Our blog’s Nordic Theme continues this week, all included in our new LivNordic brand (www.raisondetrespas.com). Last week we had a look at Nordic superfoods and this week Isabella starts with exploring Fitness trends in Scandinavia. Fitness trends globally are very alike, big fitness chains are launching their concepts all around the globe. But are we, the consumer, around the globe alike, are our needs and demands alike? We are all influenced by our surroundings, social trends, friends and media and also by our internal needs and level of personal growth and maturity. There is the mass, influenced by what media is saying and the sub groups that has had an interest in a specific wellness or fitness philosophy or regime.

In Sweden, what I can see, there is an upcoming trend; Small fitness clubs that offer more personalized wellness and fitness solutions. Physiotherapists, naprapaths, nutritionists and fitness experts with a life style coaching touch join their venture to give a broader service when people ask for assistance in gaining a healthier life style.

They offer an Analysis based Personal training programs which includes the following: (a) individual medical/fitness and goal-related assessment before, during and after your training period, (b) establishing personal goals and milestones for each client, (c) committing the client for a training period to achieve identified goals, (d) individual assessment and consulting regarding food and nutrition, (e) combining different specific areas of expertise under the “same roof”, for example chiropractors, naprapaths, nutritionists and physiotherapists.

What else is new or trendy?

In the studios and Fitness clubs in Scandinavia we see;

• Hot yoga is getting hotter in Scandinavia and Northern Europe
• Yoga, yoga, yoga, yoga yoga yoga and then some more variations on Yoga
• Dance classes – blast us away, ethnic sound and moves
• Straight forward boot camp style of group exercise, where it’s ok to have two left feet
• TRX at a gym near you and other functional toys to play with
• Small group training – 4-6 participants get coaching in a specific work out, TRX and outdoors running groups

I must say that I am impressed by what SATS is doing, this year, full guns blazing, embracing functional training and …..more play. Maybe this is also a sign that we want and need more community, interaction and fun. I sure hope so.

(And ….at Madonna`s gym in Moscow, working out, working for, working to be able to walk in Hiiiiigh heels – unfortunately we are still waiting for this trend to enter in the Scandinavian Fitness clubs…)

/Isabella

Susie Ellis from Spa Finer e-mailed me today that The Wall Street Journal ran an article by Andrea Petersen yesterday titled, Don’t Call It Pampering:  Massage Wants to Be Medicine, that described quite a few research studies about the benefits of massage.  It is a very good example of making progress in the very direction the Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS) http://www.globalspaandwellnesssummit.org were hoping that www.spaevidence.com would be taking us.  GSWS worked with Andrea Petersen on her article (and provided most of the examples).  It is a step in the right direction having a reporter recognize the value of connecting research studies with spa services (especially massage) for consumers.

At this year’s Summit we will be showing a few upgrades to the Spaevidence.com website that will include the addition of more modalities as well as some cosmetic changes and social media integration. Myself, Anna, is one of the founding board members of GSWS and please read more about it and also the fantastic resource of both science and research!

And just a reminder and friendly nudge, if you haven’t already done so, please link to SpaEvidence (here is the link with the instructions on how to do that)  http://www.spaevidence.com/spaevidence/contact and encourage others to do so as well.  It is a fantastic resource for anyone working in the spa industry.

//Anna

We have just gone live with our updated web page! The web-address is the same www.raisondetrespas.com but it has a completely new look. For a very long time Raison d’Etre have been working silently in the background not really marketing our existence or telling the world what we do or who we work with; even some hoteliers did not know exactly what we did. The new web page is therefore more open and available when it comes to who we are, what we do and whom we worked with…plus plenty of more information about our achievements and what we have created over the past years – things that we are actually very proud of.

We have chosen to go live, although we have some work left to do. Actually we will probably never be ready – that is they beauty of it – so you will continue to see changes and updates the coming weeks and probably months.

Surf around and have fun! If you have any feedback please tell us. We would LOVE to hear from you!

/Raison d’Etre Team

Yesterday I had the pleasure of experiencing the Nordic Deep Relaxation massage, and the feeling of complete balance has stayed with me until now. It is a strange vibration that continued, slept like a baby and am just content in a good way.

Marcos, the therapist, is one of those therapists that simply have it, he speaks with his hands with my body and holds when he should, and massages when he should, he is simply in tuned with the dance of balancing.

It starts with Marcos putting my feet in a Chi machine, this is a machine that my body by rocking the feet (I actually used this when I was pregnant as it is really good for aching backs, and it was fantastic), and just like rocking a baby is relaxing, so is this. To give that extra, he then conducted BARS (an energy massage to the head that helps me to relax and stop having a racing mind (I sometimes have great difficulty to relax and finally start relaxing 3/4 into the treatment and then it is just about over! and BARS is a great solution to this, it shortcuts the thoughts). So when he took away the Chi machine, I was in a state of relaxation after 10 minutes which normally happens after 45 min.

