Spas - The Big Chill

PROBLEM: LACK OF FOCUS
PRESCRIPTION: SHIRODHARA MASSAGE AT VIDA WELLNESS SPA

With 5,000 years of history behind it, Ayurvedic treatment gets more than a modicum of respect for its serious healing capabilities. This Indian science of holistic health works to both beautify the body and nurture the individual, with each treatment custom tailored to the one and only you — and your dosha (as diagnosed by your practitioner). Shirodhara is one of several Ayurvedic treatments offered at Vida Wellness, and be warned: you’ll be blissed out after one of these treatments, so you might not want to schedule, say, a company merger or plans for world domination immediately afterwards. The session starts with an Ayurvedic massage, which uses four times the amount of oil of a traditional massage: you’re going to get oily, and your skin will love you for it. After a head-to-toe treatment, your therapist drizzles a steady stream of oil on the centre of your forehead (also known as the third eye in yogi circles), which falls down through your hairline to the back of your head. You fall into a deeply meditative state — and the results? A whole new level of chill. (90 minutes, $175).
Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel, 1088 Burrard St., 604-682- 8410

PROBLEM: “MANLY” FEET
PRESCRIPTION: MEN’S PEDICURE AT ABSOLUTE SPA

As a man in need of a pedicure, it can be a humbling experience to don a woman’s robe and slide into a pastel environs. It’s just one of the reasons why the new Absolute Spa at the Hotel Vancouver caters to the other sex with its chocolate brown leather accents and cool neutral interior. (Incidentally, women dig the new spa too: the minimalist design appeals to those who don’t connect with a more frilly environment.) Pedicure thrones are equipped with Xbox video games for the guy who likes to multitask while his toes are treated to the Absolute Spa’s Y-Spa For Men line of products. The product line found in Canyon Ranch spas works with the special needs of men’s skin: their invigorating foot gel, for example, includes thyme, traditionally used by Roman warriors after battle to soothe fatigue and abrasions. Could it get more manly than that? (60 minutes, $75).
Hotel Vancouver, 900 W. Georgia St., 604- 648-2909; and three locations at the Vancouver International Airport, 604-273-4772.

PROBLEM: TGIF
PRESCRIPTION: FIX ME UP FRIDAYS AT LE PETIT

SPA Even the most centred, zen-loving, I’ve-got-the-best-job-in-the-world kinda gal gets a little pooched by the end of the week sometimes. Get set for the weekend with a little R&R, spa-style. Fridays, the everything-purple salon gets lavender all-round, with a simultaneous pedi/mani duo treatment. A lavender soak, exfoliation and massage is finished with an OPI polish — and of course, lavender tea and chocolates in the lounge while the polish sets. Go from pooped to party in one hour flat. (60 minutes, $70).
3701 W. Broadway, 604-224-4314.

PROBLEM: CREATIVE BLOCK/INSOMNIA
PRESCRIPTION: A DAY AT SOSEI STUDIO.

Film bizzers in particular can’t get enough of this Japanese-style spa in Arthur Erickson’s Waterfall building. That’s because declogging and creating space in an overstimulated mind is the whole point. It’s your choice of combination: 30 minutes in an enviro capsule with light and aromatherapy, 30 minutes floating in a mineral bath (the only time you’ll feel weightless and pain/tension-free) and 30 minutes in a green tea steam. It’s not over until you’ve chilled out (no magazines, cheater) in a tatami room with a glass of chilled, whipped green tea. ($50-$135).
501-1540 W. 2nd Ave., 604-731-7291.

PROBLEM: TOUGH-GUY COMPLEXION
PRESCRIPTION: MEN’S HOT TOWEL FACIAL AT CANDEO SALON & SPA

Just because you’re rugged doesn’t mean your skin doesn’t need a little TLC every once in a while. Candeo Spa designed this hot towel treatment for their male clients (who, incidentally, make up 50 percent of their spa clientele now — props to the guys for taking care of themselves). Because male skin tends to be thicker and rougher, numerous applications of hot towels soften the beard and open the pores, getting the skin ready for two masque treatments: one to cleanse the skin, the other to hydrate it. A massage to the face, neck and shoulders gets the guys relaxed and ready for come what may: preferably a gruelling day on the golf course. (60 minutes, $70).
20 Water St., 604-682-7212.

PROBLEM: GRAVITY
PRESCRIPTION: FLOATING MASSAGE AT ECCOTIQUE

There’s really no downside to a fantastic hour-long massage. Actually, if you’re going to get picky, there is: the towel creases on your face once you’ve been faceforward for that long. No longer, thanks to Eccotique’s new floating massage technique developed by a U.K. massage therapist. You’ll literally float on warm, water-filled Hydrotherm pillows that relax the muscles, making the massage more beneficial, while the Hydrotherm puts the spine in perfect alignment, and you in perfect bliss. (60 minutes, $90).
1838 West 1st Ave. (near Burrard), 604-738-9200.

PROBLEM: DESPERATELY SEEKING RELAXATION
PRESCRIPTION: ETHOSSAGE AT SPA ETHOS

If an hour gets the kinks out of your neck and the pinched look off your face, an hour and a half takes you to pure heaven. Ultimate relaxation is the goal of the new Ethossage treatment at Spa Ethos, a 90-minute massage combined with a warm stone back treatment and — possibly the crowning glory — a warm lavender scalp massage. Similar to a shirodhara treatment, warm lavender-scented oil is drizzled on the forehead to cascade over the scalp. A scalp, head and neck massage works out every last bit of stress in your body — and bonus: the lavender oil is hydrosoluble, which means it rinses off without soap to leave hair soft and shiny. Just like your chakras. (90 minutes, $155).
2200 W. 4th Ave., 604-733-5007.

