In a few days, I will head out on a 6 region wine/spa blog tour navigating Covid Season to show you what I have seen already: places are carefully managing fun and relaxation even in the time of the pandemic. What does it look like? Is it safe? How does it work? We’ll cover all that.

First, let me explain my spa passion and why I would leave the safety of my isolated nest in the country to share my passion with you.

In 1993, I left a traumatic period of working in law firms and, as a single parent, decided to go back and get a Masters’ Degree in Teaching so I would be able to spend summers with my child. (Naïve, because teachers don’t really get the whole summer off.) As a healing balm from the law firm trauma, I decided I would go to massage school, get certified, get some free massages, and support myself and my child during grad school as a massage therapist. I attended  IPSB, the Institute of Psycho Structural Balancing in Culver City, California and met people very different from any others I had ever met in my life. Their mission:

To train sensitive, self-aware bodyworkers who use creativity and self-knowledge to transform basic skills into an artistic form that deeply touches the lives of others.

The intense program taught me more than I could have imagined. It taught me about the power of bodywork to create healthy immune systems. It taught me about energy through a morning ritual of Tai Chi and other daily energy work. I learned deeply through my anatomy coloring book how the body is connected and how miraculous bodywork can be to solve perplexing problems. By the second day, I was sold on the principle of bodywork and energy practice as an essential routine, just like showering, brushing your teeth, going to the dentist, and getting a haircut.

To me, going to spas is not just a primping, diva, birthday party gig you do with your friends, though there is space for that. That is only one very tiny slice of spa value.

Let’s talk language. I named this site “Spa Guide Secrets” because these are important for EVERYONE. In many of my peeks into the spa experience, I will write about both the male, female, and non-binary perspectives. In fact, I find this fascinating. In public spas, public locker rooms can make or break a place. You will get the intel on both.

To be clear, the only type of massage I will write about, or engage in, is ethical, non-sexual, up-and-up legit bodywork. In fact, that freaky little lane pisses me off because it creates fear in people to experience how important legitimate bodywork, and spa rituals can be, so they avoid the whole thing. Totally get it. If that’s you, I’m here to totally demystify this world and invite you into the healing, joy, and fun it has to offer. 

If you are a veteran spa goer, don’t worry. I got you. For the past 25 years since my husband jumped on board to the importance of this practice, we have travelled to some of the best spas in the world, debrief after every treatment, and between our monthly home bodywork visits, are regularly sampling. I WILL be covering bodywork on Covid! 

Back to massage school. When I graduated, I immediately started grad school to become a teacher and threw myself into a tornado of education, parenting, getting married, buying a house, and getting hired to teach 2^nd grade in Manhattan Beach before I had even defended my thesis. Class size reduction in California came into place just at the right moment and schools were clamoring for teachers. Lots of great stuff, and lots of stress.

You may guess by now I did not have time to launch that massage business. My power pivot for that massage table was this: though I had little money, I hired a massage therapist, the lovely Christine Eghenian, who would bring me through high stress, gnarly TMJ, a pregnancy, and beyond on a monthly basis for a decade. We got great use out of that mauve Earthlite table and I will be forever grateful to this angel for keeping me healthy.

The health aspect is key. I taught my family the importance of relaxation and bodywork. Both my sons and my husband are now hardcore believers in the power of regular massage. I started baby massage with my kids and am a firm believer in stress management through energy work. Though my husband was resistant in the beginning, he now never misses an appointment with our regular masseuse for the last 12 years. 

So many secrets, so little time, but I will share them. I’m convinced that when you find your comfort in bodywork, spa ritual, various products you can make or use at home, and how to lift your vibration through bodywork, you will live a happier, healthier, sunnier, more joy-filled life. Through stories, tips, mishaps, and–shhhh–secrets, we’ll get you there. Or, if you like, enjoy them vicariously. Sign up and follow this blog so you don’t miss a tip. You never know when you’ll need one for you or a friend.

One last thought. We have enjoyed wine for the past 25 years and love wine stories and sharing those. For now, I’m going to keep that blog separate because when we spa, it’s not a wine thing. Instead, it’s a drink lots of water thing. It’s a detox thing. I don’t want to confuse the two.

But if you like wine like we do and are interested in learning more and following our adventures, I will be launching a 6-region wine/spa tour of Oregon and California during Covid Season next week intermingled with this one. Here’s where to follow for wine/foodie adventures.

How is that even working? We’re going to find out. Subscribe to this blog and it will come to you. I’ll try to make it easy to find, but I’m not a webmaster and am making this thing on my own which makes me need to get to the spa.

In the meantime, even on the dark days, shine, Sweetheart, shine!