Now, this 2 hour treatment then continues with rocking soothing massage strokes and it is now way you can escape from surrendering to complete relaxation. Isabella dos Santos created this treatment intuitively during 3-4 years, and when she then spoke with Osteopaths and other alternative practitioners, she realized that the treatment is actually very scientific in its rocking and vibration. In addition Michael Simonato has created a special sound track, using the science of healing through music such as hemi sync http://www.hemi-sync.com/ through the generation of complex, multilayered audio signals, which act together to create a resonance that is reflected in unique brainwave forms characteristic of specific states of consciousness.

Simply put the music is choreographed with the treatment, and is not just background music, but part of the treatment, and the power of sound is profound.

The treatment was great, but what was the most amazing is the state that I was afterwards, it was almost dreamlike yet at the same time completely awake and present. Extremely cool and I want to do this again. Strangely enough (or not!) I was motivated to take lots of good decisions that my body wanted more than my mind (such as skip the wine to dinner and do a TRX session instead of watching TV after my 6 years old birthday party) – and after all that, I still feel different in a good way.

I truly think that 2 hour treatments not only gives double the time and benefit of a traditional 1 hour massage, but beyond measurable benefits and hats of to Isabella who has developed this truly bespoke and result oriented treatment.

//Anna

Working for Raison d’Etre takes you to amazing places around the world and we have been blessed with spa projects in the most incredible destinations. But still the hospitality industry never stops us from being totally amazed by the creativity that is to be found out there, year after year. New dream destinations are continuously launched and we have listed two new and exciting hotels where we would like to check in, this year;

Naked Stables – China

Located in the mountains and the lush forest, just 2 hours outside Shanghai, this eco-construction is a chic retreat, composed of some individual rooms and 2 to 4 bedroom villas. The resort is nested in the bamboo mountains of Moganshan and is Asia’s first LEED-platinum certified resort. It is the result of 31 million USD and 2 years of green constructing, built from the ground, yet with minimal impact on the natural environment . It is an accessible rural escape from the city, a hideaway created in the most environmentally friendly and sustainable way. And don’t worry about the name; it is named for its “naturel” eco – approach. There is of course a spa, hidden in the forest, lots of wellness activities, horseback riding, fishing, fine dining and serenity, as no motor vehicles are allowed in the valley.

We are just amazed by the design, ambiance and the location, a true hideaway in the Chinese countryside, with views over the mountains reminding us of a fairytale world…

www.nakedretreats.cn

Dar Hi – Tunisia

The French industrial designer Matali Crasset, also known for innovative and creative hotel designs, has created a new, extremely sleek and stylish hideaway in Nefta, Tunisia. The hotel has a panoramic view over the Tunisian desert and the town of Nefta. The architecture of the houses in the resort is contemporary with walls made of whole bricks that have a distinctive ochre color. Roofs and house doors are made of palm wood. The architecture is very inspiring and the shape of the houses gives you a feeling of being on another planet…It is not surprising that this particular location has inspired a large number of movie directors, for example: Star Wars and the English Patient were filmed in the Nefta desert. The Dar Hi hotel follows a strong ecological and environmental approach, in all matters; food is organic and only locally produced, the construction is made of only local materials and the water is provided by a hot natural source that comes from the desert and supplies the hammam as well as the swimming pool with hot water using geothermal energy.  The spa offers Arabic massages, traditional hammam treatments and some local therapies with warm sand and clay.

www.dar-hi.net

We have also some exciting spa projects coming up in exciting destinations and hotels, which will tell more about soon…

/Maria

 

Raison d’Etre and YHHS (Swedish Cidesco certified School for Spa & Beauty) has joined forces, offering a unique and market-oriented on-line spa management course. The first course starting now in March will be in Swedish and this falls course, starting in October will be in English.

Raison d’Etre had worked with over 100 spas in 60 different countries and have educated more than 100 spa managers the past 10 years. YHHS has educated over a 1,000 beauticians and therapists since 1993, and is certified by both Cidesco  (Comité International d´Esthetique et de Cosmetologie) and SHR (Swedish certification board of beauticians).

Many spa managers are talented and passionate former therapists, leading a very staff intensive, leadership challenging business with a turn over of well over 1 million Euros. A spa should, as any other business have a business plan, marketing plan, and as the most successful businesses further have a HCM (Human Capital Management) plan.

