The web of wellness

Spa Mantra picks some websites that will help you offer a better spa experience

Urmi Chanda-Vaz

1. The Spa Gals
www.thespagals.com
Started by a bunch of travel writers cum spa enthusiasts, The Spa Gals is a fun site. Beth Blair, Jennifer Miner and Kara Williams comprise the trio who visit spas regularly for treatments and blog about their experiences. They also review spas, compile spa news, product reviews, trends and tips for spa travel. There are separate tabs for each, and the information is crisp and classified. There is even a section for spa deals, which spa lovers will like. Since the bloggers are based in the US, the spas reviewed are mostly American and the bloggers review spas by invitation too. The blog design is vibrant without being too casual, and easy to navigate. It has its own social network pages and thus is easy to follow.  Check it out for the reviews.

2. Massage Therapy Center
www. massagetherapycenter.wordpress.com
Massage Therapy Center is a wonderful resource for masseurs, as it sheds light on a great many kinds of therapy and their respective benefits. The blog belongs to a massage training organization by the same name in California, and they write mostly about techniques, tips and tricks of massaging. The posts are regularly made and are relevant to massage professionals and general readers. They also write about wellness and matters of the soul, since the physical and spiritual realms are connected. The Wordpress blog is simple in design and writing style. The array of sub topics is vast, with blog posts on Deep Tissue Massage, Craniosacral therapy, meditation, pain and injury management, breathwork, Seifukujitsu, posture, etc. It is also easy to subscribe to, with social network and follow buttons in place.

3. My Skin Concierge
www.myskinconciergeblog.com
For a blog (and a Twitter account) as popular as My Skin Concierge, there’s very little information of its founder. Ava Roxanne, who runs this busy blog, describes herself as a ‘skincare, spa & travel go-to gal’ and believes that taking care of the skin and spa-ing are not luxuries but essentials! The blog looks rather commercial with a bunch of advertisements, promotions, and badges sprinkled all over the place, but its clever design prevents it from looking cluttered. A pretty pink theme and plenty of pictures marks it as a woman’s domain. The blog has posts on all sorts of things, but chiefly focuses on spas and beauty products. Added perks are links to deals and free stuff like spa music and recipes. This is a great site for an all-round view of the wellness industry.

4. Natural Therapy Blog
www. naturaltherapyblog.org
Because spas aim at promoting all-round wellbeing for their clients, recommending safe and natural remedies and diets are often a part of their plan. This website is an excellent place to know about natural remedies and techniques that are simple yet effective and that bring about holistic wellness. The blog is very simply laid, with one detailed blog post after another and no unnecessary frills. The information is clear and precise and of high relevance to those working the wellness sphere. The range of topics is vast as one can surmise from some blog post titles: ‘Herbal users ignoring scientific guidelines’, ‘Does mistletoe really fight cancer?’, ‘Beet Juice: Simple but effective tool against hypertension!’, ‘French clay may help cure Buruli ulcer’, ‘Fat loss diet has rules you should stick to’, and ‘Aroma therapy: Relieve your digestive disorders with Peppermint oil’ are some examples.

This article appeared in the May-June 2012 issue of Spa Mantra