7 ideas
to help you find
your energy.

Harvard University researchers wrote Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life after following the lives of a randomly selected group of men and women for 50 years.

One result of their study, apparently surprising to everyone but spa people, is that lifestyle is more important than genetics in determining longevity.

Strong social relationships and exercise are also key factors. The study found that people who kept their hopes high and kept their senses of humor tend to be happy.

That gave us the idea that you might be interested in some spa-related tips that, in the long run, will help you continue to age well and enjoy a happy a happier life.

Clean your palette. Where you live and work is your life’s palette. If it’s a mess, it’s hard to think. If it’s cluttered, there’s no place for new and better things. You might try to clean out some area of your life, and then step back and revel in how lovely it looks.
Maybe clean out your purse, your tote bag, your desk, your bedroom, even (if you’re feeling especially ambitious) your garage. It feels great.
Recently one of our spa guests told us she’d just cleaned out her closet, bought new hangers (the thin ones so there’s more room on the pole) and gave away all the clothes she hadn’t worn in years. She put a basket on the floor for extra hangers and when she takes a garment out, she deposits the hanger neatly in the basket.

Now, her whole closet looks beautiful. So, to celebrate, she treated herself to a Thalasso Kur Experience at Willow Stream.

Take a morning walk. This sounds simper than it is because in our stressed out lives, we don’t always make time to do the right thing it. A nature walk, a stroll down Broadway, even a power walk through an empty mall when it’s raining or snowing outside has all kinds of great benefits.

The first is oxygen. When you walk, you take deep breaths and that extra oxygen will give you energy, especially in your joints.
Apparently, as your legs move, good cholesterol is released in your blood, and that increases your blood circulation.

Walking also helps to relive stress. At this time of year, the morning air is the coolest it’ll get all day and that soothes nerves and releases mood-elevating endorphins.

Some people who aren’t especially active think that exercise will make them tired, when it is really the other way around.
Making a morning walk part of your daily routine give you a regular cardiovascular workout. You’ll feel good and look at life differently.

Summer projects are great. Planting an herb garden is a very simple one. One of our Willow Stream colleagues in Miami decided to do that and reports that he enjoyed digging the soil, shopping for the plants … the whole process.

“I was very excited. I started by planting in pots so I could move them if needed, with plenty of
water and sun. I’m happy to report my rosemary, lemon balm and sage are doing splendidly, like Audrey II, the man-eating plant in “Little Shop of Horrors”. Alas, the lavender didn’t make it.

He’s definitely going to do it again next summer and he invited us all over for a dinner: Rosemary Chicken with fresh rosemary right from the garden.

A ritual like planting an herb garden every year can surprise you. You find yourself looking forward to it, and anticipating giving your “extra” herbs to neighbors.

How about a stay-cation this summer? Summer usually means vacation, which is supposed to mean restful energy renewal.

If only.

Often it’s even more stressful what with packing, shepherding the family, sky-high expectations high, and so on.
So maybe this is the perfect summer for a mini- vacation at home. Just change your routine. Make it feel like you’re at a getaway and do things you never ordinarily do at home:

• Take a plush towel and cover a lounge chair in your back yard. Prepare some ice tea with fresh mint and kick back with a good book.
• Pamper yourself a bit. Buy some hot oil treatment for your hair, massage your scalp and wrap your head in a light cotton towel, and then relax in the sun and listen to something soothing on your iPod. Don’t forget to apply sun tan lotion.

If you must go on a real vacation (hopefully to a Fairmont Resort with a Willow Stream Spa), plan ahead and make your list of what you’ll need to pack for every day you’ll be there. We tend to over-pack and rarely wear everything. So under-pack and bring along things you can wear more than once.

Remember the definition of a vacation: n. holiday, fixed time in which public establishments (government offices, schools, etc.) and regular businesses cease their regular activities; period of time away from work devoted to rest and relaxation; act of vacating. Vacating all your stresses and devoting yourself to rest and relaxation sounds great, doesn’t it?

Surround yourself with music. Mix it all up, a little Beach Boys, Green Day, Alicia, Nora, Patsy Cline, maybe some Abby Lincoln. Classical is great, too. Spending time really listening to music puts you in a light-hearted mood.

Some of our Willow Stream Spas are offering combination aerobics and dance classes with very cool music for everyone to enjoy. When you’re dancing, you don’t even realize that you’re getting a great cardio workout, too. (Dancing all alone at home to great music is perfectly fine with us.)

Sandwiches, fresh fish, barbeque (including vegetables) are all part of great summer cuisine. There are dozens of wonderful cookbooks that will help you plan a whole new kind of light summer meals.

Do something different with friends. Maybe take a course together or join forces and help a charity.

Some of our group decided that it would be fun to take painting lessons, so every Thursday evening they look forward to this new treat. They encourage each other and talk over new techniques they’re learning and they laugh a lot.

Now they’re considering salsa dance lessons for the fall.

Laughter is great medicine. Dr. Norman Cousins wrote that cancer patients should sit and watch Marx Brothers movies. Others have said that when you laugh, it heals everything that ails you. Avoid downers wherever possible.

All in all, making the summer light-hearted actually makes the summer. Think about being with friends and family, and maybe taking a class (that doesn’t require homework), plant a lovely garden, take a morning stroll. Listen to summer music and remember to take care of yourself first. Then you can help everyone else in your life.

Of course, we hope to see you at a Willow Stream Spa getting a relaxing massage, or reflexology, facial and a finishing manicure and pedicure too. Have fun!