Accupressure
- Traditional Chinese pressure-point massage (massage where fingers are applied to key points on the body) used to stimulate energy flow in the body, ease muscle tension, relieve pain, and promote relaxation. Often referred to as acupuncture without needles.
Acupuncture
- Traditional Chinese healing technique meant to maintain or restore the body's balance of energy. Administred by inserting fine needles into energy centers (meridians) to stimulate energy flow. Used to tread underlying causes of conditions including addiction, asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, headaches, lower back pain, menstrual irregularities, arthritis, allergies, high blood pressure, and sciatica.
Alternative Medicine
- Umbrella term that describes therapies and healing practices outside conventional Western medicine. Includes homeopathy, naturopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, chi gong, reiki, reflexology, aromatherapy, and herbal medicine. Therapies often focus on prevention and bodily systems rather than specific illnesses.
Aromatherapy
- Use of fragrant essential oil extracts from plants in treatments to induce relaxation or relieve stress or pain.
Ayurvedic Massage
- Deep, therapeutic maggage meant to release toxins, invigorate, and relax. Uses massage oils chosen to balance a person's doshas (see definition). Balancing the doshas is the basis of the ancient Indian system of Ayurvedic medicine, which incorporates nutrition, herbal medicine, aromatherapy, massage, and meditation.
Biofeedback
- Treatment method using real-time measurrements of physiological functions (muscle tension or heart rate) to teach people how to conciously control them. Used to treat headaches, anxiety, pain, digestive disorders, high blood pressure, abnormal heartbeat, epilepsy, and more.
Caldarium
- Hottest room in ancient Roman baths where people would soak in steaming water to detoxify. Modern versions may not have a pool of hot water, but all use moist heat, sometimes infused with essential oils.
Chakra
- Sanskrit for wheel. Ayurvedic term for energy center. Believed that there are seven chakras located along the spine, each with specific qualities.
Chemical Peel
- Chemical solution applied to the skin (usually on face, neck or hands), causing it to blister and peel off, exposing new skin. Used to treat fine lines, wrinkles, scarring, acne, sun spots, age spots, and liver spots.
Chi Gong
- CHEE gong - Ancient Chinese method of maintaining health by guiding and balancing energy, or chi, through breathing, movement, and meditation.
Color Therapy
- (also chromotherapy) - use of color in rooms, lights, crystals, fabrics, etc., to treat mental and spiritual health. Based on concept that color has vibrational energy that can help correct imbalances in the body. Dates back to ancient Egypt.
Cosmeceuticals
- Topical cosmetic-pharmaceutical combinations intended to improve health and appearance of skin. Not recognized or subject to review by the Food and Drug Administration.
Cranio-Sacral Therapy
- Treatment that aims to improve function of the central nervous system by balancing the fluid and membrances that surround the brain and spinal cord. Performed through gentle palpitations of specific points. Used to treat a range of conditions, including stress, insomnia, headache, anxiety, fibromyalgia, and head, neck, and back pain.
Cryogenic Therapy
- (also cryotherapy) - treatment that lightly freezes skin, triggering anti-inflammatory respons that tightens skin and makes pores appear smaller.
Deep-Tissue Massage
- Massage method focusing on aligning the deep layers os muscles and connective tissue (called fascia) through kneading and apply slowm intense pressure. Benefits include improved range of motion and posture, and stress and pain relief.
Deluge Shower
- Showers that releases a surge of water from directly overhead. Can be used to cool of after a heat treatment or to massage tense neck, shoulder, and back muscles.
Detoxification
- (also detox) - General term used to describe a variety of treatments intended to cleanse the body of poisons or toxins.
Dosha
- Ayurvedic term for three mind-body qualities: vata, pitta, kapha that all people are presumed to possess. Most people are a combination of all three types, though one or two usually predominate.
Endermologie
- treatment said to temporairly reduce the appearance of cellulite through noninvasive massage delivered via a hand-held mechanical device.
Fango
- FAN-go - Italian for mud. Treatment in which mineralized mud, mixed with oil or water, is applied to the body as a heat pack to detoxify skin, stimulate circulation, and soothe muscles.
Feng Shui
- Chinese art of arranging buildings, objects, or furnitures in the optimal position for achieving a harmonic flow of energy between a place and its inhabitants. Believed to influence health, happiness, wealth, and relationships.
Gyrotonic
- Fitness modality that stretches and strengthens muscles and increase range of motion through flowing, rhytmic movements. Performed on a machine that provides resistance and support through a system of pulleys, ropes, and wheels.
