Salvation from Stress and Diseases
As a rule, most vacationers do not particularly favor the early spring season. Avid sightseers may, of course, be pleased by the prospect of seeing different cities in the cool dampness of a European spring. But perhaps it makes sense to devote these days to yourself? And to go in pursuit of youth and beauty - just take off and go to a spa resort.
According to the general opinion of all specialists in the field of health and wellness tourism, there is currently a surge of interest in this type of recreation worldwide. The fact is that in the West, investments in one's own health and youth have always been considered economically justified. Perhaps this is why the most frequent guests of spa resorts are the British and Germans. But whereas previously the vast majority were ladies well over ..., now young people are increasingly resorting to spa relaxation.
Recommended by the Ancient Romans
It is difficult to say where the term spa originated. According to one version, it is the abbreviated Latin phrase sanna pro aqua, which means 'to health through water'. According to another, the basis for introducing this word into the medical lexicon was the Belgian village of Spa, which was famous for its healing springs back in the Middle Ages. There were military operations between France and Belgium, and the troops of each country tried to ensure that the village of Spa was in their rear, because at night, by order of the command, the wounded and exhausted were driven into the springs for three or four hours - and by morning they regained their fighting capacity.
Currently, the term spa unites many treatment and recovery procedures linked by one principle - the life-giving warmth of clean water to restore health and vitality, relaxation and tranquility.
The simplest spa treatment is hydromassage in ordinary ozonated water. Water makes the body weightless, and you float, relieving joints and tired muscles of strain. The warmth of the water, pleasantly enveloping you from all sides, calms the nervous system, dilates blood vessels, and improves metabolism. The ozone saturating the water kills viruses and bacteria, increases the body's energy resources, tones and rejuvenates the skin.
If you think about it, we have always had our own spa - the famous Russian banya. After all, spa implies primarily the presence of water treatments, and water can be different - with minerals, bubbling, boiling, etc. And the Russian venik is both aromatherapy and massage.
However, today there is an opportunity to get acquainted with a wide variety of spa technologies in different countries.
“The most effective spa relaxation is a holiday in a place where you can immerse yourself in the living currents of a mineral spring. The past year 2003 in Hungary was declared the Year of Health Tourism,” says Svetlana Kabysh (Hungarian Tourism Information Bureau). “And this is hardly surprising, because Hungary has 1,289 thermal springs, 136 springs of mineral or thermal medicinal water, where there are five medicinal caves and the largest in Europe, the unique thermal lake Heviz with radon water. There are practically no sanatoriums in the country in our understanding of this word. Comfortable hotels have been built at Hungarian resorts, which have their own mineral pools, diagnostic and physiotherapy departments, and consultant doctors. Excellent service along with affordable prices - that, perhaps, is the main secret of the attractiveness of Hungarian spa resorts.”
Beauty and Health from the Sea Depths
The noble Romans respected sea bathing - thalassotherapy - no less than thermal springs. It is no coincidence that many public thermae (baths) were built on the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Modern physicians assert that the composition of sea water is similar to blood plasma, and therefore at a temperature of 37 degrees, metabolism occurs at the cellular level. That is, your body naturally absorbs all the beneficial mineral components from sea water. This achieves one of the goals of thalassotherapy: to give the tired human body the missing trace elements, especially iodine, sulfur, potassium, and calcium. For thalassotherapy centers, water is taken at a distance of 400-500 meters from the shore and at a depth of five to six meters. It is clean and rich in mineral salts and trace elements.
Recently, interest in thalassotherapy centers in Tunisia has been growing. In February 2000, the XXI International Congress on Thalassotherapy was held here, which highly appreciated the quality of treatment and the level of procedures at the country's thalassotherapy centers. Currently, such centers exist in Sousse and Hammamet. The Thalassotherapy Center in Hammamet, which opened in November 1995, is the fourth largest in the world and is equipped with the most modern medical equipment.
One of the significant factors in choosing a thalassotherapy center is price. In this regard, Tunisian centers combine affordable prices and high quality of service. In addition to the usual anti-stress, regenerative, and therapeutic procedures, you can be offered special programs here. For example, a weight loss program. It is based on the effect of a sea bath. Even ancient Roman women used tight wrapping of the body in cloth soaked in a warm solution of sea algae to lose weight and smooth the skin. This procedure has remained practically unchanged to this day. After wrapping, a waterproof suit is put on, in which a person walks for an hour. The resulting effect of a steam sea bath allows you to intensively remove toxins from the body and promotes active lipolysis processes - the breakdown of adipose tissue. In addition, marine trace elements are also used as components of dietary supplements for nutrition.
A special program for young mothers is also interesting: in a few thalassotherapy sessions you will fully restore excellent physical shape. And men may be interested in a completely unique type of health service - a special anti-tobacco program.
Mountain air, healing water and... green baths
"The uniqueness of spa procedures is that, unlike the usual methods of consuming mineral water internally, here the endocrine system itself absorbs exactly those beneficial substances that the body requires. There are many thermal springs in Switzerland. Many of them are located at an altitude of 1.500 meters above sea level, so you are guaranteed an additional therapeutic effect from the silence and wonderful mountain air. And, of course, local spa resorts are distinguished by traditional Swiss quality: excellent equipment, the most modern methods and procedures, qualified personnel," says Elena Osadchaya (travel company "Artex"). - "In the West, the attitude towards health is traditionally very serious. Staying at a spa resort in Switzerland is not a cheap pleasure. However, two weeks will give such a charge of vigor and health that will be felt throughout the year. In addition, in recent years, cosmetic programs have become very popular in Swiss spas. Each resort works with a certain cosmetic line, and a completely individual program is developed for each person, where all procedures are scheduled literally by the minute. Spa procedures are complemented by electroepilation services, special nutrition, aromatherapy, stone therapy (massage with stones), music relaxation, Eastern methods of healing (qigong and shiatsu techniques)."
And quite recently, a new type of restorative resort has opened in Switzerland - green baths. As the Polish magazine Twoj styl writes, this somewhat unusual type of cosmetic and rejuvenating procedures consists of taking herbal baths. Mowed grasses from Alpine meadows are poured into a shallow hole dug in the ground. At first, you lie in it, wrapped in a thin cotton cloth. The session time is 10-15 minutes. Then such immersions are carried out naked, and the duration of herbal baths is extended to half an hour or more. A peculiar herbal massage, healing herbal juice plus a subtle aroma - these are the main components of this type of therapeutic relaxation.
Currently, such a concept as day-spa is becoming more widespread - restorative rest during one day. Day-spa implies a client visiting a specialized salon in their free time - after work, during a lunch break. In day-spa, Western people spend on average three to five hours.
Wealthy compatriots are now actively equipping their apartments with spa baths. Various types of hydromassage nozzles placed in the bath create rotating, oscillating, whirlpool, and pulsating jets that affect the whole body like the hands of several skilled massage therapists. Special lighting and musical accompaniment add peace. And by adding aromatic salt or a mineral mixture to the water (and dreamily closing your eyes), you can imagine yourself at one of your favorite resorts.
And finally. Did you know that the first beauty contest in the world took place on September 19, 1888, in Belgium - and precisely at a spa resort? Thus, a spa resort is a traditional place where beauty, youth, and health triumph!