner in BED with OWN on TV) I read my turn-down card which said:  I let go of all expectations.

And, maybe, that’s all it takes to try something new.
Letting go of something old to make space for something spawesomely different.

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Day 50: hot or not?

19 Feb

Hot, truly, rocks.
At least it rocked my world this morning.

My day started by dragging myself out of bed to make it to Elements Therapeutic Spa for a 9:30am check-in time. It was time to cash in on my reward for  Stickking to my week long yoga promise: one hot rock massage, please!

It was stressful.
I kid not.

Everything was set to plan: I woke on time, showered on time, ate two hard boiled eggs for breakfast (that I prepared the night before), and walked Pup, just in time to hop into the car and drive off to Relaxation Land.

Until…
My iPhone App map sent me to the right shopping complex, wrong location.

The App kept telling me I was passing the spa, as if screaming, “turn around, you missed it!” over and over. Being new to Naples, I kept driving, and driving, and driving in circles, until it was absolutely, ridiculously, clear the App was wrong.

There are only so many times one can pass a seafood restaurant, parking lot, and field of palm trees before realizing she is not in the right place …and she (me) was now late.

I finally broke down, pulled the car over, and called the spa for directions.

They graciously talked me through the traffic circles and twists and turns of the retail plaza until I finally arrived, apologetically at the front door, clearly in need of a massage.

Sometimes, life is all about the timing.

Today is the 50th day of The Promise 365; keeping my promise not to shop, buy frivolous clothes, shoes and other trinkets of self-indulgent style (and write about it every day).  Today ends a week that may have been Fashion Week for some, but for me, it was a week of self care.

Including a yoga marathon, tennis match up (lost again), reading large portions of a few good books, a self induced mani-pedi, and ultimately finished in a finale with one incredible… wait… wait for it…

Hot. Rock. Massage.
Oh, how I love thee.

Thank you Elements Therapeutic Spa.
My only complaint is that it ended too soon.
And my only regret is that I waited too long to make it happen.

I was not at Fashion Week, but this I know:
Regret, is definitely not on the list of trends for what’s hot.
So?? What are you waiting for?

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DAY 3: the inspiration

3 Jan

I have to credit Debbie Phillips, founder of Women On Fire for giving me the “spark” of inspiration behind The Promise 365.

Debbie took me to Lake Austin Spa Resort (check it out if you haven’t already, it is amazing!) for a week working on Women On Fire marketing projects (yes, we were really working at the spa, promise).

Here’s the video we took on the grounds of Lake Austin where I found my inspiration and explain my big decision.

So, I know it sounds simple.

And, I know it may also sound a little silly.

But, this is what I would love you to think about: what if you dedicated one entire year to really understanding what you put in and on your body? What would you do? What promise would you make to yourself?

What am I learning? For one thing, I choose chocolate when I really want comfort. I buy dresses when I want to feel beautiful and I purchase shoes when I need to express my creativity.

What I know is true: while shoes are a passion, dresses make me feel pretty and chocolate is pure joy, they do not compare to an hour of power yoga or one minute of meditation.

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