Hammmam
- (also Turkish bath) hah-MAHM - Traditional Middle Eastern bath house. Modern versions involve a series of steam rooms of increasingly elevated temperature, wherein bathing rituals often include a massage, a cold shower, or time in a relaxation lounge.
Homeopathy
- Form of medicine based on principle that "like cures like." To stimulate healing, patients are treated with minute quantities of natural substances that cause symptoms much like those of the disease they are mean to cure.
Hot Stone Massage
- Treatment in which smooth heated stones are placed on or use to stroke area of the body, such as the back, palms, and between the toes. Intended to relax tight muscles.
Hydrotherapy
- General term for therapeutic procedures that use water for a variety of purposes, from relaxation to disease treatment. Method can include Kneipp baths, underwater jet massage, specialized or experience showers, mineral baths, thalassotherapy, and more.
Indian Head Massage
- Massage based on Ayurvedic principles that focuses on the scalp, face, neck, and shoulder to relieve stress and tension and nourish the scalp.
Infinity-edge Pool
- Swimming pool constructed so one or more sides appear to extend to the horizon.
Infrared Treatment
- Treatment that uses far-infrared light to mimic sunlight without the exposure to harmful ultra-violet light. Applied using lamps or through infrared saunas to relieve sore muscles and joints and to detoxify.
Injectables
- General term for fillers consisting of collagen, biologic acids, or synthetic compounds that are injected under the skin to eliminate small wrinkles and creases in the face. Results are temporary.
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)
- A non-ablative photorejuvenation treatment that uses multiple wavelengths of light to address fine to moderate lines and wrinkles, unwanted facial hair, pigment problems, and rosacea.
Japanese Furo Bath
- (also ofuro) Hot bubbling bath used for relaxation, usually enjoyed in the nude at a Japanese sento (public bath) or onsen (hot spring)
Kinesiology
- The study and science of human movement and how it relates to health. Differs from applied kinesiology, which is a system that aims to diagnose and treat disease through the body by testing and improving the strenght of various muscles.
Kneipp Bath
- Water therapy originated in the mid-1800s by Germany's Father Sebastian Kneipp, a holistic teacher and proponent of natural remedies. Originally involving dipos in the icy Danube, the modern version involves immersion in bath warm and cold water, movement therapies, massage, herbal medicine, and nutrition.
Kur
- German for cure. A planned course of spa treatments that typically involves soaking in mineral waters, mud baths, body wraps, and massage. "Taking the kur" might be a process lasting 10-20 days.
Laconium
- Warm sauna with relative low humidity that was part of ancient Roman baths. Milder than a Finnish sauna, it helps users eliminate toxins through perspiration.
Lomilomi
- Hawaiian massage technique derived from ancient Polynesians and traditionally administrated by village kahunas (shamans). Sometimes referred to as "loving hands" massage because of its gentle, continuously flowing and rocking motion. May include gentle stretches and joint rotation as well as traditional healing rituals or healing preyers.
Lulur
- Body treatment evolved from a traditional Javanese wedding ceremony, that typically involves a coconut oil massage, exfoliation with a mix of rice and fagrant herbs, a floral bath, and a yogurt moisturizer.
Lymphatic Drainage
- Therapeutic massage technique intended to increase circulation and drain trapped water and toxins from the body through the lymphatic system using delicate, wavelike movements on the face and neck or entire body. Used to reduce swelling, detoxify, regenerate tissue, and relieve pain and stress.
Mesotherapy
- Cosmetic treatment developed in France that involves a series of injections of drugs, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids into the skin. Practitioners claim it can reduce cellulite and fat and provide anti-aging benefits.
Moor Mud
- Mud harvested from a moor or peat marsh that is reach in proteins, organic matter, vitamins, and minerals. Used as a body or facial treatment to hydrate and exfoliate the skin and in a bath to ease aches and pains.
Microdermabrasion
- Facial exfoliation procedure in which the top layer of skin is abraded away with ultrafine crystals of aluminium oxide or other ingredients. Improves and smoothes skin surface and can minimize imperfections, like blemishes, fine lines, and signs of sun damage.
Naturopathy
- Holistic medical system based on the healing power of nature and the ability of the body to heal itself. Naturopathy focuses on prevention and treating causes, not symptoms, using natural foods, vitamins and supplements, excercise, herbal medicine, lifestyle changes, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, and mind-body therapies,
Nutraceuticals
- Natural chemical compounds added to food to prevent or treat disease and improve health. Also known as functional foods or phytochemicals.
Palapa
- Thatched umbrella, often made with palm leaves, that provides shade from the sun in the tropics. Many spas perform outdoor treatments beneath them.
Photorejuvenation
- Series of gentle laser treatments that stimulate new collagen, smooth fine wrinkles, and diminish the appearance of age spots, broken capillaries, and rosacea.
