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Massage event to be held at Trilogy Spa

Massage therapists are lending their hands to Red Bluff in celebration of the award-winning national event, EveryBody Deserves a Massage Week, from Sunday, July 20, to Saturday, July 26, at Trilogy Spa, 440 Antelope Blvd.
The event is sponsored by ABMP, the nation’s largest massage membership association.

The event will help raise funds for the victims of the north state fires.
Therapists will be available at Trilogy on Monday, July 21 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a special free chair massage event, or ask for the Fire Special at any time during that week, and Trilogy will give $10 from each treatment to the fire victims.

These professionals join ABMP volunteers nationwide in an educational public service announcement to promote the many benefits of massage therapy.
The use of massage therapy has boomed in the last two decades. Massage has proven health benefits, such as effectiveness in treating persistent back and neck pain and arthritis pain, as well as strengthening the immune system. It also reduces symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.

ABMP members meet state licensing and educational requirements, as well as adhering to ABMP code of ethics.

Information is available at www.trilogyspaonline.com.

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Legitimate therapists worry about spa reputations
State moves to oversee massage parlors

Licensed massage therapists across Indiana have long voiced concerns about alleged sex parlors fronting as legitimate massage operations, according to the Indiana president of the American Massage Therapy Association.

Eaton, Ind., massage therapist Jennifer Irving says she received complaints from massage therapists across the state prior to the Apple Spa Studios and Sunshine Spa Asian Massage in Richmond being raided last month for suspected prostitution and human trafficking.

“I have had some (AMTA) members approach me, mainly Richmond-based therapists, complaining about the (illegal activity) that was going on,” says Irving, a 19-year massage professional. The AMTA’s Indiana Chapter had 834 active members as of March, according to an organization newsletter. Irving said she told area massage therapists to contact local law enforcement agencies after hearing the complaints.

The two spas were part of an alleged massage parlor ring that authorities believe served as brothels. Yong Williams, 50, admitted on May 20 to authorities that she drove 40,000 miles in seven months to deliver women to spas in Richmond and other locations in the two states.
Establishing oversight

In 2007, Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a law creating the Indiana Board of Massage Therapy. The board issues certifications to massage therapists.

Irving says that the board is undergoing an application process to certify professionals.

Legislation on massage therapy was enacted because the practice had emerged as a highly regarded supportive therapy, she says.

Massage therapy has been used, for example, in cancer treatment centers as a method of stress relief. It also has been widely used for patients suffering from chronic pain syndrome, she says.

Organizations such as the AMTA require that a massage therapist complete 500 or more hours from a Commission On Massage Therapy Accreditation program or from an AMTA school.

It also requires certification from the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork or a current AMTA licensed school.

Irving cites a South Bend incident, similar to that in Richmond, that hurt the massage therapy community but ultimately helped push along the creation of the 2007 legislation.

Those who are massage therapy professionals will be grandfathered in until July 1, 2009.
Something not right

Richmond resident and massage therapist Julie Jetmore says she suspected when the spas opened in Richmond about two years ago they were not legitimate businesses.

“What legitimate massage therapy business sets up in what was the former bus station? Who is going to go to a massage therapist who is located inside of a bus station?” she says.

While licensed therapists want the public to understand the difference between their businesses and the massage spas raided in Richmond, Jetmore says she has not seen a decline in the demand for massages since the raids occurred.Neither has Lisa Smith who owns and manages the Mona Lisa Salon and Day Spa .

Smith says business has continued to be steady, though a few of her clients have commented about the two raided spas.

“The amount of money that woman made,” says Smith, who referred to Yong Williams’ claim that she made $545,000 from the operation in 2005 and 2006. “That was what everyone was talking about.”

Sandra Marcum, who owns the Cosmotique Salon and Spa, says billboard advertising promoting late business hours for the Sunshine Spa led her to believe it likely was illegal.

“It was almost up immediately after they opened,” she said. “It sprung up on a billboard and that makes you question what type of business it is and the fact that no one seems to know who the owners were.”

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Jo Ellis: Bistro, spa open on the square

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A new business on the Carthage square has more than twice the normal appeal to women.