Our aim with this spa management course, if to give the attendees the tools and knowledge to be able to create and implement these plans, as well as motivating their staff to be passionate and dedicated team members. The course spans over 3 months and is divided into 6 modules

1. Spa history, terminology and trends
2. Leadership
3. Operations, customer service and quality management systems
4. PR and Marketing
5. Finance
6. Business plan

Our goal is to educate the spa leaders of tomorrow and give them the tools and knowledge to help them reach their goals. We are so excited about this course, it is based on the past 10 years knowledge of spa management education as well as YHHS vast spa educational expertise, and we truly believe that our attendees will grow and prosper during this course.

For more information contact  Anna-Cari Gund  annacari.gund@yhhs.se

//Anna

 

Moscow, the city that never sleeps. Russians love new things, get bored with what was new a year ago, and when it comes to spa, the key is to have many small brands. Preferably known brand, but not those that can be bought elsewhere. And instant results, that are not only felt but seen.

We have gone around to lots of spas, but to be honest the spa market is just beginning. Mandara has a good spa here, Intercontinental just opened 2 weeks ago (we did the spa..so it is of course great), Ritz has an Espa spa, Swiss hotel Purovel spa is really good but there are not so much more. For a city with 17 million people, this is definitely an opportunity IF you understand the market. And the market is complicated, with all its hidden values, rules and of course beaurcratic certificates. The Dominique Chenot spa outside Moscow is beautiful, but the problem is that the presidents wife likes to go there (lives close by), and she calls 30 min before she goes, and then everyone has to leave straight away, no matter if you are in the shower, having a massage or swimming! Not that easy to run a spa then…..

What we LOVED was Madonna’s new club Hard Candy, that recently opened. It was not so much the club, but the atmosphere, great personalities working there – hip but also extremely friendly. The very gay “Stiletto Fitness” (yes fitness and class to walk in EXTREMELY high heels) was to die for, “Belly dancing” so much fun and I have problem walking still since my “Kettlebell Power”. Membership from €4,000/year – and yes, it is worth it!

Also went to Sandya Banya, rented a VIP room to experience the real Russian deal, and there you start with some drinks (we skipped the vodka) and pancakes (it is pancake week here), and then off to the special Banya treatment, where again we were whipped pink by oak veniks (whisks) and then had a superb soap massage. Therapist was excellent and it was like a massage, but with soap and then just a very quick (but hard!) scrub. Loved it!

Perhaps not equally happy with the fish (picture) that I ordered the other day, but at least it caught my attention. Of course, you can’t go to Moscow without going to the Red Square (me on the picture) and learn about its fascinating history.  And seeing Putin passing by really quickly (he closes the road when he is going somewhere and you wait for about 30 min).

Tomorrow on my way home!

//Anna

A couple of days in Keiv got us all the knowledge we needed to understand the spa market. The problem with the Eastern European states is that spa is a new thing, for them the wellness component has been represented by Sanatoriums (Kur hotels) and beauty by salons. They are not quite sure how to define spas, it is medical like sanatoriums or beauty?

We went to big spa conference, with invited speakers from the US and big exhibition – and it was not exactly what we expected. Empty, no visitors very few exhibitors (who all felt they were losers) and about 15 people sitting listing to the long travelled and experienced speakers (see picture of exhibition). Tragic comic, as we say in Sweden.

Then we went around Kiev to the most famous spas, and well…. It was like travelling back to the 80’s in design and it was more salons than spas. Very colorful design (think bright pink and green) and plastic Jacuzzis. Ok spas are Hyatt and Intercontinental, but there are yet no great spas.

What they do have are fantastic clubs, very exclusive with great gyms, functional training, yoga, dance, treatments, restaurants, spa, hair and beauty salon. We went to train at Favorite Club, and it was excellent and you can become a member for about €2,000 up to €8,000 for the most expensive club (Grand Prix).

Also tested to eat some true Ukrainian food, among those lard (fat) that is a delicacy (see picture), I did have some great trouble eating it….

Kiev, however, is a stunningly beautiful city, with many cultural buildings and activities and it is a great city to visit. They are right now gearing up for the European championship in soccer and we will be gearing up to give Kiev some amazing spas!

 

/Anna

Yes!

I lost 1kg, which is nothing – BUT between 2-6cm. 2 can be water, but 6 can’t and that was around the stomach. Actually quite good, as it was there I had some “residue” from being pregnant twice.

Having looked into this, tried it and seen that it works – I can actually recommend it.

However, it does not help if we continu to eat the way we did before. A great kickstart!

Now off to Ukraine and Russia for 8 days, will post some interesting news during the trip.

//Anna

A client of ours heard of Hypoxi, a way to loose fat in desired areas.

Well! Have heard that one before, but as always we are open and said let’s investigate… What their web site say

Hypoxi is the brainchild of Dr Norbert Egger, an esteemed Austrian sport scientist.  Over the course of many years working in the weight loss industry, he noticed that many women struggled to reduce fat in their problem areas of the stomach, hips and thighs despite regular exercise and a healthy diet. As a sport scientist, Egger knew that good circulation and exercise are critical to achieve weight loss in a specific area. With this knowledge in mind, he set about developing a revolutionary training device.