Pilates
- pih-LAH-tees - Body conditioning program meant to develop flexibility and strength via a system of controlled exercises. Developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s, it can be performed on a mat or on specially designed equipment.
Rasul Treatment
- (also rhassoul) - Traditional Arabic cleansing ritual in which the body is coated in mineral-rich Moroccan mud that exfoliates and draws out impurities. Followed by relaxation in a steam room and rinsing mud off in a warm shower.
Reflexology
- Therapy based on ancient techniques that use pressure point massage (similar to acupressure), usualy on the feet but also on the hands and ears, to restore the flow of energy throughout the body. Introduced as zone therapy to the West in 1913 by Dr. William Fitzgerald, practitioners believe that areas on feet and hands correspond to other areas throughout the body. Used to relieve symptoms of such conditions as back pain, migraines, arthritis, sleep disorder, injuries, and stress.
Reiki (Japanese)
- Rei, meaning wisdom, and Ki, which is life-force energy, combine for a truly transcendent experience. Light-touch and non-touch techniques are applied to key energy centers of the body to promote emotional and spiritual balance and well-being.
Roman Bath
- Traditionally, a complex of hot, warm, and cold pools where Romans would go to communally bath and socialize.
Sauna
- An enclosed, heated room designed to promote sweating and boost circulation, relax muscles, and release toxins. Often follow by a shower, a dip in a pool, or a roll in the snow to cool off. The Finish sauna, which is heated by hot rocks, is the most common; other cultures have similar concepts, including Native American sweat lodges (see temazcal), Turkish hammams, and Roman tepidariums.
Shiatsu
- Japanese finger- and palm-pressure is combined with light stretches to balance and harmonize the body’s energy pathways. This treatment stimulates the senses as it relaxes tired muscles.
Spinning
- A group aerobic exercise class performed on stationary bicycles.
Swedish Massage
- Classical European massage technique manipulating muscles with the use of massage oils and five different movements: long strokes, kneading, tapping, friction, and vibration. Used to increase circulation and flexibility, soothe tense muscles, and de-stress.
Swiss Shower
- Treatment that involves powerful shower jets directed at the body from various heights and at different temperatures to simulate an invigorating massage.
Tai Chi (also Tai Chi Chuan)
- Chinese martial art in which practitioners move slowly and gracefully through of series of postures coordinated by their breath. Used to reduce stress and improve flexibility, strength, energy, agility, and well-being. Often described as "meditation in motion".
Temazcal
- Traditional steam bath used by indigenous Mexican and Central Americans consisting of a dome-like structure build around the pit where water is poured over hot volcanic rocs. Induces sweating, relaxation, and detoxification. Herbs are often heated on the rocs for medicinal purposes. Also known as a sweat lodge among North American indigenous peoples.
Tepidarium
- Heated open space in ancient Roman baths where visitor would prepare for the bath. Modern version is a heated lounge area with comfortable furniture where guests can relax before and after the treatment.
Thai Massage
- Full body treatment that involve passive, yoga like stretching and pressure point massage along the body's major energy channels to release blocked energy, relieve tension, align the skeletal sructure, and increase flexibility. Traditionally done on the floor with client wearing loose clothing.
Thalassotherapy
- Umbrella term describing variety of treatments that use seawater, seaweed, and other natural ocean products for therapeutic benefits. Treatments include underwater jet massage, different types of showers, mineral baths and seaweed or algae wraps.
Tui Na
- Chinese therapy used to balance energy in the body and release toxins with massage and acupressure techniques. An important component of traditional Chinese medicine.
Vichy Shower
- Shower treatment, often enjoyed after a body wrap or scrub, in which five to seven water jets spray water on the back of a client lying prone on a cushioned table. Inspired by treatments in the French thermal spa city of Vichy, it is meant to reduce stress, hydrate, and improve circulation.
Vinotherapy
- Skin treatments that use antidoxident-rich grape skins, seeds, and extracts in a variety of scrubs, baths, and masks.
Watsu
- Combination of the words water and shiatsu. Healing massage treatment performed in a warm pool in which a therapist supports the client and administers rhythmic movements, pressure-point massage, and stretches. Design to relieve stress, muscle tension, and pain, and promote deep relaxation.
Yoga
- Ancient Indian philosophy that integrates body, mind, and spirit. The physical practice of yoga involves performing asanas (postures) and using controlled breathing and meditation to stretch, tone, and care for the body. Different styles of yoga include: Anusara, Ashtanga, Bikram, Hatha, Iyengar, Jivamukti, Kundalini, and Vinyasa.
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