Crystal Stiles has opened 146 Sassy Spoon Bistro and Day Spa, offering cosmetic and culinary arts in one-stop shopping.

The restaurant and spa are at the corner of Fourth and Grant streets in a building that years ago was occupied by Scotts Five and Dime store and later by Bee Discount. The building had stood empty for some time until Crystal and her husband, Ron Stiles, purchased it four years ago. They renovated the second floor into an urban loft home.

Crystal believes that operating a restaurant is “something that everyone wants to do at one time or another. We had the space; we wanted to do something with it.”

Rehabbing the building and constructing the restrooms, therapy rooms and front entrance was Ron’s contribution during nights and weekends when he was free from his job at Leggett & Platt Inc.

Janis George takes on managerial duties while Crystal does most of the cooking. She says the club sandwich salad “has been a big hit.” Another specialty is the roasted vegetable salad, which can be topped with brisket for heartier appetites. The menu includes soups and sandwiches; slabs of ribs are available for man-size meals or as takeout for family dinners.

“We get premium meat from Back Door Catering, which is owned by Ron’s cousin, Jeff Abbiatti,” Crystal said. Dessert can be a slice of chocolate cake, cheesecake or Key lime cheesecake pie.

Colorful macro floral prints by photographer Koral Martin decorate the walls, and four large old-fashioned fans hang from the tall ceiling. Comfortable wicker chairs and tile-topped round tables add the atmosphere of an outdoor bistro.

The seating capacity is 42, but Crystal said she hopes to hold special-event parties that could accommodate up to 100 people by adding extra tables and seating on the mezzanine. The restaurant is licensed for beer and wine. Next month, Crystal plans to inaugurate a Friday happy hour from 5:15 to 7:45 p.m. featuring live music by Maryann Andrews on the piano and Keith Garber on bass and trumpet.

While the restaurant is open only from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., appointments may be made for the day spa at any time during regular business hours. In addition to a full-service hair salon, the spa offers microdermabrasion, Swedish massages, manicures and pedicures.

Kathy Chapman, Tamu Smith, Kim Molina and Connie Hobart are the hair stylists, while Angie Cobble provides the facials. Kim also handles the manicures and pedicures. Helen Kunze, who was featured in this column two weeks ago, teaches some of her yoga classes at the day spa.

Think this is all about you, you, you? Nope. After you’ve been primped, and primed with food, you can do something nice for your family by taking advantage of scrapbooking instruction by Kimber Woodard and Diane Martin, who work as servers and kitchen assistants during the lunch hour. They work with both beginners and longtime scrapbookers. You can see why 146 Sassy Spoon Bistro and Day Spa appeals to women, and with fuel prices ever-increasing, the guys are going to appreciate one-stop shopping also, especially if you bring home a slab of those ribs.

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Zapora Salon Spa provides a calming atmosphere

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This old-fashioned barber chair at Zapora Salon Spa in Monrovia IN will welcome male clients who want a haircut and hot shave. The salon also offers massage, permanent makeup and wig services for clients and cancer patients.

This old-fashioned barber chair at Zapora Salon Spa in Monrovia will welcome male clients who want a haircut and hot shave. The salon also offers massage, permanent makeup and wig services for clients and cancer patients.

At first, it seems odd that a minister who does tent revivals at the Wilbur Community Center is opening a beauty salon and spa in the heart of Monrovia. But after talking to his daughter, Amanda, the picture becomes clearer. Gary Bivens and his family want people who have been battered by life’s fast pace to come in, get calm and improve their looks and lifestyle at the same time.

Bivens works for Open Door Ministries, and his Christian-based business called Zapora will service men and women, cancer patients and those with special cosmetic problems.

Zapora comes from the Hebrew word Zappora, which means beauty,” Amanda said.

The salon will open its doors for the public on Monday, but the grand opening has not been scheduled yet. The staff is taking appointments now for prom services and other clients.

Bivens’ prized possession at the shop next to David Burgess’s chiropractic office on Ind. 39 is an old-fashioned barber chair. Male customers can have a haircut and hot shave with towels while relaxing in the bright red chair. They can also buy American Crew haircare products. Burgess is leasing the space to Bivens and has been in practice for eight years.