HYPOXI is the first training concept to combine alternating high and low pressure with exercise to help target fat in those areas which just won’t budge. The simple 30 minute workout is safe, pain free and completely natural –helping your body to tap into stubborn fat stores while you work out.  In just 12 sessions, clients can lose up to 30 centimetres in circumference from their problem areas – more than what you would typically achieve through conventional training.http://hypoxi.com.au/ 

Best way to find out is of course to try it myself and luckily Planet Fitness has started just a month ago, and I am not sitting in a vaccum type chamber with some wet suit skirt on and cycling in a VERY moderate pace for 30 min. (NB! It is not me on the picture).

Now, the interesting thing is that we have studied it, Patrick – who some of you know, is extremely meticulous and even he is saying that it might just wok! I have now done 10 of my 12 sessions and on Tuesday next week it is time to measure the result. They say that I should loose around 3-7cm around waist and buttocks. And there is no diet involved, only not to eat carbs 6-7 hours after, which is logical.

So stay tuned – the report is coming on Tuesday!

//Anna

 

There has been a lot of discussions about parabens in products, and if they are safe or not. Today, many product companies has chosen to take them away, as there are more and more research showing that they can cause a multitude of diseases. A Paraben is a preservative and this then has to be replaced by something else that keeps the product from going off, it is often replaced by phenoxyethanol, which is not all that much better, but consumers today have not yet been used to look out for this ingredient as well.

All we can say, is that read what is on the products that you use, if there is something on there that you do not understand, google it!

 

Here is the research article!

//Anna

Parabens in Breast Tissue not Limited to Women who Have Used Underarm Products New research into the potential link between parabens and breast cancer has found traces of the chemicals in breast tissue samples from all of the women in the study. Parabens are commonly used as preservatives in cosmetics, food products and pharmaceuticals. As the research shows that parabens are measurable in the tissue of women who do not use underarm cosmetics the parabens must enter the breast from other sources.

Breast tissue samples were taken from 40 women, with the results showing that all of the women had at least one paraben in their tissue. The research, published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology, was a collaborative study led by Dr Philippa Darbre, University of Reading and Mr Lester Barr, University Hospital of South Manchester.

The research team studied tissue samples from 40 women undergoing mastectomies between 2005 and 2008 for first primary breast cancer in England. In total, 160 samples were collected, four from each woman, covering serial locations from the axilla (nearest the armpit) to the sternum (breast bone). 99% of the tissue samples contained at least one paraben and 60% of the samples had five.

A number of studies since 1998 have raised concerns about the potential role of parabens in breast cancer as these chemicals possess oestrogenic properties and oestrogen is known to play a central role in the development, growth and progression of breast cancer. In particular, a link was proposed between the disproportionate incidence of breast cancer in the upper outer quadrant of the breast and oestrogenic chemicals in that region, maybe from local application of underarm cosmetic products.

“Our study appears to confirm the view that there is no simple cause and effect relationship between parabens in underarm products and breast cancer” said Mr Lester Barr, consultant surgeon at the University Hospital of South Manchester and Chairman of the Genesis Breast Cancer Prevention Appeal, which part sponsored the study.

“The intriguing discovery that parabens are present even in women who have never used underarm products raises the question: where have these chemicals come from?”

Key findings of the study included:

• One or more paraben esters were detected in 158 of the 160 samples studied (99%) and 96 of the samples (60%) contained all five of the most common paraben esters.

• The overall median value for total parabens in the breast tissue was 85.5 ng/g – one billionth of a gram of parabens per gram of breast tissue – ranging from 0 ng/g to 5134.5 ng/g. This level was four times higher than the 20.6 ng/g recorded by a smaller study in 2004.

• Overall median values for the individual parabens were highest for n- propylparaben (16.8 ng/g) and methylparaben (16.6 ng/g), with lower levels for n- butylparaben (5.8 ng/g), ethylparaben (3.4 ng/g) and isobutylparaben (2.1 ng/g).

• There was a disproportionate incidence of breast cancer in the upper outer quadrant nearest the armpit and significantly higher levels of n-propylparaben were detected in the axilla region, closest to the armpit, than in the mid or medial regions. The other four parabens were equally distributed across all parts of the breast.

“The fact that parabens were detected in the majority of the breast tissue samples cannot be taken to imply that they actually caused breast cancer in the 40 women studied,” said Dr Philippa Darbre, Reader in Oncology at the University of Reading, who also led the 2004 study. “However, the fact that parabens were present in so many of the breast tissue samples does justify further investigation.”

This paper is published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology. To request a media copy contact Lifesciencenews@wiley.com or +44 (0) 1243 770 375