This week, Intelligent Life magazine posted an article on their blog refuting the benefits of spas. Spas often take a bad rap as being a superficial luxury indulgence (“dedicated to narcissism” the Intelligent Life article says.) The article describes spas as “a mish-mash of promises” using a hodge-podge of modern technologies alongside ancient healing remedies […]
Good news for the spa industry: The science of touch is exploding. Through my own work in the spa world, I’ve always been an advocate of getting more science to support the work of healing through touch. Previously on this blog, I’ve had articles about the effects of massage on health (see “Get Thee to […]
This special Friday edition of The Psychology of Wellbeing features an essay by Dacher Keltner, Professor of Psychology at the University of California Berkeley, that originally appeared on Greater Good, the online magazine of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center– Dacher Keltner is its executive editor. In this article (and the accompanying video,) Keltner elaborates on […]
My colleagues in the spa industry sometimes ask me why I focus so much on the science of psychology. In fact, people often assume that if I am studying psychology I must be preparing myself to leave the world of spas. The connection between spas and psychology does not seem to be clear at first […]
Time. It may be our most valuable resource for without it, nothing else matters. It also may be the resource we most take for granted, squandering it foolishly by watching re-runs of American Idol or whiling away the hours in a job that brings no meaning or satisfaction. Our relationship with time permeates every aspect […]
Just last week, I attended the New York Spa Alliance (NYSPA) annual symposium (see SpaTrade blog here) and was able to hear from Mark Liponis, the corporate medical director for Canyon Ranch, who spoke on “Why Wellness Pays.” Liponis has a unique perspective as a physician who has been integrating medical services into the spa […]
For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in the application of psychology to human well-being and performance. Even prior to working in the spa industry, where I have worked for the last twenty years, I was a personal trainer and fitness instructor and was interested in how the mental states of […]