Services for women include massage, haircuts, teeth whitening, styling, Nail manicures, pedicures and hair products such as Scruples, True Integrity and OPI. Amanda said there will be five stylists and three massage therapists, trained in all the product lines. The spa will also offer permanent makeup for beauty marks, lips, eyebrows and eyelids, but the colors are not tattoo inks. “We will use Premier Pigments, which are designed for facial skin and safe for MRI tests,” she said. “People can also get pigment on the inner part of their bottom eyelid.

Clients will do a skin test and have a consultation before getting the service and fill out a form with their medical history. Amanda said the salon staff must be licensed to do the pigments and maintain sanitary conditions for all Zapora’s services. She and her mother, Patty, took an intensive two-week program in Texas on the products and their application. Amanda said the staff has also been undergoing special training from product representatives who come from all over the state.

“Our distributor, Victory, has set up the training sessions for us,” she said. “Each of our employees has a good background and will be knowledgable with all our products.”

The salon has a private room for clients who need wig fitting and styling and other rooms for massage and pigmentation. There is also a bathroom and shower on site.

To make the salon experience complete, Gary Bivens has stocked Kerusso T-shirts, which are theme based for Christian clients, organ donors, bikers, cancer survivors and others. They also carry Cooljamaz, which are pajamas for women who suffer from night sweats, reactions to chemotherapy and menopausal hot flashes. Amanda said the material quickly absorbs perspiration. Clients can also purchase detoxifying teas in different flavors. They are in concentrated form and can just be added to a glass of water.

The Bivens family and their staff will not be pushing religion, but simply providing an atmosphere where people can unwind and relax - and be cared for.

Bivens said he is also carrying some dainty necklaces and other jewelry at the shop.

He owns Truth Trucking and will continue with that business, while his daughter oversees the salon operation.

The family is pleased with the contractor, Scott Pierce of PMG Construction, who did the buildout for them. The walls are beautifully textured and the floors are all dark wood. Pierce had an artist come in and do a glaze on the walls.

Amanda said Heavenly Helpings, a nearby caterer, will provide lunches for full-day spa clients and other special events. The salon will hold “Princess Tea Parties” and bachelorette parties after hours, from 7 to 10 p.m. Guests can get mini massages, manicures, punch and cookies. And food will be geared to their dietary needs.

Hours will be 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, with the last appointment made at 7 p.m.; Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the last appointment around 5 p.m.

You can call the shop at 317-996-2966.

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Colonial Williamsburg offers new-age spa treatments

Williamsburg, VA — The challenge was to take the essentially modern construct of a spa and integrate it into the fabric of one of the country’s premier historical destinations.

You can get a massage or facial at the Spa of Colonial Williamsburg. You can get a manicure or pedicure or sit in the whirlpool. But the spa’s signature treatments, modern interpretations of healing and relaxation practices of the last five centuries, take you into a time machine. Each incorporates therapies drawn from the prevailing attitudes toward health and wellness in a specific era.

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

The new outdoor pool at the Spa of Colonial Williamsburg nestles into a sloping hillside overlooking a golf course.

In sum the five experiences highlight wellness traditions not only across time but also across the ethnic groups that have left their imprint on Williamsburg.

The Cleansing Hot Stones Spa Experience draws on the 17th-century Powhatan Indian practice of using sweating to eliminate aches and pains. In the modern interpretation, the body is warmed by hot stones then wrapped in herb-infused, steaming linen to encourage the release of toxins. The experience concludes with a full-body, hot-stone massage using oil containing lavender, cypress, juniper and rosemary.

Doctors in the 18th century began to make connections between cleanliness and health, theorizing that dirt on the skin prevented the body from perspiring freely, considered to be an essential natural process. Herbs and botanicals were thought to be a cure for a variety of ailments, and these were added to cleansing baths. This ritual has been adapted for the modern-day patron in the Colonial Herbal Spa Experience, consisting of a foot bath, followed by an orange-ginger body scrub, herbal body wrap and massage.

