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Spas - Good For What Ails YouCopyright © 2007-2008 Travel Alberta, All Rights ReservedWritten by: Travel Alberta Alberta's health spa industry has a deep source of inspiration: the natural hot springs. These springs are a fixture of Banff National Park's history and have drawn people since the late 1800s, who have sought the waters for restoration and relaxation. These waters were even bottled and sold as people travelled from around the world to be cured. Today, the Banff Upper Hot Springs continue to inspire visitors, who also have the option of visiting the Pleiades Massage and Spa. It provides a holistic approach to health and well-being through massage therapy and other treatments, in an environment dedicated to helping people grow and develop in mind, body and spirit. If you go to Jasper's Miette Hot Springs with the aim of simply recharging, you can also explore interpretive trails and hiking. At Ripley Ridge Retreat, nestled in Calgary's Paskapoo Slopes Forest, the spa encourages visitors to connect with tranquil, therapeutic surroundings. You can even have a Forest Massage outside in one of the protected gazebos. The water used at the Retreat, including the health spa, is natural spring water, collected from the many springs present on the slopes. Retreat owner Shawn Ripley offers visitors a 'wellness walk' that provides an interpretive tour of the slopes and what grows there. Various flowers and barks are used in healing oils and other applications. If you are well enough to take the walk, you can learn about the flowers that will be used to help treat you and even collect them with your guide. You can literally stop and smell the roses, and then pick them, if they apply to your healing. "We want people to be contemplative about their condition and to be involved in the healing process," says Ripley, a registered massage therapist who is certified to treat sciatica and whiplash, among other conditions. Among various flowers found on the slopes, the health spa uses the resident Alberta wild rose hip to encourage relaxation and stress release, as well as recognizing its topical anti-viral properties for healing the skin. At the Institut de Santé in Calgary, Living Better is a program that addresses all aspects of healing. Marketing Director Wanda Love says: "We get a lot of people coming through with lifestyle changes like divorce, change of jobs and cancer." The health spa is owned and operated by a physician (Dr. Wendy Smeltzer), and offers one-stop availability for treatments. "Our focus is the whole body, that's why we introduced the lifestyle 'Living Better' program that integrates psychological counselling and nutritional counselling," says Love, who adds there is a full range of spa treatments available. You can start by meeting with the doctor and then can take fitness and cardiac testing. A sports therapist and a personal trainer can be added along the way to help you put together a fully integrated lifestyle that is both healing and healthy. The Black Cat Guest Ranch located just outside Jasper National Park, is one of Alberta's oldest, established in 1935. It's a small, family owned and run guest ranch that features 16 rooms with great views of the first range of the Rocky Mountains. Black Cat owner Amber Hayward says the beauty of the mountains is a natural tonic that is complimented by various spa treatments during the ranch's featured health spa weekends. Hayward has written a novel about a psychic healer entitled (of course!) The Healer. She says visitors' favourite healing activities include yoga, massage and reflexology and, for those who can do it, hiking in this remarkable natural setting. About The Author:
*** Digital Reprint Rights *** *** Author Notification *** We ask that you notify the author of publication of his or her work. Travel Alberta can be reached at: travelalberta@raremethod.com *** Print Publication Reprint Rights *** If you desire to publish this article in a PRINT publication, you must contact the author directly for Print Permission at: travelalberta@raremethod.com
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