PROBLEM: ACUTE STRESS
PRESCRIPTION: BEYOND THE SPA AT THE SHINZEN CENTRE

What’s acute stress? Think about the life-changing numbers that rank high on stress factor charts: divorce, a change of location or job, and other deeply disruptive occurrences. For these, the Shinzen Detoxification and Rejuvenation Centre’s Beyond The Spa package ($169) sends you to three experts with special mending skills. Yoshimi Nakano (the top gun, with quiet authority) is skilled in lymphatic drainage and shiatsu; she’ll use the Japanese pressure point massage method to release tension and rebalance body energy. Acupuncture works on a similar premise, though registered practitioner Andreas Waibel is also a counsellor, so talk to him while you get needled. Finally, see master herbalist and kinesiologist Garry Gallagher for a full lifestyle and herbal consultation. Sounds clinical, but with its high-design, Japanese-influenced interiors, Shinzen is calming and not at all institutional. Beyond the Spa includes a deep infrared sauna session; varied treatments can be scheduled over one to a few days.
Inside the MacDonald Professional Centre, 106-2786 W. 16th Ave., 604-736-1967.

PROBLEM: HOSTILE TAKEOVER
PRESCRIPTION: CORPORATE RETREATS AT SPA UTOPIA

Nothing puts a damper on corporate relations quite like an office full of stress cases. Forego the golf retreats for a business powwow held in the meeting room at the new Spa Utopia at the Pan Pacific hotel, where meeting breaks are pedicures or facials instead of coffee and doughnuts. As Spa Utopia’s Sherri Abu-Ulba points out, a lot of office politics evaporate once you’re all sitting round the table in terry robes and sipping herb tea.
Pan Pacific Hotel, 1001 - 999 Canada Place, 604-641-1351.

PROBLEM: VACATION SHORTAGE
PRESCRIPTION: HAMMAM AND GOMMAGE AT MIRAJ HAMMAM SPA

To say that Miraj Hammam is a little out of the ordinary is an understatement: all treatments focus around the traditional Hammam and Gommage, performed solo (or with a partner or three, if you prefer) in the Middle Eastern-inspired arched halls of Miraj Hammam. A low-mist and high-intensity steam in the hammam first cleanses your body (and mind of all those nagging work thoughts). Next, for the Gommage you’ll be covered in honey-like black Moroccan soap while you lie on cool Jerusalem marble, an exfoliating treatment. Turns out all that steamy goodness is also pretty great for your face — and you can add a facial into the mix for a true tip-to-toe treatment that will see every part of your body refreshed. You’re not truly chilled until you’ve relaxed with mint tea and sweets in the velvets of the sultana lounge. ($99-$255).
1495 W. 6th Ave. (at Granville St.), 604-733-5151.

PROBLEM: NASTY FEET
PRESCRIPTION: GEHWOL PEDICURE AT FLAMING JUNE SPA

Flaming June, the spa with a strong local following in its Commercial Drive neighbourhood, does not spend a lot of money on creating a chic image for itself, and it shows in both the price of treatments and the Wonderbucks-decorated interiors. (Of course, we’re guessing about the Wonderbucks part.) For $50, their Gehwol pedicure will alleviate some of the insecurities you have about cracking skin and calluses. The therapist is not afraid to use a blade to scrape those dead (and, um, discoloured?) layers away, before applying Gehwol moisturizer. Next comes the paraffin wax — keep dipping your feet in the wax, and as it cools and builds up on your feet, they start to look like plastic. Cool. All is followed by the actual prettifying — filing and painting — of the toenails. (60 minutes, $50).
1701 Grant St., 604-253-8001.

PROBLEM: INSOMNIA
PRESCRIPTION: VICHY SHOWER AT CABELLO DAY SPA

Few things can make a vacation screech to a halt faster than sleepless nights. Hydrotherapy is one of those wonder cures for much that ails, a treatment that has been around for over a century. The Vichy shower treatment at Cabello spa is engineered to stimulate the spinal cord as small beads of water are released onto the body, stimulating lymphatic and blood movement, quickening metabolic processes— and for the jet-lagged masses, causing a deep state of relaxation to induce sleep. Paired with an exfoliating treatment, and ending with a warmed body oil and lotion, not only will the body feel rested, it’s going to look brand spankin’ new, too. (75 minutes, $100).
3518 West 41st Ave., 604-267-4247.

Editor’s Choice

OUTDOOR YOGA

It takes a day or two to familiarize yourself to some of the local customs, but spend any time in Kitsilano and one will become quickly apparent: this is a yoga city. Just about every form if offered here, from Ashtanga to Kundalini to Hatha, and Vancouver Yoga is a good place to source out a local class. For a uniquely Vancouver experience, head down to Kits Beach to the Kitsilano showboat, where Eoin Finn holds an outdoor power yoga class every Saturday morning at 9 a.m., from June to September. A $10 drop-in fee provides you with a yoga mat and a view to the north shore while you downward dog it with the locals. Best of all, you’re practically guaranteed good weather, if history holds. “In the three years we’ve been doing this, it’s only been cancelled four times due to rain,” says Finn. 604-732-3108.