The Root and Herbal Spa Experience draws on African-American practices that used root powders to heal and strengthen, combined with the 19th-century fascination with spring waters. They thought that when the water was ingested, applied topically or used for bathing, it would cure common diseases. This treatment includes exfoliation with an herbal powder of lavender buds, rose petals and essential oils, followed by a bath, infused with sage, lavender and sea salts, and a massage.

Inspiration for the 20th- century Williamsburg Water Cures Spa Experience came from the development of technologically advanced spa equipment combined with the history of bathing rituals. This treatment consists of a full-body, dry-brush exfoliation, followed by a Vichy shower “rain” massage and a traditional milk bath to seal in the skin’s moisture.

Among the newest services are laser treatments and micro-dermabrasion. The spa offers state-of-the-art, particle-free dermabrasion along with the application of pure oxygen to the skin as part of its 21st-century Skin Rejuvenation Spa Experience.

Housed in space formerly occupied by a folk art museum, the Spa of Colonial Williamsburg opened a year ago. All proceeds go to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, said Kate Mearns, spa director.

The red brick Georgian-Revival building is bordered by a deep green arbor that shades a brick walkway. The inside decor is a pleasing combination of Colonial and modern. The women’s locker room features candle chandeliers, pewter hooks and hardware, honey-colored wood lockers and frosted glass.

A wet lounge with rough stone walls includes a eucalyptus steam shower, whirlpool and cooling rainfall shower. A bucket of ice water holds rolled up, lavender-scented face cloths.

Clad in robe and sandals, I began in the 18th century and ended in the 21st. My treatment started with a foot bath and ended with a foot massage.

The foot bath was followed by a body scrub. Made of brown sugar, orange essence, ginger powder and coconut oil, the scrub was pleasantly exfoliating and didn’t sting the way some scrubs do because it contained no salt. My therapist, Laura, explained that oranges were prized in Colonial days because they were imported from Europe, and ginger was used in tea and medicines.

After the scrub, Laura wrapped my feet in hot towels, draped my body in towels, then placed hot cloths that had been soaking in an herbal solution atop the towels. She pulled up the sides of the thermal sheet I was lying on and wrapped me like a mummy. While the heat-infused cloths softened my skin, she massaged my scalp.

Laura left the room, and I showered and got back on the table for a massage. The lemon grass and ginger oil left my skin silky.

From the traditional territory of scrubs and massage, I headed to the high-tech world of ultrasonic dermabrasion and applied oxygen. My modern experience also began with a foot bath and lavender scrub, during which my therapist, Tina, explained the process of cleansing, exfoliating and then hydrating the skin.

Using an ultrasonic wand, Tina exfoliated my face, then worked hydrating products into my skin with the same tool. I actually saw some lightening of brown spots caused by sun damage, but Tina explained that it wouldn’t last without regular treatment.

The next step was a hydrating masque, and while it set, Tina massaged my neck, shoulders, arms and hands. Finally she applied pure oxygen and oxygenated products with the Oxy Oasis machine, whose insistent thump had a distinctly hospital overtone. Bursts of pure air alternated with the soft spray of botanical skin products.

The whole process was markedly gentler than traditional micro-dermabrasion and chemical peels, and there was no redness to my skin when I left.

With any service, patrons can use all the spa’s amenities, including an indoor pool, outdoor pool in season, whirlpool, steam room, showers and locker rooms.

Massage continues to be the most popular treatment, said Mearns. And while most clients are women, men have responded especially well to services that incorporate baths and water rituals. “The century treatments are gaining in popularity,” she said, “and as we continue to be more branded, we expect this trend to continue.”

A long-range goal, Mearns said, is for the spa, with its access to the vast records of the foundation, to become “the library for the American spa experience,” an authority on American therapies that spa owners and designers can consult.

The field is still evolving, said Sepielli, noting two areas that are becoming increasingly prominent: spirituality — which she described as “doing things that enrich your soul, mind and heart to maintain your health” — and healthy aging.

“People want to make sure their health keeps up with their lifestyle,” she said. “This is good news for the spa industry. We’re moving from the realm of luxury into wellness.”

The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg, 307 S. England St., Williamsburg. Century-inspired treatments, 1 1/2-2 hours, cost $165-$285. 1-800-688-6479,

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